Catawba’s Roach, Carson-Newman’s Rice Named To AFCA All-America Team

WACO, TEX. - Catawba College senior quarterback Brad Roach and Carson-Newman College senior linebacker Eric Rice were named to the 2007 AFCA Division II Coaches' All-America Team announced today by the American Football Coaches Association.

Roach (Williamston, NC/Williamston HS) leads the All-America offense. Roach enjoyed a record-breaking senior season as he threw for 3,322 yards and 32 touchdowns and was named the South Atlantic Conference Offensive Player of the Year. He also set a season mark with a 153.4 pass efficiency rating. Roach had a record five touchdown passes in Catawba's playoff win over Albany State.

In his career, Roach finished second in passing yards (7,874), but his 212.8 per game average is tops for a career. His 62 touchdowns and .546 completion percentage also rank second all-time.

Brad Roach

Eric Rice

It marks the eighth time Catawba has placed a player on the AFCA All-America team and he joins Brian Hinson as the only Indian offensive players selected.

Rice was the leading tackler on an Eagle team that led the South Atlantic Conference in rush defense. He finished the 2007 season with 48.5 tackles. The Thomasville, Georgia native collected five sacks and an interception against FCS foe Chattanooga that helped C-N defeat the Mocs, 29-17. Rice was also named the South Atlantic Conference Defensive Player of the Year.

The Eagles finished the 2007 season at 10-1 and were co-champions of the South Atlantic Conference.

Roach's receiving corps on this year's team features Cedric Jones of Valdosta State and Weston Dressler of North Dakota. Jones led the Gulf South Conference with 92 catches and 1,076 receiving yards this season. He caught 10 touchdown passes and averaged 11.7 yards per catch. Dressler, a finalist for the 2007 Harlon Hill Trophy, caught 76 passes for a school-record 1,272 yards and 13 touchdowns and graduates as the owner of 19 different school records, including career receptions (243) and career receiving yards (3,382).

Bloomsburg's Jamar Brittingham, Northwest Missouri State's Xavier Omon and Shepherd's Dervon Wallace are the runningbacks on this year's team. Brittingham rushed for 1,493 yards and 23 touchdowns. He is now the sole holder of 28 school and PSAC records and is the PSAC's all-time career leading rusher with 5,689 yards. In 2007, Omon became the first player in NCAA history, at any level, to rush for at least 1,500 yards for four straight years. He also set a school record for most touchdown's in a season at 36. Wallace established a Shepherd and WVIAC record with 2,138 rushing yards in 2007. He is also the conference's all-time leading scorer with 464 points.

The offensive line features Mackenzy Bernadeau of Bentley, Ben Hochstein of Nebraska-Omaha, Tim McCutcheon of California (Pa.), Christian Morton of South Dakota and Vince Cashdollar of Ashland.

Bernadeau was named Northeast-10 Conference Offensive Lineman of the Year after helping guide the Bentley offense to an average of 334.8 yards of offense per game. Hochstein helped lead the way for a Nebraska-Omaha rushing attack that averaged 294.9 yards per game. McCutcheon earned back-to-back Coaches' All-America honors after allowing only two sacks in his four years. Morton started every game at center and did not allow a sack, and registered 65 pancake blocks. Cashdollar was graded out at 92 percent by his coaches this season and recorded 85 knockdown blocks.

The defense is led by Delta State linebacker Michael Eubanks. In 2007, Eubanks became the NCAA Division II career leader in sacks with 39 and ranks third all-time in NCAA history in career tackles-for-loss with 67.5. He led the nation's third-ranked defense with a career-high 84 tackles, 12 sacks and 24 tackles-for-loss.

Joining Eubanks at linebacker are Anthony Adams of Grand Valley State, Will Clewis of Central Oklahoma and Rice. Adams led Grand Valley State with 94 total tackles and 20.5 tackles for a loss. He also recorded six sacks in 2007. Clewis earned LSC North Division Linebacker of the Year honors for the second straight year after he averaged 11.3 tackles a game to rank second in the LSC.

This year's defensive linemen include Brandon Swain of West Texas A&M, Jake Visser of Ferris State and Kurt Kissner of Mesa State. Swain ranked third on the Buffs squad with 71 tackles and led the team with 14 sacks, 24.5 tackles for a loss, 12 quarterback hurries and five forced fumbles. Visser ranked fifth in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in tackles for a loss with 14.5 while ranking sixth in total tackles with 106. Kissner was named Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year after ranking No. 2 in the nation in sacks (15.5). He also led the RMAC in sacks and tackles-for-loss (22.0).

The secondary feature's Cary Williams of Washburn, Kendall Ricketts of Central Missouri, Craig Fox of North Alabama and Ranardrick Phillips of Tarleton State. Williams led the MIAA with seven interceptions, which was second most in Washburn single-season history. Ricketts finished the season with 78 total tackles, five tackles for a loss, 1.5 sacks, one interception and one pass breakup. Fox finished second on the team with 74 total tackles, and registered seven tackles for a loss, three interceptions and five pass breakups. Phillips was named the Lone Star Conference Defensive Back of the Year for the third straight season after leading the Texans with 91 total tackles. He also registered four tackles for a loss, two interceptions and five pass breakups.

De'Audra Dix of Johnson C. Smith is the all-purpose player on the Division II Coaches' All-America Team. Dix ranked first in the CIAA and third in the nation in kick-off returns, at 31.3 yards per return, while also ranking fifth in the conference in pass defended with 11. He registered 33 total tackles and four interceptions. The placekicker is Jared Guberman of West Georgia. Guberman was 15-17 on field goals and 22-25 on PATs. He had a long field goal of 44 yards and was 3-4 from 40-49 yards. Arkansas Tech punter Michael Podobnik led both the Gulf South Conference and NCAA Division II in punting with a 45.2-yard average per punt. The 45.2-yard average is a new single-season Tech and GSC record.

The AFCA has selected an All-America team every year since 1945. What makes these teams so special is that they are the only ones chosen exclusively by the men who know the players the best - the coaches themselves.

The five teams now chosen for each AFCA division evolved from a single 11-player squad in 1945. From 1945 until 1967, only one team was chosen. From 1967 through 1971, two teams, University Division and College Division, were selected. In 1972, the College Division was split into College I and College II. In 1979, the University Division was split into two teams - FBS and FCS. In 1996, the College I and College II teams were renamed Division II and Division III respectively. In 2006, the AFCA started selecting an NAIA-only team.

From 1965-81, a 22-player (11 offensive, 11 defensive) team was chosen. In 1982, a punter and placekicker were added to the team. In 1997, a return specialist was added, giving us the current 25-player team. The return specialist position has been replaced by an all-purpose player this season.

The AFCA's Division II All-America Selection Committee is made up of three head coaches from each of the AFCA's nine districts, one of whom serves as a district chairman, along with another head coach who serves as the chairman of the selection committee. The coaches in each district are responsible for ranking the top players in their respective districts prior to a conference call between the district chairmen and the committee chairman on which the team is chosen.

2007 AFCA Division II Coaches' All-America Team

Offense
Pos. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. School
WR Cedric Jones 6-0 180 So. Valdosta State
WR Weston Dressler* 5-8 164 Jr. North Dakota
OL Mackenzy Bernadeau 6-4 303 Sr. Bentley
OL Ben Hochstein 6-4 298 Sr. Nebraska-Omaha
OL Tim McCutcheon* 6-4 305 Sr. California (Pa.)
OL Christian Morton 6-5 286 Sr. South Dakota
OL Vince Cashdollar 6-2 297 Sr. Ashland
QB Brad Roach 6-6 245 Sr. Catawba
RB Jamar Brittingham 6-0 203 Sr. Bloomsburg
RB Xavier Omon 5-11 220 Sr. Northwest Missouri
RB Dervon Wallace 5-6 177 Sr. Shepherd

Defense
Pos. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. School
DL Brandon Swain 6-4 255 Jr. West Texas A&M
DL Jake Visser 6-2 275 Jr. Ferris State
DL Kurt Kissner 6-3 245 Sr. Mesa State
LB Michael Eubanks 6-2 225 Sr. Delta State
LB Anthony Adams 6-2 234 Sr. Grand Valley State
LB Will Clewis 6-1 240 Sr. Central Oklahoma
LB Eric Rice 5-11 205 Sr. Carson-Newman
DB Cary Williams 6-2 190 Sr. Washburn
DB Kendall Ricketts 5-10 190 Sr. Central Missouri
DB Craig Fox 6-0 185 Sr. North Alabama
DB Ranardrick Phillips 5-10 202 Sr. Tarleton State

Specialists
Pos. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. School
P Michael Podobnik 6-0 230 Jr. Arkansas Tech
PK Jared Guberman 5-10 190 Jr. West Georgia
AP De'Audra Dix 5-10 160 Sr. Johnson C. Smith

*-2006 AFCA All-American