College football: 15 Jackrabbits named to All-MVFC teams

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ST. LOUIS — Fifteen South Dakota State football players, including eight first-team selections, were honored Monday as members of the 2022 All-Missouri Valley Football Conference Team.

In addition, Jackrabbit head coach John Stiegelmeier was selected as the league’s Bruce Craddock Coach of the Year.

Of SDSU’s 15 total honorees, 10 had previously earned all-MVFC accolades with Jaxon Janke, Mason McCormick and Caleb Sanders earning recognition for the third season in a row.

A senior wide receiver from Madison, Janke was a second-team honoree for the third time and carries a streak of 30 consecutive games with a reception into postseason play. He finished the regular season as the team leader in both catches (46) and receiving yards (603) while sharing the team lead with five touchdown receptions.

Meanwhile, Jaxon’s twin brother, Jadon, earned second-team all-league honors as a return specialist and honorable mention recognition as a wide receiver. Jadon Janke took over return duties late in the season and averaged 17.8 yards on eight punt returns and 23 yards on a pair of kickoff returns. In the passing game, he hauled in 39 receptions for 598 yards and five touchdowns.

McCormick, a senior guard from Sioux Falls, moved up to the all-MVFC first team after consecutive second-team selections during the 2020-21 spring and 2021 fall seasons. He helped anchor an offensive line that helped pave the way for the Jackrabbits to average 31.4 points and 367.6 yards of total offense in 11 regular season games.

Joining McCormick on the first team from the Jackrabbit offensive line was fellow senior Garret Greenfield. The Rock Valley, Iowa, native moved to left tackle this season after being a first-team all-league honoree at right tackle during the 2020-21 spring campaign.

Sanders, a senior defensive tackle from Glenwood, Iowa, tallied a team-best five sacks and ranked second with six tackles for loss for a unit that ended the regular season as the top rushing defense in the FCS ranks by allowing only 71.2 yards per game on the ground. Sanders, who tallied 24 total tackles in 11 games, was an all-MVFC First Team honoree during the 2020-21 spring season and was a second-team selection last fall.

Also earning first-team recognition for a second time was linebacker Adam Bock, while defensive end Reece Winkelman moved up to the top squad after receiving second-team accolades a season ago. A junior from Solon, Iowa, Bock finished the regular season as the team’s leading tackler with 58 stops despite missing the final three games due to injury. He tallied 13 tackles in the season opener at Iowa and again reached double figures in tackles with 10 a month later against Western Illinois.

Winkelman, a senior from Marshall, Minnesota, notched a team-high eight tackles for loss and added 4.5 sacks in regular season action. He registered 20 total tackles, while contributing a forced fumble and three pass breakups.

Rounding out the Jackrabbits’ first-team honorees on defense was senior cornerback DyShawn Gales. A native of North Chicago, Illinois, Gales ended the regular season tied for the team lead with three interceptions, including one he returned for a 31-yard touchdown to help spark a comeback victory at North Dakota. Gales also broke up two passes and registered 22 tackles (19 solo) in 10 starts.

The Jackrabbit offense also was represented by two more of its top playmakers in tight end Tucker Kraft and running back Isaiah Davis. Kraft, a junior from Timber Lake was injured the season opener at Iowa, but came back for the second half of the league season to repeat on the all-MVFC First Team after catching 19 passes for 232 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Davis tallied 932 yards in 10 regular season games, averaging 5.3 yards per carry and scoring 10 touchdowns while topping the 100-yard mark in a game five times. The junior from Joplin, Missouri, who was an honorable mention all-MVFC selection during the 2020-21 spring season, also caught 18 passes for 145 yards.

Receiving second-team honors on offense were quarterback Mark Gronowski and tight end Zach Heins, both of whom were first-team honorees during the 2020-21 spring season. A sophomore from Naperville, Illinois, Gronowski made a successful return from an injury that sidelined him for the entire 2021 fall campaign, completing 185-of-285 passes (64.9 percent) for 2,247 yards and 18 touchdowns against five interceptions. The 2020-21 MVFC Offensive Player of the Year, Gronowski rushed and passed for touchdowns in the same game six times during the 2022 regular season as he gained 179 yards on the ground with eight scores.

Heins formed the other half of the Jackrabbits’ tandem at tight end and contributed 27 receptions for 310 yards and four touchdowns. He caught at least one pass in all 11 regular season games.

Honorable mention honors were awarded to three other Jackrabbit players, including Dalys Beanum and Jason Freeman from the defensive unit. A junior cornerback from Omaha, Beanum posted a team-high five pass breakups and recorded two interceptions and 23 tackles (15 solo) during the regular season.

Freeman, a junior linebacker from Zion, Illinois, stands second on the team with 56 tackles during his first year with the Jackrabbits. He also has been credited with five tackles for loss, three sacks and two pass breakups.

Completing the list of Jackrabbit award winners was punter Hunter Dustman. The junior from East Bethel, Minnesota, averaged 42.6 yards on 40 attempts during the regular season, while also handling the placekicking duties for the Jackrabbits. Seven of Dustman’s punts traveled 50 or more yards.

Stiegelmeier was honored as Bruce Craddock Coach of the Year for the second time, after first receiving the award in 2016. The Jackrabbits ran the table in MVFC for the first time in program history, posting an 8-0 mark en route to the outright league championship and a 10-1 overall record through the regular season. SDSU ascended to the top of the Football Championship Subdivision rankings for the first time and has earned the top seed in the FCS playoffs for the second time in three seasons. The Jackrabbits will be making their 11th consecutive postseason appearance and earned their 12th FCS playoff berth overall under Stiegelmeier, who also has been named a finalist by Stats Perform for the Eddie Robinson Award, which is presented annually to the top coach in the FCS ranks.

South Dakota State hosts Delaware in second-round playoff action Saturday. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.