16 Bearkats selected to All-Southland football team
11/20/2007 1:00:00 AM | Football
Sixteen Sam Houston State players have been selected to the 2007 All-Southland Conference football team announced Tuesday, Nov. 20. The teams were selected by vote of the league's head football coaches and sports information directors.
Tight end Blake Martin, offensive lineman Brandon Hale, defensive end Chris Brown, and defensive back Byran Richmond all were first team selections.
Running back Chris Poullard, place kicker Taylor Wilkins, and linebacker Nolan Bucek were named to the All-SLC second team.
Quarterback Rhett Bomar, offensive linemen Brennan Williams, Ryan Dretke, and Hunter Schmidt, defensive linemen David Branch, Jerod Brown, and Eric Mikolajchak, defensive back Carlton Cobey, and punter Michael Capparelli were honorable mention selections.
The 16 players named all-league led Sam Houston State to a 7-4 overall season mark and a runner-up finish in the Southland Conference with a 5-2 league record. The Bearkats completed the season winning their final five games. The 7-4 record marks the seventh time in SHSU's 21 years in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision that the Kats have won seven or more games in one season.
Martin, a senior from Hemphill, is one of only five tight ends in Bearkat history to gain more than 1,000 yards receiving. He caught 46 passes for 561 yards and two touchdowns during the 2007 season.
Hale, a senior from Grand Prairie, along with Williams, Dretke, and Schmidt, have started every game the past two years in the offensive line. Williams, who is from Decatur, and Dretke, a Huntsville product, also are seniors. Schmidt is a sophomore from Alvin.
Brown, a sophomore from Texarkana, led the Bearkats in quarterback sacks with seven this season. He totaled 60 tackles for the year. Richmond, a senior from Humble, was a two-time Southland Defensive Player of the Week during the 2007 season. He led the secondary with 86 stops.
Poullard became the seventh running back in Sam Houston history to gain 1,000 yards in a single season. The sophomore carried 209 times for 1,038 yards. He scored 13 touchdowns including a 61-yard score run in the Northwestern St. victory. He tied a Sam Houston school record with six 100-yard rushing games during the 2007 season.
Wilkins, a sophomore from LaMarque, was perfect on extra points with 33 of 33 and was successful on 14 of 18 field goals to score 75 points this year. Bucek, a junior from Houston / Cy Creek, led the Southland Conference in tackles this season with 88.
Bomar, a junior from Grand Prairie, rolled up 2,209 yards passing and 406 yards rushing to rank as one of the nation's leaders in total offense. Bomar threw 10 touchdown passes and ran for seven more scores.
Branch, a senior from Houston / Cy Falls, totaled 33 tackles in the defensive line. Jerod Brown, a junior from Whitehouse, and Eric Mikolajchak, a junior from Mayde Creek, added 31 and 28 stops, respectively. Carlton Cobey, a senior from Woodbridge, VA, totaled 60 stops including five tackles for losses.
Capparelli, a sophomore from Klein Forest, was one of the league's top punters with a 41.0 average including a long punt of 66 yards.
2007 All-Southland Conference Football Teams
First Team Offense
QB - Nathan Brown - Central Arkansas
RB - Jay Lucas - Southeastern Louisiana
RB - Byron Lawrence - Northwestern State
FB - Broderick Cole.. Nicholls State
WR - Carlese Franklin - McNeese State
WR...... Cameron Luke - Texas State-San Marcos
TE - Blake Martin - Sam Houston State
OL - Brandon Hale - Sam Houston State
OL - Demetrius Bell - Northwestern State
OL - Eman Naghavi - McNeese State
OL - Brad Gordon - Central Arkansas
OL - Ben Gombossy - Nicholls State
PK - Jeff Turner - Southeastern Louisiana
First Team Defense
DL - Bryan Smith - McNeese State
DL - Taylor Scott - Central Arkansas
DL - Vaalyn Jackson - McNeese State
DL - Chris Brown - Sam Houston State
LB - Trey Bennett - McNeese State
LB - Allen Nelson - McNeese State
DB - Ladarius Webb - Nicholls State
DB - Kareem Moore - Nicholls State
DB - Tristan Jackson - Central Arkansas
DB - Byran Richmond - Sam Houston State
DB - Jonathan Walker - - McNeese State
P -... Chris MacDonald -Texas State-San Marcos
RS - Tristan Jackson - Central Arkansas
Second Team Offense
QB - Derrick Fourroux - McNeese State
RB - Chris Poullard - Sam Houston State
RB - Karrington Bush - Texas State-San Marcos
FB - Jordy Johnson - McNeese State
WR - Quinten Lawrence - McNeese State
WR - Preston Echols - Central Arkansas
TE - Marquez Branson -Central Arkansas
OL - Earl Cager -Southeastern Louisiana
OL - Lance Fremin - McNeese State
OL - Kyle Link -McNeese State
OL - Crawford May - Texas State-San Marcos
OL - Lane Freiwald - Central Arkansas
PK - Taylor Wilkins - Sam Houston State
Second Team Defense
DL - Jordan Stone - Nicholls State
DL - Albert Smith - Northwestern State
DL - Kenneth Lundy - McNeese State
DL - Ray Martin -Northwestern State
LB - Garrick Spain - Nicholls State
LB - Nolan Bucek - Sam Houston State
DB - C.L. Grogan - Northwestern State
DB - Gary Riggs - Northwestern State
DB - Eric Jackson - Southeastern Louisiana
DB - Tommy Connors - Southeastern Louisiana
DB - Kody Knox - McNeese State
Honorable Mention: QB: Rhett Bomar, SHSU. RB: Brent Grimes, UCA; Kris Bush, McN; Joseph Tobias, NICH. FB: Blake Burton, TXST-San Marcos. WR: Michael Okoronkwo, NICH; Byron Ross, SLU; Aaron Rhea, SFA. TE: Clay Broyles, NWLa. OL: Jeremy Ford, UCA; Jesse Frazier, NICH; Tim Henderson, NWLa.; Brennan Williams, SHSU; Ryan Dretke, SHSU; Hunter Schmidt, SHSU; Taylor Cobb, SFA; Scott Dover, SFA; Brock Pasteur, SFA. PK: Andrew Ireland, TXST-San Marcos. DL: Jairus Jarvis, NICH; Dominic Cooper, NICH; David Branch, SHSU; Jerod Brown, SHSU; Eric Mikolajchak, SHSU; Tim Knicky, SFA; Nick Clark, TXST-San Marcos. LB: James Lancaster, UCA; Corey McMurrian, UCA; Mack Dampier, NWLa.; Mark Newbill, SLU; Antonio Richardson, SLU; Marcus Clark, TXST-San Marcos. DB: Brant Linde, McN; Marcus Brown, McN; Jermaine Boggan, NICH; Lester Brooks, NICH; Carleton Coby, SHSU. P: Michael Capparelli, SHSU; Ryan Gooch, SFA. RS: Eric Jackson, SLU.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Bryan Smith, McNeese State
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Nathan Brown, Central Arkansas
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Kareem Moore, Nicholls State
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Karrington Bush, Texas State-San Marcos
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Ladarius Webb, Nicholls State
COACH OF THE YEAR: Matt Viator, McNeese State
