Wheaton leads the D3football.com All-North Region Team with 10 selections; Dallas McRae honored as Defensive Player of the Year

Wheaton, Ill. – The Wheaton Thunder football team placed 10 players on the 2019 D3football.com All-North Region Team on Tuesday, the most of any program in the North Region of Division III. Six players from the Thunder defense earned All-Region recognition, three offensive players picked up the honor, with one special teams honoree. Wheaton placed four players on the First Team unit, five on the Second Team and one on the Third Team.

Dallas McRae earned special recognition from the website as the North Region Defensive Player of the Year. He is the third Wheaton player to be named the North Region Defensive Player of the Year by the website, joining Andy Studebaker (2006) and Pete Ittersagen (2008). A First Team All-Region selection, McRae is earning All-Region for the second-consecutive year, after earning Second Team honors in 2018. McRae; a defensive tackle, led Division III's top-ranked defense this season with 18.5 tackles for loss (-102 yards), including 8.5 quarterback sacks (-72 yards). He recorded 52 total tackles this season, including 36 solo stops. McRae registered a team-high eight quarterback hurries, forced one fumble and recovered a fumble.

McRae was joined on the All-North Region First Team by three members of the Wheaton defense: defensive end Patrick O'Connell, linebacker Ryan Schwartz and cornerback Spencer Rowland. O'Connell is a four-time All-North Region selection by D3football.com, earning Second Team All-Region honors in 2016 and 2017, with a Third Team pick in 2018. He registered 11 tackles for loss this season (-47 yards), including six quarterback sacks (-32 yards). The senior tallied 40 total tackles, including 28 solo hits.

Schwartz led the Wheaton defense this year with 80 total tackles, including 57 solo stops. The linebacker had six tackles for loss (-25 yards), including one quarterback sack (-8 yards). He had two interceptions, forced one fumble and recovered one fumble. Rowland tied for Wheaton's team lead in interceptions this season with four picks returned for 65 yards. He recorded 36 total tackles, including 29 solos. Rowland led the Thunder with 18 passes defended and broke up a team-high 14 passes.

The Wheaton offense produced three Second Team All-North Region selections: receiver Adam Terrini, center Jake Hibben and guard Gabriel McGill. Terrini led Wheaton with 1,013 receiving yards this season on 61 receptions. He averaged 16.6 yards per catch and had a team-best 12 touchdown catches. Hibben and McGill anchored a Wheaton offensive line this season that averaged 483.8 yards per game to rank 10th in Division III in total offense. Wheaton ran for 219.5 rushing yards per game and averaged 262.8 yards per game.

Two Wheaton defensive players earned All-North Region Second Team recognition: defensive tackle Jake Holaday and safety Corey Kennedy. Holaday, a junior, ranked third on the Thunder defense with 63 total tackles, including 34 solos. He recorded 15 tackles for loss (-50 yards), including 5.5 quarterback sacks (-33 yards). Kennedy earns All-Region recognition for the second-consecutive year, following Third Team honors in 2018. Kennedy tied Rowland for Wheaton's team lead in interceptions this season as he had four picks, returning them a total of 108 yards. Kennedy was second on the team with 11 passes defended, including seven passes broken up. He made 35 total tackles, including 24 solos and three tackles for lost yardage (-9 yards).

Kicker Griffin Bowes was a Third Team All-North Region selection. Bowes was 11-of-17 on field goal attempts this season, including a season-best kick of 46 yards. He led the Thunder with 108 points this season, making 75 of his 79 point after attempts on the year.

Originally published by Wheaton College Athletics: /news/2019/12/10/wheaton-leads-the-d3football-com-all-north-region-team-with-10-selections-dallas-mcrae-honored-as-defensive-player-of-the-year.aspx