By Matt Newbery

The 2009 season of Pittsburg State University football will be remembered for many things, mostly on the negative side of the ledger.

One positive the fans of TeamKong.net will take with them from the 5-6 campaign is the performance of senior wide receiver Kendall Fisher -- their choice as the Gorillas' Player of the Year.

"I didn't even know I was up for (the award) until about couple of weeks ago," Fisher said. "A teacher at Garden Plain High School told my sister that I was up for it, and she then asked me if I knew anything about it. I'm really honored to be selected."

The 6-foot-4, 215-pound native of Garden Plain, Kan., was among the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association leaders in both receptions and receiving yards during the 2009 season. He had the conference lead with 5.4 catches and 109.4 yards per game following his record-setting game against Emporia State on Oct. 10.

Against the Hornets, Fisher made six receptions for a Pitt State-record 238 yards and three touchdowns in the 44-14 victory, breaking the nearly three-decade old record of 215 yards set in 1980 by Gene Wayenberg, Jr.

"Setting the record is something I'll never forget - something that will be with me the rest of my life and hopefully when I come back it'll still be in the books," Fisher said.

Little did anyone know that he had been playing with an injured left wrist for the better part of a month at the time he set the standard. He revealed the injury during the post-game press conference following his record effort.

At the time, it was thought to be a ligament injury. Upon further examination at season's end, it turned out to be a broken bone.

"It was an odd injury," Fisher said. "It pretty much hurt every time, except when I caught a ball. I don't know, I guess I just blocked out the pain - but when I'd fall on it, that's when it hurt like crazy.

"I'd get it taped up a bunch before the game, so that would help keep it from moving around so much," he said of the injury. "I was just lucky it was nothing worse and I was still able to play with it."

His offensive coordinator, current head coach Tim Beck, was impressed with the perseverance Fisher showed in light of the injury.

"He'd practice with one hand during the week," Beck said of Fisher, who'd run his routes and try to make grabs by trapping the ball against his chest. "On game day, he'd wear a brace and go ahead and catch things two-handed. He had to have some toughness to still be able to maintain blocks and did a good job.

"For a lot of people, an injury like that would set them back a lot. Kendall never said a word about it and I think the fans watching probably didn't have any idea he was hurt."

A combination of teams beginning to key on Fisher and adjustments made to the PSU offense only allowed him to make nine more catches over the season's final four games. He ended the season with a team-leading 47 grabs (sixth-best for a single season at PSU) for 876 yards (seventh-best at the school) and seven touchdowns.

"It wasn't the injury," Fisher said. "It was mainly the schemes -- and against Fort Hays State (the only game in which he did not register a reception) we just had been running the ball so well we really didn't throw that much."

His average of 79.6 yards per game is third-best for a season in Pitt State history -- behind only Wayenberg's 102.2 average in 1981 and Ronnie West's 99.7 rate in 1991. He finished eight of his 11 games with at least four catches and had more than 100 receiving yards three times in 2009.

At the end of the regular season, Fisher was third in the MIAA for receiving yards per game and sixth in receptions per game (as of this writing, the conference had yet to post the leaders through all postseason games).

Beck appreciated the hard work and development of Fisher during his three years as a Gorilla following his transfer from Division I Football Bowl Subdivision-member Utah State in 2007.

"He was a solid player his first year, a good player his second year and became a great player for us," Coach Beck said. "He really became our go-to guy. We really worked hard offensively each week to try and find ways to free him up.

"We moved him from an outside receiver to an inside receiver and tried to get him matched up on different people because he was very sure-handed. There was no question he was the guy we were going to try to get the ball to."

Fisher ended his tenure in the crimson and gold with 70 career catches for 1,249 yards and nine touchdowns. He's eighth on the career receiving yards list and 10th on the career receptions chart at PSU.

"I was just excited to get the opportunity," Fisher said. "The receiver coaches preach that you're not going to get the ball a lot and you're going to have to block first - but when we do throw the ball you're going to have to capitalize on it.

"I just relished every opportunity I had to not only when we threw the ball but also to improve my blocking and help the running game."

As far as his life after college, Kendall hopes to put his business management degree to use in the family vocation. The Fishers operate a commercial building supply outfit in the Garden Plain and Wichita areas.

"I'll eventually be going into that direction - the lumber business, commercial lumber, doors, things like that," Fisher said. "As it looks right now I'm not looking to try and play on anywhere. I kind of shot myself in the foot with that one. As the season ended, I didn't even look for any opportunities - but now that I've been out for a while, I almost want to try to play again."

Not that he'll be too far away from the game. Kendall still has a rooting interest in the Gorillas with brother Derek a junior-to-be wide receiver.

"With my brother still playing there, I'll be coming back as much as I can," he said.

He's also pleased to see Beck named as successor to recently-retired Chuck Broyles as the Pitt State football coach.

"I think it was a great choice," Fisher said. "Coach Beck will put them back on track where they need to be."