WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- Midwestern State center Akoakoa Kennedy earned second-team D2CCA All-Super Region Four honors Friday as released by the Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA).
The 6-3, 285-pound senior Hilo, Hawaii is one of 11 players from the Lone Star Conference to earn all-region honors which included four on the first team and 11 on the second.
Texas A&M-Commerce placed three on the first team including junior offensive lineman Jared Machorro, junior return specialist Shawn Hooks and senior cornerback Uriah Harris. The trio was joined by Tarleton State senior linebacker Cody Burtscher.
Joining Kennedy on the second team were Texas A&M-Kingsville junior tight end Stehly Reden and sophomore defensive lineman Brandon Jones; Angelo State sophomore defensive lineman Markus Jones and sophomore linebacker Justin Jackson; Texas A&M-Commerce senior punter Hector Dominguez and Western New Mexico senior receiver Xavier Ayers.
Kennedy earned first-team All-Lone Star Conference accolades last month while continuing MSU's "O-Line Pride" tradition by producing the sixth league offensive lineman of the year over the past seven seasons joining former All-American Amini Silatolu (2010, 2011), Ken Van Heule (2012), Shadow Stokes (2014) and
Alfredo Moreno (2015).
Kennedy led an offensive line unit that paved the way for the second-best running attack in the LSC while ranking 37th nationally at 196.1 yards per game. He headed a unit that allowed 5.10 tackles for loss per game -- second in the LSC, 38th in NCAA II -- and 11 total sacks this season.
Midwestern State achieved its 17th consecutive winning season finishing at 8-3 while advancing to the NCAA Division II playoffs for the seventh time.
The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference accounted for half of the 50 all-region performers as two of its teams play for the regional title on Saturday with Ferris State (Mich.) traveling to take on Grand Valley State (Mich.).
Colorado Mines senior quarterback Justin Dvorak is the region's offensive player of the year passing for 4,584 yards and 53 touchdowns, while McKendree (Ill.) senior Lucky Baar is the defensive player of the year posting 55 tackles with 21.5 for loss and 17.5 sacks from his defensive line position.
The Division II Conference Commissioner's Association (D2CCA) encourages and promotes Division II athletics and high standards of sportsmanship as important elements of higher education. The CCA is a key communications link among the conferences as they discuss views, policies and regulations that impact Division II intercollegiate athletics and works closely with the NCAA as a communications channel to NCAA Division II member colleges and universities.
D2CCA All-Super Region Four Team
Offensive Player of the Year
Justin Dvorak (QB), Colorado Mines
Defensive Player of the Year
Lucky Baar (DL), McKendree
First Team Offense
| Pos. |
Player |
School |
Class |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Hometown |
| TE |
Adam Shaheen |
Ashland (Ohio) |
Jr. |
6-6 |
277 |
Galena, Ohio |
| OL |
Nate Theaker |
Wayne State (Mich.) |
Sr. |
6-6 |
303 |
White Lake, Mich. |
| OL |
Jake Daugherty |
Ferris State (Mich.) |
Jr. |
6-2 |
298 |
Big Rapids, Mich. |
| OL |
Aaron Cox |
Grand Valley State (Mich.) |
Sr. |
6-5 |
300 |
Macomb, Mich. |
| OL |
Jared Machorro |
Texas A&M-Commerce |
Jr. |
6-7 |
280 |
Coldspring, Texas |
| OL |
Hasan Shaar |
Colorado Mines |
Sr. |
6-5 |
320 |
Castle Rock, Colo. |
| WR |
Brody Oliver |
Colorado Mines |
So. |
6-3 |
195 |
Elizabeth, Colo. |
| WR |
Trey Brock |
Hillsdale (Mich.) |
So. |
6-3 |
212 |
Missouri City, Texas |
| QB |
Justin Dvorak |
Colorado Mines |
Sr. |
6-0 |
200 |
Tomball, Texas |
| RB |
Marty Carter |
Grand Valley State (Mich.) |
So. |
6-0 |
200 |
East Chicago, Ind. |
| RB |
Austin Ekeler |
Western State Colorado |
Sr. |
5-9 |
195 |
Eaton, Colo. |
| RS |
Shawn Hooks |
Texas A&M-Commerce |
Jr. |
5-8 |
165 |
Daingerfield, Texas |
| PK |
Ryan Sheehan |
Colorado Mesa |
Jr. |
5-10 |
180 |
Chandler, Ariz. |
First Team Defense
| Pos. |
Player |
School |
Class |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Hometown |
| DL |
Lucky Baar |
McKendree (Ill.) |
Sr. |
6-2 |
250 |
Chicago, Ill. |
| DL |
Zach Sieler |
Ferris State (Mich.) |
So. |
6-6 |
275 |
Pinckney, Mich. |
| DL |
Sydney Omameh |
Grand Valley State (Mich.) |
Sr. |
6-4 |
255 |
Columbus, Ohio |
| LB |
Cody Burtscher |
Tarleton State |
Sr. |
5-11 |
230 |
Glen Rose, Texas |
| LB |
Collin Schlosser |
Grand Valley State (Mich.) |
Jr. |
6-1 |
230 |
Ada, Mich. |
| LB |
A.J. Wentland |
McKendree (Ill.) |
Sr. |
6-4 |
240 |
Machesney Park, Ill. |
| LB |
Anthony Darkangelo |
Ferris State (Mich.) |
Sr. |
6-0 |
232 |
Brighton, Mich. |
| S |
Matt McKoy |
Saginaw Valley State (Mich.) |
Sr. |
6-2 |
212 |
Canton, Mich. |
| S |
Drew Hebel |
Black Hills State (S.D.) |
So. |
5-11 |
172 |
Broomfield, Colo. |
| CB |
Tavierre Thomas |
Ferris State (Mich.) |
Jr. |
5-11 |
185 |
Detroit, Mich. |
| CB |
Uriah Harris |
Texas A&M-Commerce |
Sr. |
6-0 |
180 |
Frostproof, Fla. |
| P |
Trevor Bermingham |
Ferris State (Mich.) |
Sr. |
6-4 |
205 |
Addison, Ill. |
Second Team Offense
| Pos. |
Player |
School |
Class |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Hometown |
| TE |
Stehly Reden |
Texas A&M-Kingsville |
Jr. |
6-5 |
250 |
Valley Center, Calif. |
| OL |
Hayden Janney |
Indianapolis (Ind.) |
Sr. |
6-4 |
309 |
Fishers, Ind. |
| OL |
Zachary Douglass |
Ashland (Ohio) |
Sr. |
6-2 |
297 |
Marshallville, Ohio |
| OL |
Akoakoa Kennedy |
Midwestern State |
Sr. |
6-3 |
285 |
Hilo, Hawaii |
| OL |
Austin Fleer |
Colorado Mesa |
Jr. |
6-8 |
255 |
Aurora, Colo. |
| OL |
Devon Johnson |
Ferris State (Mich.) |
So. |
6-7 |
325 |
Aurora, Ill. |
| WR |
Xavier Ayers |
Western New Mexico |
Sr. |
5-11 |
180 |
Albuquerque, N.M. |
| WR |
Jason Moore |
Findlay (Ohio) |
Jr. |
6-3 |
211 |
Oberlin, Ohio |
| QB |
Bart Williams |
Grand Valley State (Mich.) |
So. |
6-6 |
220 |
Grand Blanc, Mich. |
| RB |
Romello Brown |
Wayne State (Mich.) |
Jr. |
5-11 |
248 |
Westland, Mich. |
| RB |
Bubba Jenkins |
Southwest Baptist (Mo.) |
Jr. |
5-10 |
203 |
Springfield, Mo. |
| RS |
Deiontae Nicholas |
Wayne State (Mich.) |
So. |
5-10 |
186 |
Chesterfield, Mich. |
| PK |
Joel Schipper |
Grand Valley State (Mich.) |
Sr. |
5-11 |
185 |
Grand Rapids, Mich. |
Second Team Defense
| Pos. |
Player |
School |
Class |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Hometown |
| DL |
Alton Voss |
Grand Valley State (Mich.) |
Sr. |
6-3 |
240 |
New Port Richey, Fla. |
| DL |
Markus Jones |
Angelo State (Texas) |
So. |
6-2 |
265 |
Crowley, Texas |
| DL |
Brandon Jones |
Texas A&M-Kingsville |
So. |
6-3 |
250 |
Houston, Texas |
| LB |
Rob Dury |
Indianapolis (Ind.) |
Sr. |
6-2 |
220 |
Indianapolis, Ind. |
| LB |
Justin Jackson |
Angelo State (Texas) |
So. |
6-0 |
210 |
Missouri City, Texas |
| LB |
Brandon Gency |
Ashland (Ohio) |
Sr. |
6-1 |
234 |
Streetsboro, Ohio |
| LB |
Michael Fisher |
Northwood (Mich.) |
Sr. |
6-1 |
226 |
Rochester, Mich. |
| S |
Marquez Gollman |
Grand Valley State (Mich.) |
Sr. |
5-11 |
190 |
Ypsilanti, Mich. |
| S |
Dustin Rivas |
Colorado Mesa |
Jr. |
5-11 |
180 |
Thornton, Colo. |
| CB |
Korey Rogan |
Indianapolis (Ind.) |
Sr. |
5-11 |
186 |
Indianapolis, Ind. |
| CB |
Billy Eakins |
Ohio Dominican |
Sr. |
6-0 |
190 |
Pickerington, Ohio |
| P |
Hector Dominguez |
Texas A&M-Commerce |
Sr. |
5-10 |
190 |
Hacienda Heigths, Calif. |
-- MSUMustangs.com --
