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South Dakota State University Athletics
Eight Jackrabbits named to GWFC First Team
11/20/2007 2:00:00 AM | Football
Great West Football Conference champion South Dakota State placed eight players on the all-conference first team and head coach John Stiegelmeier was selected as GWFC Coach of the Year by league coaches Tuesday.
Among the Jackrabbit first-team honorees were three-time honorees Parker Douglass and Mitch Erickson.
Douglass, a senior kicker from Columbus, Neb., led the league in field goals with 16 and finished second in scoring among the league's kickers with 90 points. The GWFC Special Teams Player of the Year in both 2005 and 2006, Douglass set 19 school records, including most career field goals (62) and points by a kicker (321).
Erickson, a senior offensive lineman from Hutchinson, Minn., anchored a Jackrabbit offensive line that helped produce averages of 34.2 points and 362.5 yards per game. Erickson, who started all 44 collegiate games in which he played at either guard or tackle, also was an honorable mention selection in 2004.
Also honored on the first-team offense was senior running back Cory Koenig. A second-team selection in 2005, Koenig ranked second in the GWFC for rushing during the 2007 campaign, tallying 1,266 yards with 15 touchdowns. The Underwood, Iowa, native posted six 100-yard games during the 2007 season, including each of the four league games ? the only GWFC player to accomplish the feat ? with a career-high of 259 yards Oct. 20 versus Cal Poly.
Five Jackrabbit players received first-team recognition on the defensive side of the ball, including linebacker Justin Kubesh, who moved up from the second team in 2006. Kubesh, a senior from Olivia, Minn., ranked third on the team and fourth in the league in tackles with 95, an average of 8.6 per game. He also recorded one sack for the SDSU defense that led the league in scoring defense.
Fellow linebacker Jimmy Rogers also earned first-team recognition after leading the league with 110 tackles. The sophomore from Chandler, Ariz., also forced two fumbles and intercepted two passes as he made a successful transition from safety during the 2007 campaign.
Sophomore defensive end Danny Batten received first-team honors with a strong sophomore season in which he tallied 12 tackles for loss and 4 1/2 sacks among his 67 tackles. A native of Gilbert, Ariz., Batten also recovered a pair of fumbles.
The Jackrabbit secondary was represented by senior cornerbacks Tyler Koch and Brock Gentile. Koch, a White Lake native, led the team with seven interceptions, three of which he returned for touchdowns. He also ranked seventh on the team with 64 tackles.
Gentile, from Council Bluffs, Iowa, intercepted three passes ? including one that sealed the GWFC title ? and broke up seven other passes. He also recorded 49 tackles in 10 games.
Stiegelmeier, in his 11th season as Jackrabbit head coach, led SDSU to its first conference title since 1963. He has guided the Jackrabbits through a successful four-year transition from the NCAA Division II level to the Division I Football Championship Subdivision, turning in a winning record each season and the last six overall, including back-to-back 7-4 campaigns. His career record as a head coach ? all at South Dakota State ? is 68-51 (.571 winning percentage).
Seven other Jackrabbit players received second-team recognition, including repeat selection JaRon Harris and Preston Crumly. A junior wide receiver from Sioux Falls, Harris led the team with 40 receptions for 664 yards and seven touchdowns before being slowed late in the season by injury.
Crumly, a senior from Hartington, Neb., completed his third year as the starting left tackle for a Jackrabbit team that allowed only12 sacks ? the fewest in the league.
Other members of the second-team offense were tight end Chris Wagner and center Kevin Robling. Wagner, a first-team selection in 2006, finished third on the team with 25 catches, good for 249 yards and four touchdowns.
Robling, a junior from Jordan, Minn., started all 11 games.
Defensively, three other Jackrabbit players were honored on the second team, including senior defensive lineman Mitch Pontrelli. A second-team selection in 2006 and an honorable mention pick in 2005, the St. Paul, Minn., native closed out his collegiate career by posting 56 tackles, including 8 1/2 for loss and five sacks.
Eric Schroeder, a junior defensive lineman from Stewartville, Minn., was a second-team selection despite leading the league with 13 1/2 tackles for loss and ranking third with a team-high 6 1/2 sacks. Schroeder also ranked in a tie for fourth place on the team with 68 tackles.
The final second-team honoree was linebacker Chris Johnson, who finished second on both the team and in the GWFC with 106 tackles. Johnson, a sophomore from Council Bluffs, Iowa, notched double figures in tackles six times, including each of the last three games.
Also receiving conference accolades was junior offensive lineman Nick Flesner, who was named to the honorable mention squad.
A full listing of the all-conference teams can be downloaded below.
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