Mount Vernon football players announce college choices

April 2, 2017 Sports

Mount Vernon middle linebacker Maurice Aziz (32) is one of four Majors who have committed to play college football next season. (Lori Heltzel photo)

Fresh off Mount Vernon’s best football season in years, four senior standouts for the Majors have announced commitments to play college ball.

Mikel Gamble was the most recent to commit, announcing Friday that he will be playing for Emory & Henry College in Emory, Va.

Gamble played running back for the Majors, coming out for football for the first time his senior year after previously playing forward on the basketball team. Gamble finished the season with 648 yards rushing and 368 yards receiving. 

Emory & Henry plays in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference and finished 6-4 in 2016.

Maurice Aziz will be playing for Ave Maria University in southwest Florida next fall. Aziz, a team captain and middle linebacker for the Majors, averaged more than 10 tackles a game in 2016. 

Ave Maria is an NAIA school and part of the Mid-South Conference. 

Chase Cole will be playing for Stevenson University, a Division III school in Owings Mills, Md. Cole played wide receiver for the Majors, catching 19 passes for 245 yards his senior season.  

Stevenson is a member of the Middle Atlantic Conference, and won its first-ever conference title in 2016. 

Chris Lambert will be playing at Shenandoah University, a Division III program located in Winchester, Va. Lambert was a two-year starter who anchored the Majors’ offensive line as a center last season. 

Shenandoah finished 6-4 last year in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.