HONOLULU, HAWAII January 30, 2011 79° 67° Souvenir Edition JANUARY 24, 2011 NFL HIGH SCHOOL COLLEGE Mariani is Pro Bowl bound AP Photo George Ferguson Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com The dream just keeps getting better for former Havre High star Marc Mariani. On Tuesday afternoon, Mariani received one of the most exciting phone calls he’s gotten in some time. On the other end was his Tennessee Titans head coach Jeff Fisher informing the rookie from Montana that he was selected to represent the AFC in the 2011 Pro Bowl. Mariani was selected to be the return specialist for the AFC in the NFL’s elite allstar game which will take place Jan. 30 in Honololu, Hawaii. Mariani, the Titans’ 2010 seventh-round draft pick (222nd overall selection), leads the AFC and ranks third in the NFL with a 12.9-yard punt return avg. He also ranks fourth in the AFC and 10th in the NFL with a 25.2-yard kickoff return average. He is the only player in the NFL to return both a punt and a kickoff for a touchdown in 2010 and is just the second Titans/Oilers player to do so in the same regular season (Billy Johnson, 1975 and 1977). He collected his first career score with a 98-yard kickoff return against Denver and was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week after posting an 87-yard punt return for a touchdown against Washington. Last week at Kansas City, he broke a 47year old franchise record by surpassing Bobby Jancik’s 1963 total of 1,317 kickoff return yards. Mariani also has accumulated the second-highest total of return yards on punts and kickoffs in franchise history. He trails only Derrick Mason’s 1,794 yards in 2000. Since the team moved to Tennessee, Mariani is the fourth Titans’ rookie to be named to the Pro Bowl. "It's a huge honor, especially because it's voted on by players and coaches," Mariani said. "I dream big, I have high expectations for myself. But you don't allow yourself to look ahead to something like this. You just try to do your job and help the team win games. But this is very special and it's a real honor. I'm very excited." Mariani is one of four rookies that were selected to the Pro Bowl this year and only one of two Titans who will be making the trip. Tennessee defensive end Jason Babin is the other. He will also represent Montana in the Pro Bowl for the second straight year. Last year, Miami Dolphins and former Griz kicker Dan Carpenter made the trip. 24-HOUR NEWS AND WEATHER UPDATES AT WWW.HAVREDAILYNEWS.COM Courtesy Photo INDEX State news Community Opinion A2 A3 A4 Obituaries A5 Sports A6-A7 H-Line Living B1 Real Estate Comics Classifieds C1 C3 C4-C5