Football All-Conference and Individual Award Winners Announced
ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – Newberry quarterback Reed Charpia was named the South Atlantic Conference Offensive Player of the Year, and his head coach Todd Knight was selected as the league's Coach of the Year, as the SAC announced its 2025 Football All-Conference and Individual Award winners this afternoon. Wingate swept the Freshman of the Year honors, with Elihu Lipscomb earning Defensive Freshman of the Year and Jaylen Himes taking home Offensive Freshman of the Year accolades. Emory & Henry's Ean Rhea was voted Defensive Player of the Year, while Catawba's Avery Swinton earned the Jacobs Blocking Trophy.
Charpia led the SAC in completions, completion percentage, and passing yards, and finished second in touchdown passes. The graduate student delivered an impressive 23 touchdown passes to just one interception during the regular season and surpassed 200 passing yards in all but one game. He engineered multiple game-winning drives, including a dramatic touchdown and two-point conversion to defeat Wingate 43–42 in overtime.
Knight earns his fourth Ken Sparks Coach of the Year award—and his third in the past five seasons. He guided the Wolves to the sixth SAC Championship in program history and their fourth outright title. Knight earned his 100th career victory in Newberry's win over Wingate, becoming just the fourth coach in SAC history to reach triple digits. He also led the Wolves to their seventh playoff appearance.
Lipscomb finished second in the conference with seven sacks for Wingate and earned SAC Defensive Player of the Week honors three times this season. He recorded two sacks each against Catawba and Anderson and posted a three-sack performance versus Mars Hill. He added two forced fumbles and totaled 9.5 tackles for loss.
Himes led the conference in receiving yards, yards per catch, and receiving touchdowns, while ranking second in total receptions. He hauled in 66 passes for 1,194 yards and 11 touchdowns. His nearly 1,200 receiving yards rank 10th in SAC single-season history. Himes closed the season with four straight 100-yard performances, and he recorded six games of 100 yards or more, scoring a touchdown in six of his final seven contests.
Rhea led the SAC with 12 sacks—five more than any other player—to earn Defensive Player of the Year honors. He notched three sacks against Anderson on Sept. 27, beginning a streak of seven consecutive games with at least one sack. He finished the year with 50 tackles, three forced fumbles, and a conference-leading 17.5 tackles for loss.
Swinton becomes Catawba's first Jacobs Blocking Trophy winner since Brian Hinson received the honor in 1999 and just the second player in program history to earn the award. He anchored an offensive line that helped Catawba finish second in the SAC in rushing yards per game.
In addition to the individual awards, the league announced its first and second team All-Conference honorees.
2025 ALL-SAC FOOTBALL
FIRST TEAM OFFENSE
QB – Reed Charpia, Newberry
RB – Jordan Jackson, Emory & Henry
RB – Xavier Pugh, Wingate
RB – Jon Gullette, Mars Hill
WR – Jaylen Himes, Wingate
WR – Keith Desaussure, Newberry
WR – Charlie Guinade, Mars Hill
OL – Avery Swinton, Catawba
OL – Will Hart, Wingate
OL – Davion Pyles, Newberry
OL – Deshaun Sharp, Emory & Henry
OL – Porfirio Acosta, Wingate
TE – Caleb Lominac, Mars Hill
PK – Trace Butcher, Emory & Henry
LS – Everett McLaughlin, Wingate
RS – Tye Roberson, Lenoir-Rhyne
FIRST TEAM DEFENSE
DL – Ean Rhea, Emory & Henry
DL – Mandjou Berte, Wingate
DL – Elihu Lipscomb, Wingate
DL – Sakarri Morrison, Mars Hill
LB – Cruz Temple, Carson-Newman
LB – Ryan Green, Wingate
LB – Jamar Blandin, Newberry
OLB – Evan Simons, Catawba
DB – Shawn Collins, Emory & Henry
DB – Champ Baker, Carson-Newman
DB – Desmond Greene, Lenoir-Rhyne
DB – Brandon Perry, Wingate
P – Jake Marcantel, UVA Wise
SECOND TEAM OFFENSE
QB – Preston Brown, Catawba
RB – Kevin Lalin, Catawba
RB – Daniel Thomas, UVA Wise
RB – Bennett Galloway, Catawba
WR – Cam Peoples, Emory & Henry
WR – Songa Yates, Lenoir-Rhyne
WR – Bo Pryor, Catawba
OL – Dallas Foard, Catawba
OL – Jalen Brooks, Catawba
OL – Kamron Burris, Anderson
OL – Ryan Whetzel, Lenoir-Rhyne
OL – Rubens Joseph, Lenoir-Rhyne
TE – Jalen Brown, Catawba
PK – Caleb Bonesteel, Wingate
LS – Brendan Shoaf, Carson-Newman
RS – Cam Peoples, Emory & Henry
SECOND TEAM DEFENSE
DL – Jonathen Cross, Wingate
DL – Jaydon Eason, Newberry
DL – Martavis Mason, Carson-Newman
DL – Joshua Gooding, Emory & Henry
LB – Josiah Jeffery, Anderson
LB – Steven Reid, Mars Hill
LB – Jaquan Edwards, Wingate
OLB – Mekhi Brown, Carson-Newman
DB – Chendrick Cann, Emory & Henry
DB – Nigel Gay, Catawba
DB – James Ussery, Lenoir-Rhyne
DB – Avery McFadden, Newberry
P – Grayson Campbell, Carson-Newman
Offensive Freshman of the Year
Jaylen Himes, Wingate
Offensive Player of the Year
Reed Charpia, Newberry
Defensive Freshman of the Year
Elihu Lipscomb, Wingate
Defensive Player of the Year
Ean Rhea, Emory & Henry
Jacobs Blocking Trophy
Avery Swinton, Catawba
Ken Sparks Coach of the Year
Todd Knight, Newberry