Nov 15, 2011

Thunder football team places 11 student-athletes on the All-CCIW Football Team

Football

11/15/2011 3:56:00 PM

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COMPLETE 2011 ALL-CCIW TEAM

Wheaton, Ill. – The College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) announced its All-Conference football team on Tuesday, with 11 members of the Wheaton College football team earning selections. Wheaton players earned six First Team honors with six Thunder honorees on the Second Team. Six of Wheaton's All-Conference selections were on the defensive side of the ball, with four on offense and two on special teams. Wheaton posted an 8-2 record this season with a 5-2 mark in conference play.

Thunder quarterback Garrett Meador was the CCIW's First Team honoree at the position and was also recognized as the recipient of the Art Keller Offensive Player of the Year award. Meador posted the second-highest completion percentage in school history this year with a mark of 65.2%, completing 227 of his 348 passing attempts. He threw for 2,852 yards, with 28 touchdown passes. In CCIW play, Meador completed 64.6% (168-260) of his passing attempts for 2,119 yards with 19 touchdowns. His 2,119 passing yards in league games is the seventh-highest single-season total in CCIW history.

Wide receivers Teddy Watkins (PICTURED LEFT ABOVE) and Mark Hiben join Meador as First Team All-Conference picks on offense. Watkins led the Thunder with 775 receiving yards this season, on 62 receptions and nine touchdown catches. In conference play, the senior led the CCIW with 43 receptions for 585 yards, with eight touchdown catches. Watkins also was a First Team All-Conference honoree as a return specialist. He returned 23 kickoffs this season, averaging 27.6 yards per return and he averaged 8.9 yards per punt returns this year on nine returns. In conference play, Watkins averaged a league-best 31.3 yards per kickoff return as he returned 14 kickoffs for 438 yards.

Hiben (PICTURED RIGHT) becomes the first freshman for Wheaton to earn All-CCIW honors since Pete Ittersagen '08 was an All-Conference defensive back pick in 2005. Hiben averaged 16.5 yards per reception this season with 38 catches for 628 yards and eight touchdown catches. He led the CCIW with an average of 95.5 yards per game in six league contests as he caught 34 passes for 574 yards, with eight touchdowns against conference foes.

Senior placekicker Scott Roche (PICTURED LEFT) was a First Team All-CCIW honoree at kicker. Roche led Wheaton in scoring this fall with 74 points as he converted 13 of his 16 field goal attempts. In CCIW contests he made seven of his nine field goal attempts.

Senior safety Brian McMullen (PICTURED RIGHT) picked up First Team recognition at defensive back, earning All-Conference honors for the third consecutive year. McMullen recorded 36 total tackles this season, including 29 solo stops and three interceptions. In CCIW action, he made 26 total tackles, with an interception.

Sophomore Nolan Randall was a Second Team All-CCIW pick on the offensive line. The starter at left tackle keyed a Thunder offense that averaged 454.6 yards of offense per game, with a league-best 294.3 passing yards per game and 127.6 rushing yards a game.

Thunder linebackers Jordan Chapman (PICTURED LEFT) and Richard Jacobson (PICTURED RIGHT) each earned Second Team All-CCIW accolades. Chapman, a two-time All-CCIW honoree, made a team-high 56 total tackles this season, including five tackles for lost yardage (-13 yards). He also led Wheaton with 39 total tackles in conference play. Jacobson recorded 32 total tackles this year, including 20 solo stops. He posted seven tackles for lost yardage (-27 yards).

Three Thunder defensive linemen earned Second Team All-CCIW recognition, as senior defensive ends JD East (PICTURED LEFT) and Robert Ramsay (PICTURED RIGHT) join sophomore defensive tackle Brandon Dykstra. East tallied 36 total tackles this season, including a team-best 8-1/2 tackles for lost yardage (-37 yards), including 4-1/2 quarterback sacks (-31 yards). Ramsay was second on the team with 42 total tackles, including seven tackles for lost yardage and four quarterback sacks. Dykstra made 38 total tackles this season, including three for lost yardage (-16 yards), with 2-1/2 sacks.

Originally published by Wheaton College Athletics: /news/2011/11/15/FB_cciw.aspx