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RIPON, Wis. - After winnings a share of the 2012 Midwest Conference (MWC) Football Championship Lake Forest was rewarded with a league-high 13 student-athletes on the 2012 Midwest Conference Football All-Conference team. The Foresters were also recognized with two individual awards as running back Al Mitchell was named 2012 MWC Offensive Player of the Year and Head Coach Jim Catanzaro was tabbed 2012 MWC Coach of the Year. Carroll’s defensive lineman Josh Zank was the 2012 MWC Defensive Player of the Year off a Pioneers squad that finished the regular season third in the NCAA in total defense.
Every team was represented on the All-Conference list with multiple award winners led by Lake Forest with 13 selections, six of which were named to the First Team. Carroll (12 selections, six first team) and Illinois Col. (ten selections, five first team) were the other teams with ten or more award winners. 2012 MWC Co-Champion St. Norbert added nine selections that helped the Green Knights earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with five of those student-athletes being named to the First Team. Grinnell and Knox (four First Team) each had seven awardees while Monmouth (three First Team) had six on the list. Cornell, Lawrence (one First Team) and Ripon each had five members while Beloit rounds out the list with two selections.
Mitchell is the first Lake Forest student-athlete to win Offensive Player of the Year since the 1996 season when running back Corey Honore won the honor and he is only the second winner in school history. Mitchell led the rushing attack for the Foresters this season and gained 868 yards on 131 carries for a 5.1 yard per carry average. He also scored seven touchdowns on the season while also being a factor in the passing game, catching 35 passes for 300 yards and three scores. Mitchell had five 100 yard performances on the season which included a season-high 198 yard effort in Lake Forest’s 20-16 win over Lawrence on September 8, 2012.
Zank is the second straight Carroll player to win Defensive Player of the Year, following Mike Dziewit who won the award last season. Playing from his defensive line position Zank was a cog in the middle of a defense that finished third in the nation in total defense and fourth in the NCAA in pass defense thanks to his league-leading 12.5 sacks. Zank also led the league with 17 tackles for loss while adding four forced fumbles and intercepted a pass that was returned for a touchdown. He picked up at least one sack in seven of the ten games and recorded multiple sacks in five contests.
Catanzaro is the first Lake Forest coach to be named Coach of the Year since 2002 when then Foresters coach Chad Eisele won the award. The Foresters claimed a share of the 2012 MWC Football Championship thanks to an 8-2 overall record and an 8-1 mark in conference play. Catanzaro oversaw a team that rode an eight game conference winning streak before dropping the season finale to St. Norbert which was the second longest winning streak in school history. The eight wins is the most since the 2004 season when they also won eight games and is the second most single-season wins in school history.
2012 MWC Award Winners
|
Offensive Player of the Year |
|
Al MItchell |
Senior |
Running Back |
Lake Forest College |
|
Defensive Player of the Year |
|
Josh Zank |
Senior |
Defensive Line |
Carroll University |
|
Coach of the Year |
|
Jim Catanzaro |
Lake Forest College |
First Team Offense
|
Pos. |
Athlete |
Year |
School |
|
QB |
Michael Bates |
Sophomore |
Illinois College |
|
RB |
Al MItchell |
Senior |
Lake Forest College |
|
RB |
Lamont Williams |
Sophomore |
Carroll University |
|
RB |
Derek Mortensen |
Junior |
Knox College |
|
TE |
Aaron White |
Senior |
Carroll University |
|
WR |
Austin Sobey |
Senior |
Lake Forest College |
|
WR |
Tyler Mazur |
Senior |
Lawrence University |
|
WR |
Joe Green |
Senior |
St. Norbert College |
|
OL |
Will Savor |
Senior |
Lake Forest College |
|
OL |
A.J. Ulrich |
Junior |
Monmouth College |
|
OL |
Matt Hermes |
Senior |
Carroll University |
|
OL |
Keith Lane |
Junior |
Illinois College |
|
OL |
Jordan Willits |
Junior |
Knox College |
|
K |
Matt Newman |
Sophomore |
Illinois College |
|
K |
Ace Henricks |
Sophomore |
Monmouth College |
|
RS |
Joe Green |
Senior |
St. Norbert College |
First Team Defense
|
Pos. |
Athlete |
Year |
School |
|
DL |
Josh Zank |
Senior |
Carroll University |
|
DL |
Justin Pflum |
Senior |
St. Norbert College |
|
DL |
Kurt Frischman |
Junior |
Illinois College |
|
DL |
Jake Rotkvich |
Senior |
Lake Forest College |
|
LB |
Steve Korus |
Senior |
Carroll University |
|
LB |
Mike Hendrick |
Senior |
Knox College |
|
LB |
Adam Nitsche |
Senior |
St. Norbert College |
|
LB |
Jordan Cruz |
Junior |
Lake Forest College |
|
DB |
Neal Layng |
Senior |
Carroll University |
|
DB |
Joe Gaines |
Senior |
Illinois College |
|
DB |
Ed Dobernig |
Junior |
Lake Forest College |
|
DB |
Austin Arts |
Senior |
St. Norbert College |
|
P |
Brik Wedekind |
Junior |
Monmouth College |
|
ST |
Mike Schroeder |
Senior |
Knox College |
Second Team Offense
|
Pos. |
Athlete |
Year |
School |
|
QB |
Pete Scaffidi |
Senior |
Lake Forest College |
|
RB |
Tom Sawyer |
Junior |
Ripon College |
|
RB |
Cecil Brimmage |
Junior |
Illinois College |
|
RB |
Trey Yocum |
Junior |
Monmouth College |
|
TE |
Neal Moon |
Junior |
Knox College |
|
WR |
Tyler Ostrander |
Junior |
Carroll University |
|
WR |
Justin Cox |
Sophomore |
Cornell College |
|
WR |
Cody Weber |
Senior |
Grinnell College |
|
OL |
Zach Tamblyn |
Junior |
Carroll University |
|
OL |
Sam Cluck |
Sophomore |
Cornell College |
|
OL |
Travis Gullett |
Senior |
Illinois College |
|
OL |
Tyler Jonas |
Sophomore |
Ripon College |
|
OL |
Andrew Cullen |
Junior |
St. Norbert College |
|
RS |
Andrew Clark |
Junior |
Grinnell College |
Second Team Defense
|
Pos. |
Athlete |
Year |
School |
|
DL |
Bryan Larson |
Junior |
Carroll University |
|
DL |
Tom Brinkman |
Senior |
Grinnell College |
|
DL |
Michael Garetto-Balmer |
Junior |
Lake Forest College |
|
DL |
Sam Hoster |
Senior |
Monmouth College |
|
DL |
Petr Bohacek |
Senior |
St. Norbert College |
|
LB |
Geoffrey Miller |
Junior |
Cornell College |
|
LB |
David Ternes |
Sophomore |
Grinnell College |
|
LB |
Carter Cox |
Junior |
Illinois College |
|
LB |
John Dillon |
Junior |
Lake Forest College |
|
DB |
Drew Blumberg |
Senior |
Grinnell College |
|
DB |
Dylan DeFauw |
Senior |
Illinois College |
|
DB |
Aidan Price |
Senior |
Lake Forest College |
|
DB |
Josh Vanden Heuvel |
Senior |
St. Norbert College |
|
P |
Matt Traub |
Junior |
Carroll University |
|
ST |
Ben Hartman |
Senior |
Lawrence University |
Honorable Mention Offense
|
Pos. |
Athlete |
Year |
School |
|
RB |
T.J. Schaid |
Senior |
Grinnell College |
|
RB |
Max Herrmann |
Senior |
Ripon College |
|
TE |
Greg Alonso |
Junior |
Lake Forest College |
|
WR |
Kevin Fuller |
Junior |
Illinois College |
|
WR |
Dominique Dirden |
Sophomore |
Lawrence University |
|
OL |
Mike Carr |
Senior |
Knox College |
|
OL |
Tom MItchell |
Junior |
Lake Forest College |
|
OL |
Todd Groth |
Senior |
Monmouth College |
|
OL |
Hayden Simonis |
Junior |
Beloit College |
|
K |
Jake Gahart |
Senior |
Ripon College |
|
RS |
Luke Versulien |
Freshman |
Beloit College |
|
RS |
Evan Whaley |
Sophomore |
Carroll University |
Honorable Mention Defense
|
Pos. |
Athlete |
Year |
School |
|
DL |
Vince Osborne |
Senior |
Cornell College |
|
DL |
Lloyd Scott |
Senior |
Knox College |
|
LB |
Jon Hope |
Senior |
Lawrence University |
|
LB |
Toby Cole |
Senior |
St. Norbert College |
|
DB |
Jacob Lindmair |
Junior |
Carroll University |
|
DB |
Nick Brautigam |
Junior |
Cornell College |
|
DB |
Sam Wagner |
Junior |
Lawrence University |
|
DB |
Luke Morgan |
Junior |
Ripon College |
|
P |
Graham Fisher |
Freshman |
Grinnell College |
|
P |
Jon Gurchak |
Freshman |
Lake Forest College |