Mid States

[Football] Buhake named recipient of Bob Jurevitz Award

Senior defensive end Bernard Buhake was named the recipient of the Bob Jurevitz Award at the St. Ambrose University Fall Sports Banquet Saturday.The annual award, established in the summer of 2011, is named after Bob Jurevitz, a former St. Ambrose football great who passed away in November 2011 after a battle with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig's disease. It is presented to a St. Ambrose football player who best exemplifies the characteristics Jurevitz displayed both on and off the playing field. The award recipient is selected by the SAU football coaching staff and the Jurevitz family.Bob Jurevitz Award recipients2011 – John Michaletti2012 – Alex Berg2013 – Mitch Overstreet2014 – Ryan Byrne2015 – Keaton Jurevitz2016 – Mitch Negangard2017 – Jim Morrissey2018 – Dillon Valdez2019 – Ryan Zitkus2020-21 – Liam Kelly2021 – Bernard BuhakeBuhake, from Arlington, Texas, finished his St. Ambrose career with 26.5 sacks, the most in Fighting Bee history. The four-time all-conference selection also collected 44.5 tackles for loss at St. Ambrose. He finished with 11 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks this season.Buhake's name now will be etched on a plaque inside the Lee Lohman Arena lobby, which is updated every year to list the all-time recipients of the award.Jurevitz was one of the most-prolific and hardest-working running backs in SAU history. He remains the second-leading rusher in school history, accumulating 5,126 yards on the ground during his career from 1982-85. He was the state of Iowa's all-time leading collegiate rusher at the time of his graduation in 1986.The four-year team captain and team MVP scored a Bee-best 64 touchdowns in his career. During his senior season in 1985, he rushed for 1,424 yards and a still-school-record 27 touchdowns. He was inducted into the SAU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1992.A plaque honoring Jurevitz and a framed #44 jersey are permanently displayed in the SAU football locker room visible to every player entering and leaving the room.Along with the Bob Jurevitz Award, the SAU football team presented its Champion of Character Award to John Benckendorf (right). The award is based on five core values – integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship and servant leadership.