Seven Thunder football players earn All-North Region honors from D3football.com

Wheaton, Ill. – Seven members of the Wheaton Thunder football team earned All-North Region honors from D3football.com on Tuesday. Five players from the Thunder defense earned All-Region recognition and two offensive players picked up the honor. Wheaton placed one player on the First Team unit, two on the Second Team and four on the Third Team.

Eric Stevenson, Wheaton's First Team selection, is a repeat honoree from the 2017 All-North Region Team after earning Third Team Recognition in 2017. Stevenson, the 2018 CCIW Don Larson Defensive Player of the Year is a two-time First Team All-CCIW honoree. Stevenson has a team-high 74 total tackles this fall, including 41 solo stops. It marks the third-consecutive season that he led the Wheaton defense in total tackles. The senior made 9.5 tackles for lost yardage (-29 yards), including two quarterback sacks (-13 yards). Stevenson is a finalist for the National Football Foundation's Campbell Trophy, which annually recognizes an individual as the best football scholar-athlete in the nation. The senior team captain is also a finalist for the Gagliardi Trophy, recognizing the top student-athlete in Division III football..

Dallas McRae and Tyler Sigler each earned Second Team All-North Region honors for their efforts on Wheaton's nationally ranked defense. McRae earned selection at defensive tackle as he tallied 41 total tackles in 2018, with 25 solo tackles. He made 8.5 tackles for loss (-45 yards), including five sacks (-36 yards). Sigler, a Third Team All-Region honoree in 2016, picked up Second Team honors this year at cornerback. The senior finished third on the Thunder defense with 50 total tackles this season, tying for the team lead with 41 solo tackles. Sigler, a First Team All-CCIW selection in 2016 and 2018, broke up three passes this year with one interception and a fumble recovery.

Two members of the Thunder defense earned Third Team All-Region recognition as Corey Kennedy and Patrick O'Connell earned selection to this year's team. This season's All-Region honor marks the third time in his career that O'Connell as received the award, earning Second Team honors in 2016 and 2017. The defensive end led the Thunder with 15 tackles for loss (-46 yards), including a team-high 5.5 sacks (-19 yards). O'Connell recorded 49 total tackles this season, including 29 solo stops. Kennedy, a safety, made 33 total tackles this season with 21 solo stops. The senior led Wheaton with three defensive touchdowns this season. He tied for the team lead with three interceptions (-177 yards), recovered three fumbles and had six passes broken up.

Two members of the Thunder offense earned All-Region honors as senior tight end Tyler Pace and junior tackle Clay Wagner each earned Third Team recognition. Pace was second among Thunder players in receptions with 30 catches this season for 392 yards. He averaged 13.1 yards per catch with a team-high seven touchdown receptions. Wagner was a key player on a Wheaton offensive line that has helped the Thunder average 448.3 yards per game this season, ranking second in the league in the category. Wheaton averaged 154.3 rushing yards per game and passed for 294.0 yards per game this season.

Originally published by Wheaton College Athletics: /news/2018/12/4/seven-thunder-football-players-earn-all-north-region-honors-from-d3football-com.aspx