Four Teams Garner Major GLVC Football Awards For First Time Ever

11/19/2014 3:41:25 PM

Jeff Smith, Assistant Commissioner

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INDIANAPOLIS – For the first time in the three-year history of Great Lakes Valley Conference football, representatives from four league teams have earned major postseason awards, it was announced by the league office Wednesday.  University of Indianapolis redshirt junior wide receiver Reece Horn and senior kicker Scott Miller were voted by the conference coaches as the GLVC Offensive Player and Special Teams Player of the Year, respectively, while McKendree University sophomore lineman Lucky Baar was picked as GLVC Defensive Player of the Year, and Quincy University newcomer Chris Harris was chosen GLVC Freshman of the Year.  William Jewell College head coach Jerod Kruse was voted by his peers as GLVC Coach of the Year.  In addition, 71 standouts earned All-Conference accolades while another 27 were named Honorable Mention.

Horn helped lead UIndy to its third straight GLVC Championship this season by pacing the conference’s receiving contingent.  In eight GLVC games played, Horn ranked first among league receivers in total receptions (55), touchdowns (9), and receptions per game (6.9), while placing second in total receiving yards (856) and receiving yards per game (128.5).  He ranked sixth overall in all-purpose yardage average (128.1) and eighth among conference scorers in points scored (54).  In two consecutive weeks this season, Horn pulled in three touchdowns in wins against Quincy (Oct. 4) and McKendree (Oct. 11).  Four of his five 100-yard receiving performances this year came in conference play, highlighted by the two aforementioned games in which he hauled in 197 and 175 yards, respectively.  Horn was an integral part to the UIndy offense that led the conference in total offense (476.6) and scoring (38.4), and was second in passing offense (261.6).  The Carmel, Indiana, native continues the UIndy sweep of the league’s major offensive award, as he now joins the select company of former teammates Mar’Quone Edmonds, the 2012 honoree, and 2013 winner Klay Fiechter.  The Greyhound wideout was also one of eight unanimous first-team All-Conference selections, marking the second consecutive season he has been named All-GLVC First Team. 

Baar recorded one of the most impressive performances in both school and conference history as he shattered the league’s overall sacks and tackles-for-loss records during the final stretch of his conference schedule.  The Chicago, Illinois, native finished the season with 26.5 tackles for loss and 18 sacks.  Baar had just one-half of a sack during the Bearcats’ 0-6 start, but would go on to record 17.5 sacks during the team’s five-game winning streak to end the season in a four-way tie for second place in the GLVC at 5-3.  In conference games only this year, Baar turned in the top-three performances in sacks with a GLVC record 5.5 sacks at Southwest Baptist on Oct. 18.  Two weeks later, Baar notched 4.5 sacks against William Jewell, and then tacked on another 4.0 sacks in the win at Quincy just this past week.  Against William Jewell on Nov. 1, Baar set a new GLVC record with 6.0 tackles for loss, just two weeks after tying the previous league record of 5.5 in the road win at Southwest Baptist.  On a national level, Baar leads all of NCAA Division II with 1.64 sacks per game and is third in the country with 2.4 TFLs each time out.  His top-two sacks outputs and his 6.0 TFL effort against William Jewell are also tops in the country this season.  The three-time GLVC Defensive Player of the Week honoree, who also forced a team-leading three fumbles on the year, was unanimously selected by the coaches as one of five defensive linemen on the All-GLVC First Team.  A second-team honoree a year ago, Baar is the first McKendree football standout to have ever earned a major postseason award from the Conference office.

Two years removed from earning the league’s first-ever GLVC Special Teams Player of the Year award in 2012, UIndy’s Miller earned the respect of the conference coaches this season in unanimous fashion.  In the eight league games in which he played, Miller ranked second in total points scored (77) and third in points per game (9.6), while finishing the league slate 14-of-18 (77.8) in field goals and a perfect 35-for-35 (100.0) in point-after-touchdown attempts, with both kicking percentages tops in the conference.  Overall this season, Miller’s 80.0 field-goal percentage ranks 12th nationally, while his 1.45 field goals per game average is 11th best.  Earlier this season, the unanimous first-team All-GLVC selection was a back-to-back GLVC Special Teams Player of the Week honoree (Nov. 3, Nov. 10), as he was honored for his overtime heroics in leading UIndy past Saint Joseph’s in the 36-33 four-overtime win before a nationally-televised audience on CBS Sports Network.  The Indianapolis, Indiana, native is now among select company in conference history.  He is the first standout to repeat as a major award winner, he joins former teammate Klay Fiechter (2013 Offensive & Special Teams Player of the Year) as the only players to win more than one major postseason award, and teams with McKendree’s Cameron James as the only players to have earned four All-Conference distinctions in the last three years.  Miller has been a first-team All-GLVC kicker the past three years and was also recognized as a second-team punter last year. 

Harris was also a unanimous selection by the conference coaches as the league’s Freshman of the Year.  In his eight conference games, Harris was first among GLVC scorers with 13 touchdowns, fourth in carries (150), and fifth in total yardage (748) and yards per game (102.3 yards per game.  The Springfield, Illinois, native grabbed national attention on Oct. 11 as he rushed for a school and GLVC-record seven touchdowns in a 59-34 win over Southwest Baptist.  He averaged 9.1 yards per carry, rushing 24 times for 218 yards, which are the third-most in league history. His touchdown runs were for 2, 6, 1, 14, 6, 9 and 93 yards, the last of which is a GLVC record. He was one rushing touchdown shy of the NCAA Division II record of eight, which has occurred just once. The seven total touchdowns and 42 points also established Quincy and GLVC single-game records.  The second-team All-GLVC running back is the first Quincy football standout to earn one of the league’s major postseason awards.

Kruse becomes the first conference mentor outside of 2012 and 2013 GLVC Coach of the Year Bob Bartolomeo of Indianapolis to be honored as the league’s top coach.  Having just completed his fifth season in Liberty, Missouri, with a 22-42 overall record, Kruse guided his Cardinals to a 5-6 record this season with all five wins coming in conference play to earn them a four-way share of second place at 5-3.  In the past two GLVC seasons, Kruse’s Cardinals yielded just three wins in 12 league contests, however at the halfway point of the 2014 campaign, Jewell was a perfect 4-0 in conference action and tied atop the standings with UIndy.  Jewell, which earned just 14 points and was picked by the league coaches to finish last among nine teams in the GLVC Preseason Poll, finished the year with a 27-24 road win at three-time GLVC Champion Indianapolis – a team that was a perfect 22-0 in conference play entering the regular-season finale.  Under Kruse’s direction, 11 Cardinals earned All-Conference distinction this season, including offensive lineman Brandon Klewer, utility man Glen Whitney, and secondary standout Quinlan Riser.     

A total of 36 student-athletes were selected to the first-team All-Conference squad to make room for one additional offensive lineman due to a tie.  A full slate of 35 honorees were named to the second team, while 27 selections garnered honorable mention accolades.  A standard GLVC All-Conference squad is comprised of a quarterback, three running backs, four wide receivers, one tight end, six offensive linemen, one offensive utility, one defensive utility, five defensive linemen, five linebackers, five defensive backs, a kicker, punter, and one return specialist.

In addition to Horn, Baar and Miller, five other first-team selections were picked unanimously.  UIndy’s John Strickland earned his second straight unanimous honor at defensive back, while his teammate Rob Dury also garnered attention from all the coaches at his linebacker position.  Other unanimous picks included Truman State University senior tight end Chico Orlando, Missouri S&T senior defensive back Will Brown, and Lincoln University senior return specialists Morris Henderson.

UIndy led all teams with nine first-team honorees, followed by Saint Joseph’s with six and Missouri S&T and Truman State with three each.  Each of the nine GLVC programs had at least one representative on the All-GLVC First Team.

A complete list of the 2014 GLVC All-Conference honorees follows:

2014 GLVC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR:  Reece Horn, WR, R-Jr., Indianapolis
2014 GLVC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR:  Lucky Baar, DL, So., McKendree
2014 GLVC SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR:  Scott Miller, P/PK, Sr., Indianapolis #
2014 GLVC FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR:  Chris Harris, RB, R-Fr., Quincy #
2014 GLVC COACH OF THE YEAR:  Jerod Kruse, William Jewell

FIRST-TEAM ALL-GLVC QB - Willie Tindal, Sr., SBU RB - Braxton Shelton, Sr., SJC RB - Matt Ripp, R-Sr., UINDY RB - Garrett White, Sr., TSU WR - Reece Horn, R-Jr., UINDY # WR - Melvin Stovall, Sr., S&T WR - Khiry Draine, R-Jr., LU WR - Nathan Mourik,  Jr., SBU TE - Chico Orlando, Sr., TSU # *OL - Hayden Janney, R-So., UINDY *OL - Chris Massaro, R-Jr., UINDY *OL - Derrik Starrett, Jr., MCK *OL - Forrestal Hickman, Sr., S&T *OL - Brad Wellman, So., TSU *OL - Brandon Klewer, R-Jr., WJC *OL - Jakob Styla, R-Sr., SJC O-UT - Glen Whitney, Sr., WJC D-UT - Sheldon Martin, Sr., SJC DL - Lee Campbell, Jr., UINDY DL - Lucky Baar, So., MCK # DL - Daleroy Davey, Sr., S&T DL - Viavia Manuma, Jr., SBU DL - Davon Walls, R-Jr., LU LB - Gary Yeoman, Sr., SJC LB - Rob Dury, So., UINDY # LB – A.J. Wentland, So., MCK LB - Ike Onike, Sr., QU LB - Joel Wimbley, Jr., SJC DB - John Strickland, Sr., UINDY # DB - Koby Orris, Sr., UINDY DB - Quinlan Riser, Sr., WJC DB - Will Brown, Sr., S&T # DB - Drew Byrd, Sr., SJC PK - Scott Miller, Sr., UINDY # KR - Morris Henderson, Sr., LU # P - Jacob Lamp, Sr., TSU

SECOND-TEAM ALL-GLVC QB - Connor Barthel, R-Jr., UINDY RB - Morris Henderson, Sr., LU RB - Trejuan Mask, Fr., WJC RB – Chris Harris, Fr., QU WR - Cameron James, Jr., MCK WR - EJ Woody, R-Jr., SJC WR - Kendrick Payne, Fr., SBU WR - Anthony Mullins, So., WJC TE - Tyler Callaghan, Sr., SJC OL - Jordan Bedan, R-So., UINDY OL - Ben Harrington, Jr., MCK OL - Eli Thom, Jr., QU OL - Scott Vaughn, Sr., SJC OL - Brandon Good, R-Sr., SJC OL - Jimmy Schmitzer, Jr., SBU O-UT - Greg Eilerman, Jr., QU D-UT - Glen Whitney, Sr., WJC DL - Cameron Ford, Sr., MCK DL - Brett Pearman, Jr., MCK DL - Nick Reichert, Jr., TSU DL - Nic Abbate, Sr., TSU DL - Marqus Moye, R-So., WJC LB - Kareem Joyner, R-Jr., LU LB - Nick Kruse, Sr., S&T LB - Dan Camp, Sr., QU LB - Matthew Bell, Sr., TSU LB - Jimmy DeStefano, R-Jr., WJC DB - Robert Daniels, Jr., LU DB - Chris McKay, Sr., S&T DB - Austin Zoda, So., TSU DB - Chris Stanton, So., TSU DB - Antion McBee, Jr., SBU P - Julio Segura, Sr., LU K - Steven O’Block, So., MCK KR/PR - Cameron James, Jr., MCK

HONORABLE MENTION QB - Isaac Fisher, Jr., MCK QB - Nick Lonergan, Jr., QU RB – Kobi Cook, Jr., SJC WR - Leon Moody, Sr., S&T OL - Casey Krohne, So., MCK OL - Kyle Lomprez, Sr., QU TE - Owen Schoenenberger, R-Fr., QU O-UT – Mike Anderson, So., SJC O-UT - Owen Jordan, Jr., LU O-UT - Connor Still, Fr., SBU DL - Tommy Taylor, So., UINDY DL - Dan Mauszycki, Sr., S&T DL - Josip Juric, Jr., S&T DL - Darius Carey, R-So., QU DL - Tanner Day, R-So., QU LB - Jake Grossnickle, R-So., UINDY LB - Paul Dodson, R-Jr., LU LB - Darryl Battles, So., SBU DB - Thomas Clanton, Sr., WJC PK - Gavin Voss, Jr., SJC PK - John Colliver, Sr., SBU P - Pavel Polochanin, Sr., UINDY P - Marcin Gawlak, R-So., SJC P - Zane Kitchell, Jr., WJC KR - Derek Hammann, So., TSU KR/PR - Anthony Mullins, So., WJC KR/PR - Thomas Cook, Jr., Jr., WJC # Unanimous Selection * Additional player due to tie