SPECIAL TEAMER—Former St. Thomas Aquinas standout John Milazzo was named the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference's special teams Player of the Year after leading the SCAC in punt returns.

JACKSON, Miss.-Millsaps College wide receiver/kick returner John Milazzo just wrapped up what he called one of the "funnest" years he ever had as an athlete. However, there's one thing from it that he tries to keep out of his mind.

The former St. Thomas Aquinas standout earned the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference's special teams Player of the Year award after leading the SCAC in punt returns. Millsaps finished the season 8-2 and tied for first in SCAC play with a 6-1 mark, with that one loss hinging on a play that now lives in sports history - the so-called "Miracle in Mississippi."

"I try not to think about the Trinity play," Milazzo said. "It's more of a big deal to other people than to us because we know what we accomplished. Regardless, we were conference champs and went 8-2. I never had a season in any sport where we had a one-loss record. It's pretty special to me."

Milazzo averaged a league-best 11.5 yards per punt return, a statistic that ranked him 33rd in Division III. He also returned six kickoffs for a 23.2-yard average and caught eight passes for 142 yards and one touchdown.

He was sitting in his room watching television when special teams coach Aaron Pelch called him, Milazzo said. Pelch told Milazzo he wanted to be the first person to congratulate him for receiving the honor.

"I was just in shock," he said. "I couldn't believe it because I knew I had a good role on the team. But to be considered player of the year, that's pretty special. It's something I'd never thought would happen. You're talking about some of the guys that are the best in the nation at what they do."

He considered it an honor just to be mentioned along with teammates such as quarterback Juan Joseph and defensive tackle Casey Younger, Milazzo said. Joseph and Younger were the SCAC's offensive and defensive players of the year, respectively.

"That was really special to me, too," he said. "I was just trying to to do my job on the team and help us out."

He could not help his team during the Majors' homecoming game against SCAC rival Trinity University on Oct. 27 as Millsaps went into prevent defense with two seconds left nursing a 24-22 lead and the Tigers getting one last-gasp attempt at their own 43-yard line.

Milazzo had to watch from the sideline as his defense became the foil to one of college football's wildest plays. He said trinity had five receivers on the field and they all went deep in what looked to be a Hail Mary attempt.

"I never thought they would start lateraling the ball," he said. "They dumped it off and we tackled the guy. It seemed like that was it, but it turned out that he'd pitched the ball. They just kept pitching it and pitching it.

"There's only so much you can do from the sidelines. Every time they lateraled the ball, it seemed more and more probably that they could finish. It was heartbreaking. It's still hard for me to watch when they put it on TV."

Milazzo said the team watched game film with the coaches the following Sunday, however, the play had already made "SportsCenter" the night following the game.

"Top plays of the week roll by, it gets down to No. 1, and it's there," he said. "I had to turn my phone off because I had so many people calling me."

The play did more than just put Millsaps on the map for hosting the New Orleans Saints' training camp. The loss eventually forced a first-place tie between the Tigers and Majors for the SCAC title, but Trinity picked up the league's automatic bid to the Division III playoffs by virtue of beating Millsaps while Milazzo and the Majors missed out on an at-large bid.

"One of our goals was the conference championship - obviously we wanted it outright - then make some noise in the playoffs," he said.

He said he has put the miracle behind him and is now setting his goals for the 2008 season. Milazzo said he wants to improve on his return averages and make more of an impact as a receiver in the offense. There is one more thing he wants do.

"I need to take one to the house next season," he said. "I'm sure that would be a lot of fun."