ST. LOUIS – A dozen South Dakota State players, led by four-time first-team selection Jake Wieneke, were named Monday to the all-Missouri Valley Football Conference Team.
Selections to the all-MVFC Team were determined through a vote of the league’s head coaches, sports information directors and a media panel.
A senior from Maple Grove, Minn., Wieneke paced a group of five Jackrabbits who earned first-team recognition. The league record holder for career receiving yards (4,862) and career touchdown receptions (56), Wieneke caught 46 passes for 670 yards and 13 touchdowns in 11 regular-season games in 2017. He is the first player in program history to earn all-conference recognition each of his four seasons.
Earning first-team all-MVFC recognition for the third year in a row was senior tight end Dallas Goedert. The Britton native ended the regular season as the top receiving tight end in Division I with 966 yards on a team-high 60 receptions with five touchdowns. Goedert has topped the 100-yard mark in receiving yards six times.
Two other Jackrabbits, center Jacob Ohnesorge and linebacker Christian Rozeboom, were repeat first-team honorees. A senior center from Waunakee, Wis., Ohnesorge has started all 50 games during his SDSU career and anchored an offensive line that averaged 37.5 points and 449.1 yards of total offense in 11 regular season games. Ohnesorge also was a second-team honoree in 2015.
Rozeboom, a sophomore linebacker from Sioux Center, Iowa, tallied a team-best 107 tackles, including seven tackles for loss, during the 2017 regular season. He registered 10 or more tackles seven times, while adding an interception and two fumble recoveries.
Rounding out SDSU’s first-team selections was cornerback Jordan Brown. A junior from Scottsdale, Ariz., Brown recorded a team-high three interceptions during the regular season and ranked second on the squad with 55 tackles. Brown also shared the team lead with two forced fumbles and six pass breakups.
The Jackrabbits’ second-team selections were highlighted by junior quarterback Taryn Christion. The 2016 MVFC Offensive Player of the Year, Christion put together another strong season with 2,854 yards passing with 28 touchdowns against seven interceptions. He added 429 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground, giving him an average of 298.5 yards of total offense per game.
Defensive tackle Kellen Soulek and fullback Kane Louscher were each second-team honorees for the second year in a row. A senior from Yankton, Soulek registered 27 total tackles, including a team-best 3.5 sacks. He also forced a pair of fumbles and blocked a kick in 10 games during the regular season.
Louscher, a senior from Mason City, Iowa, served primarily as a blocking back for a Jackrabbit team that averaged 176.8 rushing yards per game. His lone reception of the season resulted in a 9-yard touchdown in the season opener against Duquesne.
Also earning second-team honors was kicker Chase Vinatieri. A sophomore from Sioux Falls, Vinatieri scored a team-best 80 points during the regular season. He made 9-of-10 field goal attempts, including a career-long 51-yarder, connected on 47-of-51 extra-point attempts and scored a 31-yard rushing touchdown on a fake field goal. In addition, Vinatieri recorded a touchback on 36 of his 75 kickoffs.
Completing the Jackrabbits’ all-MVFC selections were honorable mention picks Chris Balster, Charlie Harmon and Brady Mengarelli.
A senior safety from Sheldon, Iowa, Balster ranked third on the team with 53 tackles, including three tackles for loss, in 11 regular season games. He also contributed an interception and three pass breakups.
Harmon, a senior from O’Fallon, Ill., was a repeat honorable mention selection after starting all 11 games at left tackle for a Jackrabbit squad that allowed only 15 sacks all season.
Mengarelli, a senior running back from Prescott, Ariz., led the Jackrabbits in rushing for the third year in a row with 689 yards, averaging 6.3 yards per carry with seven touchdowns. Mengarelli hit the century mark two times, including a career-best 220 yards versus Southern Illinois. He also tallied 15 receptions for 105 yards.
South Dakota State finished the regular season with a 9-2 overall record and tied for second in the MVFC with a 6-2 mark. The Jackrabbits are seeded fifth in the FCS Playoffs and play host to Northern Iowa in second-round action Saturday at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.
The MVFC All-Newcomer Team will be announced Tuesday.
ALL-MISSOURI VALLEY FOOTBALL CONFERENCE
First Team
QB – Chris Streveler, USD, Sr. RB – Tevin McCaster, YSU, Jr.; James Robinson, IlSU, So. FB – Connor Wentz, NDSU, Sr. WR – Jaelon Acklin, WIU, Sr.; Daurice Fountain, UNI, Sr.; Jake Wieneke, SDSU, Sr. TE – Dallas Goedert, SDSU, Sr. OL – Stetson Dagel, USD, Sr.; Jacob Judd, WIU, Sr.; Austin Kuhnert, NDSU, Sr.; Jacob Ohnesorge, SDSU, Sr.; Justin Spencer, YSU, Sr. PK – Sean Slattery, IlSU, Sr. LS – James Fisher, NDSU, Sr. DL – Darin Greenfield, USD, So.; Dalton Keene, IlSU, Sr.; Adam Reth, UNI, Sr.; Khalen Saunders, WIU, Jr. LB – Nick DeLuca, NDSU, Sr.; Jared Farley, UNI, Sr.; Christian Rozeboom, SDSU, So.; Brett Taylor, WIU, Sr. DB – Jordan Brown, SDSU, Jr.; Elijah Campbell, UNI, Sr.; Tre Dempsey, NDSU, Sr.; Robbie Grimsley, NDSU, Jr.; Davontae Harris, IlSU, Sr. P – Lane Reazin, SIU, So. RS – Deion Holliman, MSU, Sr.
Second Team
QB – Taryn Christion, SDSU, Jr. RB – Bruce Anderson, NDSU, Jr.; Steve McShane, WIU, Jr. FB – Kane Louscher, SDSU, Sr. WR – Malik Earl, MSU, Sr.; Spencer Schnell, IlSU, Jr.; RJ Urzendowski, NDSU, Sr. TE – Jacquet McClendon, InSU, Sr. OL – Lee Carhart, UNI, Sr.; Vitas Hrynkiewicz, YSU, Jr.; Austin Olsen, SIU, Sr.; Tanner Volson, NDSU, Jr.; Gavin Wiggins, YSU, Jr. PK – Chase Vinatieri, SDSU, So. LS – Brandon Godsey, USD, Sr. DL – Colby Isbell, MSU, Sr.; Rickey Neal, UNI, Jr.; Kellen Soulek, SDSU, Sr.; Aaron Steidl, NDSU, Jr. LB – Jabril Cox, NDSU, Fr.; Armand Dellovade, YSU, Jr.; Angelo Garbutt, MSU, So.; Jonas Griffith, InSU, So. DB – Jeremy Chinn, SIU, So.; Justin Fitzpatrick, WIU, Jr; Andrew Gray, USD, Jr.; Billy Nicoe Hurst, YSU, Sr.; Alec Kocour, IlSU, Sr. P – Sam Kuhter, UNI, Sr. RS – Steve McShane, Jr.
Honorable Mention
IlSU: DL Adam Conley, OL Dean Helt, TE Tylor Petkovich. InSU: RB LeMonte Booker, P Thomas Bouldin, LB Katrell Moss. MSU: QB Peyton Huslig, DB Darius Joseph, OL Marquis Prophete. NDSU: OL Zack Johnson, PK Cam Pedersen, QB Easton Stick, DL Nate Tanguay. UNI: TE Briley Moore, DB Malcolm Washington, RB Marcus Weymiller. USD: WR Shamar Jackson, LB Jim Litrenta, WR Brandt Van Roekel. SDSU: DB Chris Balster, OL Charlie Harmon, RB Brady Mengarelli. SIU: FB Hans Carmien, RS D.J. Davis, WR Darrell James, DL Anthony Knighton, DB Ryan Neal. WIU: LT Josh Baldus, QB Sean McGuire, LB Quentin Moon, RB Max Norris. YSU: DB Jalyn Powell, TE Kevin Rader, LS Steven Wethli, LB Lee Wright.
Photo from www.gojacks.com.
