FREELAND, Mich.--Seven Adrian College football student-athletes on Monday were named 2016 All-Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association, it was announced by MIAA Commissioner Penny Allen-Cook.
Junior offensive lineman Eric McDonel (Titusville, Fla./Astronaut High School) is a two-time all-conference pick, including to the first team this fall. On the defensive side of the ball, junior end Damon Fuller (Redford/Thurston HS) repeated on the first team and sophomore linebacker Chris Adams (St. Petersburg, Fla./Gibbs HS) improves on his second-team status last season by joining Fuller on the first unit.
Sophomore wide receivers Darius Philon (Winter Haven, Fla.) and Jerron McGaw (Indianapolis, Ind./Thomas Carr Howe HS) both made second-team All-MIAA Offense. Also on the All-MIAA second team were placekicker Cameron Cook (Linden High School), and punter Connor Storms (Flint/Carman Ainsworth HS), both juniors, on special teams.
A three-time All-MIAA standout, Fuller tied for the conference lead with 11-1/2 sacks--ranked fifth in NCAA Division III--for 65 yards during the regular season. Twenty of his 30 tackles went for loss of 95 yards. He recorded 56 total tackles and he forced a fumble. Fuller enters his senior year already second on the Adrian career sacks chart with 32.
Adams followed up his impressive freshman debut with career highs in tackles (38) and total stops (56). For the second straight season, he led the Bulldogs in passes defended with eight, including seven breakups. He also had 4-1/2 sacks (36 yards), nine tackles for loss (55 yards) and a forced fumble.
McDonel helped anchor an offensive line that paved the way for the most-successful aerial attack in the program's 100-plus year history. Three Bulldog quarterbacks threw for 2,632 yards to break the previous AC single-season benchmark of 2,463, set in 2009. He and his fellow O-line were named the Scoutware/D3football.com Team of the Week on Oct. 25 after they kept freshman quarterback Hunter Hamm upright in his first career start, not allowing a sack in a 31-13 win versus Kalamazoo, and the Bulldogs had almost 500 yards of total offense. Adrian allowed the second fewest sacks in the MIAA at 1.40, which also lists 51st in the nation.
Philon had a breakout season that included career highs of 61 receptions and 1,050 yards--tied for third and second in program history. He leads the MIAA with 17.2 yards per catch, is second in receiving yards and ranked third in both touchdowns (7) and receptions. On Nov. 8, he received D3football.com National Team of the Week accolades after grabbing 10 catches for 265 yards--five shy of an AC single-game record--with two touchdowns in a 44-37 loss to NCAA tournament-bound Olivet College.
McGaw, too, had a breakout campaign that included 55 receptions, 662 yards and five TDs. Behind Philon, McGaw was second on the team in all-purpose yards--84.3 per game--after rushing for 41 yards on 10 carries and returning 11 kickoffs for 140.
Cook has been among the national leaders in field goals and field goal percentage for most of the year. He tied for the team lead with 42 points. Currently, he lists third in field goals (21) and eighth in total points (143) in school history. On Sep. 6, Cook was cited by the MIAA and D3football.com Special Team Player of the Week after he converted all three field goals (41, 46 and 24 yards) and all three extra points during Adrian's 30-28 season-opening comeback win at Pacific-Ore. The criminal justice major booted a career-long 49-yard field goal.
Storms is a two-time MIAA Special Teams of the Week choice (Oct. 3, 10) and he also was recognized nationally by D3football.com on Oct. 10. He averaged 41.4 yards on 44 punts, good for second in the MIAA. He also ranked second in the conference with 14 punts that landed inside the 20. His career year also saw him have a conference-best 70-yarder versus Hope. The criminal justice major has 5,518 career punting yards--fifth on the all-time list at Adrian.
#AdrianBulldogs #GoDawgs #GDTBAB