Press release

ROCK HILL, S.C. —  For the second straight year, Limestone QB Dustin Noller and Wingate DL Marquise Fleming have been named the South Atlantic Conference’s Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year as the SAC announced its award winners and All-Conference teams.

A.L. Brown grad Erwil Anthony (Wingate) brought home one of the biggest awards, the Jacob Blocking Trophy that goes to the SAC’s top offensive lineman.

Andrew Bradshaw (Carson) was named as the long snapper on the All-Mountain Division team.

Joining Noller and Fleming as award winners are Carson-Newman’s OL Turk Daniels who is the Offensive Freshman of the Year and Barton’s LB E’Lla Boykin as the league’s Defensive Freshman of the Year. Wingate’s Erwil Anthony brings home the Jacobs Blocking Trophy award and Wingate head coach Rashaan Jordan is the Ken Sparks Coach of the Year.

Noller threw for 3,104 yards on the season and had 30 touchdown passes to just six interceptions as the Saints went 8-3. The 30 TD passes rank as the eighth-most in a single season in SAC history and he ranks 14th in most passing yards for a season. He finishes his esteemed career with 96 touchdown passes which places him third in SAC history. He is one of just four players in SAC history to repeat as Offensive Player of the Year.

Fleming led is just the third player in SAC history to repeat as Defensive Player of the Year and the first since Stanley Tootoo in 1981 and 1982. His eight sacks are the most in the conference and he also paces the league with 19.5 tackles for loss which are four more than any other SAC player. He totaled seven QB hurries and a pair of forced fumbles. For his career, his 71.5 tackles for loss are the fourth-most in conference history and his 37 sacks are just one shy of tying the all-time SAC record.

Daniels is the first Carson-Newman offensive lineman to start every game in his rookie season. He set a school record for single-season knockdowns with 68 which was nine more than any other player. He helped an Eagle offense that ran for a SAC-best 273 yards per game and 34 touchdowns on the ground. The Eagles are the third-best rushing offense in Division II.

Boykin finished fourth on the Bulldogs with 55 total tackles despite missing a pair of games in his first year. He recorded 23 solo stops, 3,5 tackles for loss and one sack to go with an interception and a pass breakup.

Anthony is the best offensive lineman on the SAC Championship team and helped the Bulldogs rank fourth in the SAC in rushing and fifth in scoring while starting every game. Wingate has now won the Jacobs Blocking Trophy in three of the past four years.

Jordan is the Coach of the Year after just his first season at the helm. He took over for legendary leader Joe Reich and the Bulldogs didn’t miss a step. He guided the program to its fourth SAC title and the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Playoffs. His defensive unit ranked second in the nation in yards allowed per game and fifth in fewest points allowed per game. In the SAC Championship game, they held Carson-Newman to just 84 yards of total offense on 45 plays.

Emory & Henry led the way with a staggering 15 All-Conference selections between the All-SAC and All-Mountain Division teams. The secondary, which helped E&H lead the nation in interceptions and defensive touchdowns, had five All-Conference selections. Carson-Newman had 11 named All-Conference and Wingate, Limestone and Lenoir-Rhyne had 10 selections each.

 ALL-SAC FOOTBALL

ALL-SAC OFFENSE

QB – Dustin Noller, Limestone

RB – LJ Turner, Catawba

RB – Kevin Lalin, Limestone

RB – Jordan Jackson, Emory & Henry

WR – DJ Black, Limestone

WR – Cam Abshire, Emory & Henry

WR – Songa Yates III, Lenoir-Rhyne

OL –  Erwil Anthony, Wingate

OL –  Avery Swinton, Catawba

OL –  Porfirio Acosta, Wingate

OL –  Kanyon James, Catawba

OL – Deshaun Sharp, Emory & Henry

TE –  Tre Williams, Limestone

PK – Bryce Earley, Newberry

LS – Carson Keaton, Lenoir-Rhyne    

RS – Songa Yates III, Lenoir-Rhyne

ALL-SAC  DEFENSE

DL – Marquise Fleming, Wingate

DL – Andre Jefferson, Lenoir-Rhyne

DL – Daniel Morrison, Wingate

DL – Kai Russell, Wingate

LB – Dontorian Best, Wingate

LB – Dexter Fitzpatrick, Mars Hill

LB –  Luke Janack, Limestone

LB –  Kaleb Lundy, Emory & Henry

DB – Tristan Rankin, Mars Hill

DB – Major Williams, Carson-Newman

DB – Nic Cheeley, Lenoir-Rhyne

DB – Jarrell Harrison, Emory & Henry

P –   Stefaan Forbes, Tusculum

ALL- MOUNTAIN OFFENSE

QB –  JR Martin, Mars Hill

RB –  Jayden Sullins, Carson-Newman

RB –  Jon Gullette, Mars Hill

RB –  Ian Scammell, Virginia-Wise

WR – Cam Peoples, Emory & Henry

WR – Seth Fischbach, Virginia-Wise

WR – Jalon Warthen-Carr, Anderson

OL –   Turk Daniels, Carson-Newman

OL –   Christian Jones, Carson-Newman

OL –   Adrian Gumm, Tusculum

OL –   Noah Sage, Emory & Henry

OL –   Kamron Burris, Anderson

TE – Beau DeBerry, Mars Hill

PK – Trace Butcher, Emory & Henry   

LS –  Andrew Bradshaw, Carson-Newman

RS – Cam Peoples, Emory & Henry

ALL- MOUNTAIN DEFENSE

DL – Elijah Harper, Emory & Henry

DL – Ean Rhea, Emory & Henry

DL –  Sakarri Morrison, Mars Hill

DL –  Jacorey Long, Carson-Newman

LB –  Christian Hicks, Carson-Newman

LB –   Jerrod Woods, Anderson

LB –  Mekhi Brown, Carson-Newman

LB –  Josiah Jeffery, Anderson

DB – Jacob Robinson, Emory & Henry

DB – Shawn Collins, Emory & Henry

DB – Addison Knicely, Emory & Henry

DB – Chendrick Cann, Emory & Henry

P –  Grayson Campbell, Carson-Newman

ALL- PIEDMONT OFFENSE

QB – Brooks Bentley, Wingate

RB –  O’Brien Barnett, Wingate

RB –   Dwayne Wright, Newberry

RB –   Jackson Parrish, Barton

WR – Jalen Jones, Limestone

WR – Evan McCray, Wingate

WR – Adonis McDaniel, Lenoir-Rhyne

OL –   Dallas Foard, Catawba

OL –   Damari Joyner, Newberry

OL –   Christopher Wehnert, Lenoir-Rhyne

OL –   Luke Bond, Limestone

OL –   Cooper Trnavsky, Newberry

TE – Kobe Christian, Catawba

PK – Caleb Bonesteel, Wingate

LS – Everett McLaughlin, Wingate

RS – Jake Snapp, Wingate

ALL- PIEDMONT DEFENSE

DL – Colby Taylor, Newberry

DL –  Maddox Aprile, Lenoir-Rhyne

DL –  Darius Randolph, Wingate

DL –  JT Black, Lenoir-Rhyne

LB –  Jaelin Willis, Lenoir-Rhyne

LB –   Matt Smith, Barton

LB –   Dereck Barringer, Barton

LB –   Luke Taylor, Newberry

DB – Brandon Perry, Wingate

DB –  Dequan Mosley, Wingate

DB –  Mark Burks, Wingate

DB –  Jeremiah Lomax, Limestone

P –  Bryan Frey, Limestone