A total of seven Siena Heights football players were named to the All-Mid-States Football Association Mideast League First Team while Jim Lyall was honored as MSFA Mideast Head Coach of the Year and Matt Kohn was recognized as MSFA Mideast Assistant Coach of the Year, as announced by the league on Thursday.
All-MSFA Mideast First Team players include six seniors: tight end Donovan Campbell, offensive lineman Gauge Aebersold, return specialist Raphael Dunson, linebacker Trent Bragg and defensive linemen Kyle Connors and C.J. Marious; and redshirt-freshman defensive back Darius Price.
Other honorees include four Second Team performers and three honorable mentions.
Junior Reggie Blackmon was selected to the Second Team as both a wide receiver and return specialist. Senior offensive lineman Jake Helsel, junior linebacker Nic Acton and sophomore defensive back Cha'Quan D. Love were also named to the Second Team.
Senior defensive lineman Jordan Martin, senior linebacker Tyler Karcher and junior quarterback Travis Zajkowski were honorable mentions.
Campbell finished with 41 receptions for 548 yards and two touchdowns in 2014. He is now a three-time member of the First Team.
Dunson had 22 kickoff returns for 557 yards and one TD, finishing with a 25.3-yard average. He is now a four-time honoree; he was an honorable mention wide receiver as a junior and, as a sophomore, received three honors: honorable mention wide receiver, honorable mention return specialist and Second Team running back.
Aebersold, Bragg and Connors are players who taste first-team accolades for the first time after receiving previous MSFA mentions.
Aebersold and Bragg were both two-time honorable mentions until rising to the first team in 2014. Connors was honorable mention as a sophomore and Second Team as a junior.
In 2014, Bragg led the Saints with 67 total tackls and 19 tackles-for-loss. He also ranked third with six sacks. Connors had 42 tackles, rating second on the team in sacks (7) and TFLs (17.5). Connors also had an interception.
Price and Marious are first-time First Team honorees. Marious, who accumulated 27 tackles, led SHU with 8 1/2 sacks while rating third with 11 1/2 TFLs. Price finished with 24 tackles, 10 credited breakups and one intereception.
Blackmon, a double Second Team member, led the Saints in receptions (52) while ranking second in receiving yards (583). He also had one TD reception.
Blackmon also carried the ball 11 times for 126 yards in the rushing game. As a punt returner, he compiled 12 returns for 125 yards.
Helsel was named to the Second Team for the second time as a collegian. Acton and Love are first-time honorees.
Acton finished with 22 tackles and two interceptions -- both of which he returned for TDs. Love tied for the team lead with three intereceptions while also compiling 40 tackles and seven credited breakups.
Karcher was mentioned by the MSFA for a third consecutive year. The 2014 honorable mention was previously a Second Team performer as a junior and honorable mention as a sophomore. He had 43 total tackles, including 10 for-loss, during his senior year.
Martin received his second straight MSFA honor; he was named Second Team a year ago. He had 27 total tackles, including three sacks, and an interception-return TD in 2014.
Zajkowski completed 179 of 326 passes for 2,177 yards, seven TDs and 11 interceptions. He also caught one pass for a five-yard touchdown.
Lyall guided the Saints to a 6-4 record, including a 5-1 slate in MSFA Mideast play, as SHU Football claimed its first-ever conference championship (shared with co-champ Marian, Ind.).
Kohn was the architect behind one of the top defenses in the NAIA. The Saints' 'D' ranked first in the NAIA in opponents' first downs (133), second in total defense (252.1), third in rushing defense (87.1), fifth in sacks per game (3.2), fifth in total sacks (32) and fifth in opponents' pass efficiency (91.9).
