Football 11/18/2014 10:35:00 AM

Longacre leads All-MIAA Bearcat honorees

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – For the second straight year, Northwest Missouri State University defensive end Matt Longacre was named the MIAA Defensive Player of the Year while 20 other Bearcats earned All-MIAA honors. Northwest led all schools with 21 all-conference performers while Pittsburg State was second with 20 honorees. The Bearcats finished the 2014 regular season with a 10-1 record, earning a share of the program's 26th MIAA title and advancing to their 11th consecutive NCAA championship tournament, the 19th overall.

Longacre, who is Northwest's all-time leader in sacks with 29.0 and tackles for loss with 45.5, was a unanimous first team All-MIAA selection after recording 34 tackles, 9.0 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks. He has 16 quarterback hurries, three pass breakups and one forced fumble.

Offensive tackles CJ Keeney and Shane Smith were each named first team performers after anchoring a line that averaged 228.4 yards per game rushing. Northwest quarterbacks were sacked just 15 times during the year. Keeney was a unanimous selection. Tight end/fullback Marcus Wright caught 14 passes for 184 yards to earn first team honors.

On the defensive side, in addition to Longacre, Brandon Yost earned first-team accolades, recording 25 tackles with 9.0 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. He also had a pair of quarterback hurries. Linebackers D.J. Gnader and Eric Reimer each repeated selections to the first team after leading the Bearcats in tackles in 2014. Reimer had a team-best 64 tackles with 12.0 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. He had two passes defended, a forced fumble, a blocked kick and netted his first career interception last week against Washburn. Gnader had 63 tackles on the year, 10.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, three passes defended, two pass breakups and an interception. Safety Jared Fox was the eighth first-team selection for Northwest after recording a 26 tackle regular season. Fox tied a Northwest single-game record with three interceptions, coming against Pittsburg State. He also had nine passes defended, six pass breakups, 2.0 tackles for loss and recovered a fumble.

Quarterback Brady Brady Bolles, offensive lineman Cole Chevalier, defensive lineman Kevin Arnold, defensive back Travis Manning and punter Kyle Goodburn were all second-team All-MIAA honorees.

Sophomore defensive lineman Collin Bevins and junior defensive back Bryce Enyard were named to the third team.

Wide receivers Jason Jozaites, Korey Jackson and Bryce Young, along with defensive lineman Cass Weitl, linebackers Brock Sherman and Zach Williams each earned honorable mention accolades.

Northwest All-MIAA Selections
First Team
DL - Matt Longacre
(unanimous, Defensive Player of the Year)
TE/FB – Marcus Wright
OL – CJ Keeney (unanimous)
OL – Shane Smith
DL – Brandon Yost
LB – Eric Reimer
LB – D.J. Gnader
DB – Jared Fox

Second Team
QB – Brady Bolles
OL – Cole Chevalier
DL – Kevin Arnold
DB – Travis Manning
P – Kyle Goodburn

Third Team
DL – Collin Bevins
DB – Bryce Enyard

Honorable Mention
WR – Jason Jozaites
WR – Bryce Young
WR – Korey Jackson
DL – Cass Weitl
DL – Zach Williams
LB – Brock Sherman

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Players Mentioned

#98 Kevin Arnold: DE; 6' 4"; Senior

#34 Collin Bevins: DT; 6' 6"; Sophomore

#10 Brady Bolles: QB; 6' 3"; Junior

#65 Cole Chevalier: OL; 6' 3"; Senior

#29 Bryce Enyard: S; 6' 1"; Junior

#14 Jared Fox: S; 5' 10"; Senior

#36 D.J. Gnader: LB; 6' 2"; Senior

#4 Kyle Goodburn: P; 6' 1"; Senior

#1 Korey Jackson: WR; 6' 3"; Senior

#7 Jason Jozaites: WR; 6' 3"; Senior

#70 CJ Keeney: OL; 6' 6"; Senior

#96 Matt Longacre: DE; 6' 3"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#98 Kevin Arnold
: 6' 4"; Senior
: DE

#34 Collin Bevins
: 6' 6"; Sophomore
: DT

#10 Brady Bolles
: 6' 3"; Junior
: QB

#65 Cole Chevalier
: 6' 3"; Senior
: OL

#29 Bryce Enyard
: 6' 1"; Junior
: S

#14 Jared Fox
: 5' 10"; Senior
: S

#36 D.J. Gnader
: 6' 2"; Senior
: LB

#4 Kyle Goodburn
: 6' 1"; Senior
: P

#1 Korey Jackson
: 6' 3"; Senior
: WR

#7 Jason Jozaites
: 6' 3"; Senior
: WR

#70 CJ Keeney
: 6' 6"; Senior
: OL

#96 Matt Longacre
: 6' 3"; Senior
: DE