Biography
At UR 2024: Wrapped up Yellowjacket career with First-Team All-Liberty League honors, appearing in and starting seven games before missing the final four due to a season-ending injury...Rushed 138 times for 767 yards and six touchdowns, averaging 5.6 yards per carry with a long of 63 yards...Caught four passes for 28 yards, with a long of 23 yards, and added one kickoff return for 38 yards, totaling 833 all-purpose yards...Finished third in the Liberty League and 85th in NCAA Division III with 767 rushing yards...109.6 rushing yards per game and 5.56 yards per carry ranks 9th in a single season in program history...Graduates as UR's all-time leader in all-purpose yards per game (124.8)...Also ranks second in career rushing yards (3,488), rushing yards per game (102.6) and all-purpose yards (4,243), fourth in career yards per rush (5.58), fifth in career rushing attempts (625), seventh in both points scored (170) and total touchdowns (28), tied for seventh in rushing TDs (25), and ninth in career total offensive yards (3,488) and offensive yards per play (5.57)...Four 100+ yard rushing games...Scored touchdowns in five of seven contests played...Rushed 18 times for 117 yards and a score in UR's season-opener at Olivet on Sept. 7...Rumbled for 110 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries against Salve Regina on Sept. 21...Toted the rock 22 times for 121 yards and two TDs vs. UNE on Sept. 28...Ran for a season-high 194 yards on 24 carries, scoring a touchdown and rushing for a season-long 63-yard rush against St. Lawrence on Oct. 26...Earned Liberty League Offensive Performer of the Week honors following his 194-yard rushing performance against the Saints on Oct. 26.
At UR 2023: Turned in another standout season, capped off with Second-Team All-Liberty League honors...Appeared in and started eight games, rushing 131 times for 661 yards and eight touchdowns with a long of 75 yards...Caught 10 passes for 119 yards and a touchdown...Went 0-for-1 on pass attempts...Returned 15 kickoffs for 372 yards, tallying 1,152 total all-purpose yards...Led the Liberty League and ranked in the top 35 of DIII in both all-purpose yards (143.75) and kickoff returns (24.8)...Also ranked fourth in the conference in scoring and rushing touchdowns and fifth in rush yards per carry and rushing yards...Two-time Liberty League Offensive Performer of the Week...Earned first weekly honor after rushing for 152 yards and two touchdowns, including a 56-yard touchdown run, in UR's 49-7 win vs. Alfred St. on Sept. 9...Earned second POTW honor after toting 15 carries for 157 yards and two touchdowns, adding three receptions for 47 yards in a win at St. Lawrence on Oct. 14...Totaled 100+ rushing yards in three games, and 100+ all-purpose yards in five games, including two with 200+...Averaged 144.0 all-purpose yards per game, the third-most in a single season in program history...Tallied the fourth-most all-purpose yards (319) in a single game and the fifth-most kick return yards (175) in UR's win at Buffalo State on Sept. 30...Scored a season-high 18 points at Buffalo State, and tallied 10+ points in three different contests...Received UR Athletics Louis Alexander Alumni Award.
At UR 2022: Outstanding season as a junior which ended in the running back being named an AFCA 2nd Team All-American...1st Team All-Liberty League and was 2nd Team All-Region by D3football.com...Finished the season with 195 carries for 1,272 yards and 9 touchdowns on the ground...Chipped in seven receptions for 81 additional yards...Team captain...Averaged 141.3 yards per game on the ground which ranked 2nd in Division III and a Rochester team record...Also, nationally ranked in total rushing yards (9th), rushing yards per carry (6.5 ypc, 13th), all-purpose yards (1,353 yards, 15th) and rushing touchdowns (78th)...Established UR single-game rushing record on opening night, rushing 18 times for 309 yards and four touchdowns...Had 92 and 88-yard touchdown runs on his first two carries of the season, ranking as the 2nd and 4th longest rushes in team history, with his 17.2 yards per carry average also being a UR single-game record...Single-season yardage total on the ground was second most in team history, while Papantonis also averaged 6.52 yards per carry, second best by a Rochester runner...Backed up season-opening performance with another huge output the following week against Alfred State, piling up 278 yards rushing, which is second in a single-game in Rochester history...Two-time Liberty League Offensive Performer of the Week and was named to D3football.com Team of the Week on Sep. 6.
At UR 2021: The sophomore running back had a terrific season for the Yellowjackets, earning 2nd Team All-Liberty League honors following the year...Was the teams leading rusher with 788 yards on 161 carries...Had two rushing TD's and chipped in 7 receptions for 117 yards and 2 additional touchdowns...Had a long rush of 52 yards and long catch of 45 yards, both of which were best on Rochester...Was a two-time Liberty League Rookie of the Week, coming on Oct. 18 and Nov. 15...Three 100+ yard rushing games, including 151 yards on 22 carries in season-finale against Hobart...Had 115 yards rushing and 76 yards receiving and a receiving score against Case Western Reserve on Sep. 4...Ranked 67th in Division III in rushing yards per game (78.8), was 69th in total rush yards and was 106th in rushing yards per carry (4.89)...Top-5 in the Liberty League in rushing attempts, longest rush, yards per game, rush yards, yards per carry and all-purpose yards...Accumulated the most rushing yards in a season by a UR running back since 2009.
HS: Attended Delbarton School...Part of football (RB) and baseball (C) programs with the Green Wave.
Personal: Brother, Aidan '26, also attends Rochester and is a member of the Yellowjackets football team.
