Contact: Lou Groce, Director of Media and Information, 920-229-8157
GRINNELL, Iowa – The Midwest Conference (MWC) has announced the 2017 Football All-Conference Team on Wednesday.
Monmouth College and St. Norbert College dominated the selections. The MWC Championship Game combatants produced 32 all-conference selections with the Fighting Scots earning 15 and the Green Knights garnering 17.
Monmouth head coach Chad Braun was named the South Division Coach of the Year for the second time in his career and has now won three Coach of the Year honors in his three seasons with the Fighting Scots. Braun is now 18-0 in MWC action after leading the Scots to a perfect 5-0 record against South Division competition. The Scots have won two straight MWC titles and are making back-to-back appearance in the NCAA Playoffs.
Green Knight head man Dan McCarty earned North Division Coach of the Year honors. It is McCarty’s second North Division Coach of the Year award in just three seasons with St. Norbert. McCarty guided the Green Knights to a 7-3 overall record for the second straight season. The Green Knights were a perfect 5-0 against North Division foes this fall and McCarty is now 17-1 in MWC action.
Just a sophomore, Joe Krall of Monmouth was named the Offensive Line Most Valuable Player. Krall plowed the way for the top scoring offense in the league (37.2). The Scots were second in the conference in yards per game (410.8) and were third in the conference with 211.6 yards rushing per game. Running behind Krall, First Team All-MWC running back DeAndre Wright became just the third Scot in school history to record back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons. Krall and the graduated Kolton Koch have now won two consecutive Offensive Lineman MVPs for the Scots.
Fighting Scot linebacker Kyle Schultz was recognized as the Defensive Skill MVP. Schultz was the centerpiece of the top defense in the MWC. The Scots held their opponents to 10.3 points per game and 212.2 yards per game. Schultz led the team with 104 tackles and added six tackles for loss, two interceptions and recovered a fumble. Schultz makes it back-to-back Defensive Skill MVPs for the Scots as Matt Barnes won the award last season.
Lake Forest College senior running back Joey Valdivia was chosen as the league’s Offensive Skill MVP. Valdivia had one of the best seasons for a running back in conference history. His rushing yards (1,795) rank second in league history, his rushing touchdowns (26) rank third, and his carries tie for 10
th (279). Valdivia was also a weapon out of the backfield, catching 27 passes for 237 yards and four touchdowns. Heading into the NCAA Playoffs, Valdivia ranks second in the nation in all-purpose yards per game (217.20), scoring per game (18.0), total points scored (180) and total touchdowns (30), while ranking third in rushing touchdowns and rushing yards. Valdivia is the first Forester running back since 2012 to earn an offensive major award and just the third all-time.
Cornell College’s Andrew Joseph was a force for the Ram front seven and earned Defensive Line MVP honors. Joseph was second on the team with 88 tackles, and led the conference with 10 sacks, while finishing second in the league with 17.5 tackles for loss. The senior also produced five quarterback hurries, forced and recovered a fumble and blocked a kick. Joseph is the first Ram since 1996 to win a major MWC award.
University of Chicago freshman Jackson Ross was named the North Division’s Newcomer of the Year. The freshman defensive lineman led the Maroons with 85 tackles on the season, seven of which came behind the line of scrimmage. Ross added 2.5 sacks, five quarterback hurries, an interception and a forced fumble to his stat line. As a team, UChicago ranked third in the conference in scoring defense (17.2 ppg) and third in total defense (280.7).
Fellow defensive lineman, Logan West of Illinois College garnered the South Division Newcomer of the Year award. West made 48 tackles this fall and registered 13.5 behind the line of scrimmage for a total of 45 yards. The senior also recorded three sacks for 21 yards and forced a fumble.
The complete 2017 All-MWC Football Team is listed below.
| North Division Coach of the Year |
|
|
|
| Dan McCarty |
St. Norbert |
|
|
| South Division Coach of the Year |
|
|
|
| Chad Braun |
Monmouth |
|
|
| Offensive Line MVP |
|
|
|
| Joe Krall |
So. |
Monmouth |
|
| Defensive Line MVP |
|
|
|
| Andrew Joseph |
Sr. |
Cornell |
|
| Offensive Skill MVP |
|
|
|
| Joey Valdivia |
Sr. |
Lake Forest |
|
| Defensive Skill MVP |
|
|
|
| Kyle Schultz |
Sr. |
Monmouth |
|
| North Division Newcomer of the Year |
|
|
|
| Jackson Ross |
Fr. |
DL |
UChicago |
| South Division Newcomer of the Year |
|
|
|
| Logan West |
Sr. |
DL |
Illinois College |
| Sportsmanship Award |
|
|
|
| Beloit |
|
|
|
| North Division First Team |
|
|
|
| Doug Barkauski |
So. |
OL |
UChicago |
| Juan Marin |
So. |
OL |
Lawrence |
| E.J. Mastrocola |
Fr. |
OL |
St. Norbert |
| Kyle Rademaker |
Jr. |
OL |
St. Norbert |
| Tucker Squiers |
Jr. |
OL |
UChicago |
| Jack Becker^ |
Sr. |
QB |
St. Norbert |
| Grant Murray* |
Sr. |
TE |
St. Norbert |
| Spenser Thompson Meyers** |
Jr. |
K |
St. Norbert |
| Matt Glasenapp |
Sr. |
P |
Macalester |
| Drew Rhodes |
Sr. |
RS |
St. Norbert |
| Jake Gostisha*^ |
Sr. |
ST |
Lawrence |
| Chandler Carroll |
Sr. |
RB |
UChicago |
| Elijah Fort^*^ |
Sr. |
RB |
St. Norbert |
| Alec Beatty^ |
Jr. |
WR |
Macalester |
| Samuel Staehling^ |
So. |
WR |
St. Norbert |
| Brandon Bartel** |
Sr. |
DL |
Ripon |
| Peter Casey |
Sr. |
DL |
UChicago |
| Kordell Draves |
So. |
DL |
St. Norbert |
| Will Utesch |
Jr. |
DL |
St. Norbert |
| Matt Barrett* |
Jr. |
LB |
St. Norbert |
| Matt Gurgone |
Jr. |
LB |
St. Norbert |
| Ben Kornowski^^ |
Sr. |
LB |
St. Norbert |
| Phil Wettersten* |
Sr. |
LB |
Macalester |
| Lane Barnes |
So. |
DB |
Ripon |
| Terrell Myers^ |
So. |
DB |
Lawrence |
| Hunter Prokash |
Sr. |
DB |
St. Norbert |
| Jeremy Vincent |
Jr. |
DB |
UChicago |
| North Division Second Team |
|
|
|
| Jacob Diny |
Jr. |
OL |
Ripon |
| Isaac Mears |
Jr. |
OL |
St. Norbert |
| Jeremiah Rein |
Jr. |
OL |
Ripon |
| Jake Karlicek^^ |
Jr. |
OL |
Beloit |
| Christian Adams |
Sr. |
QB |
Macalester |
| Ryan Sughroue |
Sr. |
TE |
Beloit |
| Wasonu Allen |
So. |
RB |
Lawrence |
| Julian Patton |
Fr. |
RB |
Ripon |
| Jamiel Garcia |
Fr. |
WR |
Beloit |
| Jamie Rieger |
Sr. |
WR |
UChicago |
| John Koeneman |
So. |
DL |
Lawrence |
| Stu Kwaterski^ |
Sr. |
DL |
St. Norbert |
| Vince Stensrud |
Sr. |
DL |
Ripon |
| Jackson Ross |
Fr. |
DL |
UChicago |
| Jake Gostisha*^ |
Sr. |
LB |
Lawrence |
| Hunter Gruenwald |
Sr. |
LB |
Ripon |
| Tyler Jensen* |
Sr. |
DB |
St. Norbert |
| Cash McGregor |
Sr. |
DB |
Macalester |
| Ryan Montgomery |
Fr. |
DB |
UChicago |
| Jack Schultenover^ |
Sr. |
DB |
Macalester |
| South Division First Team |
|
|
|
| Devon Brooks* |
Sr. |
OL |
Monmouth |
| Zach Heren |
So. |
OL |
Illinois College |
| Andrew Johnson*^ |
Sr. |
OL |
Lake Forest |
| Joe Krall |
So. |
OL |
Monmouth |
| Dom Parello |
Jr. |
OL |
Knox |
| Logan Thiele |
Sr. |
OL |
Monmouth |
| Jagan Cleary |
Jr. |
QB |
Lake Forest |
| Konnor O'Keefe |
Jr. |
TE |
Monmouth |
| Joey Biel |
So. |
K |
Monmouth |
| Garrett Rau |
So. |
P |
Knox |
| Devan Clark* |
Sr. |
RS |
Cornell |
| R.J. Pompey** |
Sr. |
ST |
Lake Forest |
| Joey Valdivia*^ |
Sr. |
RB |
Lake Forest |
| DeAndre Wright** |
Jr. |
RB |
Monmouth |
| Chris Edomwande |
Jr. |
WR |
Lake Forest |
| Kyle Obertino |
Sr. |
WR |
Illinois College |
| Yansay Williams^ |
Jr. |
WR |
Monmouth |
| Andrew Joseph^^ |
Sr. |
DL |
Cornell |
| Thomas Lesniewski** |
Jr. |
DL |
Monmouth |
| Lamar Watson^ |
Jr. |
DL |
Monmouth |
| J.W. Windsor |
So. |
DL |
Lake Forest |
| Johnny Laponte |
So. |
LB |
Lake Forest |
| Kyle Schultz^ |
Sr. |
LB |
Monmouth |
| Ryan Torrance* |
Sr. |
LB |
Illinois College |
| Ryne Daum |
Sr. |
DB |
Monmouth |
| R.J. Pompey |
Sr. |
DB |
Lake Forest |
| Steve Reyna |
Sr. |
DB |
Illinois College |
| Micam Smith** |
Sr. |
DB |
Monmouth |
| South Division Second Team |
|
|
|
| Austin Gruber |
So. |
OL |
Illinois College |
| Ethan Sheirer |
Jr. |
OL |
Lake Forest |
| Tom Steen^ |
Sr. |
OL |
Lake Forest |
| Bryson Whistance |
Sr. |
OL |
Cornell |
| Matt McCaffrey |
Sr. |
QB |
Knox |
| Noah Recker |
So. |
TE |
Lake Forest |
| Devan Clark* |
Sr. |
RB |
Cornell |
| Greg Cross |
Sr. |
RB |
Illinois College |
| Chase Allen |
Fr. |
WR |
Lake Forest |
| Zach Hoekstra |
Sr. |
DL |
Monmouth |
| Hector Mendoza |
Sr. |
DL |
Lake Forest |
| Jacob Paul^ |
Sr. |
DL |
Knox |
| Logan West |
Sr. |
DL |
Illinois College |
| Clark Gaden |
So. |
LB |
Monmouth |
| Ryan Slager^ |
Jr. |
LB |
Grinnell |
| Zach Yankovich |
Jr. |
LB |
Cornell |
| Trevor Bain |
Sr. |
DB |
Lake Forest |
| Evan Economos |
Jr. |
DB |
Knox |
| D.J. Frank |
Sr. |
DB |
Monmouth |
| Milton Spradley |
Jr. |
DB |
Cornell |
*Indicates Previous All-MWC First Team Selection
^Indicates Previous All-MWC Second Team Selection