Dec 5, 2011

Four Thunder players earn All-Region honors from D3football.com; Meador named Offensive Player of the Year

Michael Hudson Photography

Football

12/5/2011 11:41:00 PM

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COMPLETE 2011 D3FOOTBALL.COM ALL-REGION TEAM

Wheaton, Ill. – Four members of the Wheaton College football team have been named to D3football.com's All-North Region Team for 2011. Quarterback Garrett Meador and kicker Scott Roche each earned First Team All-Region accolades, while receiver Teddy Watkins was a Second Team pick and defensive end JD East earned Third Team honors. In addition to his first team recognition, Meador was named the website's "Offensive Player of the Year." Wheaton posted an 8-2 record this season with a 5-2 mark in conference play.

Meador posted an outstanding season and earlier this fall was honored as the CCIW's Art Keller Offensive Player of the Year, with First Team All-CCIW recognition. 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. He ranked 13th in Division III in passing efficiency (156.60) and 17th in total offense (292.50). 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. Meador is the first Wheaton player to earn the website's top regional award on offense since the recognition began in 2005. He is the third player from Wheaton to be a regional player of the year, joining 2006 North Region Defensive Player of the Year Andy Studebaker and 2008 North Region Defensive Player of the Year Pete Ittersagen.

Roche (PICTURED RIGHT), a First Team All-CCIW honoree at kicker, led Wheaton in scoring this fall with 74 points as he converted 13 of his 16 field goal attempts. He finished the 2011 season ranked 11th in Division III in field goals per game. Roche's 40 career field goals is a Wheaton school record and is 12th all-time in Division III history. Roche is one of only 17 players in the history of Division III football to convert at least 40 field goals in a career.

Teddy Watkins (PICTURED LEFT) , A First Team All-CCIW selection at wide receiver, led the Thunder with 775 receiving yards this season, on 62 receaptions and nine touchdown catches. In conference play, the senior led the CCIW with 43 receptions for 585 yards, with eight touchdown catches. He led the CCIW in receptions per game (6.2 RPG) and also led the league with 164.8 all-purpose yards per game, a figure that ranked him 17th in Division III in the category.

JD East (PICTURED RIGHT) tallied 36 total tackles at defensive end for the Thunder this season. He registered a team-best 8-1/2 tackles for lost yardage (-37 yards), including 4-1/2 quarterback sacks (-31 yards) over Wheaton's 10 games of his senior campaign.

Originally published by Wheaton College Athletics: /news/2011/12/5/FB_1206111520.aspx