A-R-C Announces Football All-Conference Teams
Nov 15, 2018
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The American Rivers Conference announced the All-Conference selections for the 2018 football seasons with 11 Spartans receiving honors, two on first team, five on second and five honorable mention.
After receiving second team all-conference honors last year, senior offensive lineman Collin Stefanowski senior (Lake Villa, Ill./Grant Community) worked his way up to First Team All-American Rivers Conference in 2018. Stefanowski collected 10 starts and played in 632 snaps for an 81% effeciency on the season with no penalities and allowed zero sacks. Running behind Stefanowski was running back Dwayne Allen Jr. (Jr., Hampshire, Ill./St. Edward), who earned first team all-conference honors for the second straight year. In 2018, Allen finished second in rushing in the American Rivers Conference with 1099 yards and 122.1 yards per game despite missing one game. Allen also had four catches for 36 yards over his nine games played.
Blaze Barista, Doug Gates and Marshon Crowder helped make up the Second Team All-American Rivers Defense in 2018. The three helped UD post the fourth best defense in the A-R-C, limiting opponents to 363.4 yards per game. The Spartans had the second most interceptions among all the defense’s in the conference with 14. A big part of the 15 interceptions was Blaze Barista (Jr., Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton Warrenville South) who grabbed five of his own which was tied for the second most in the conference. Barista racked up the fourth most tackles on the team with 57 and also recorded nine passes defended and four break ups.
The UD defense put pressure on the opposing quarterback all season long, leading the conference with 27 sacks. Doug Gates (Sr., Zion, Ill./Zion-Benton) earned second team honors last year as well and his four sacks and eight tackles for loss in 2018 were enough to give him those honors again. Marshon Crowder (So., Dubuque, Iowa/Hempstead) rounded out the Second Team Defense All-Conference honors for the Spartans as his eight sacks were the second most in the A-R-C, just a half of a sack behind the leader. Crowder also collected 12.5 tackles for loss and forced three fumbles, recovering two, including returning one for a touchdown in the final seconds to beat Loras.
For the third time in his four year career, Maurece Herrion (Sr., Elgin, Ill./Larkin) was honored with all-conference honors. After being honorable mention as a freshman and sophomore, Herrion was named Second Team All-ARC Offense on Thursday afternoon. Herrion rushed for 550 yards in his senior campaign, enough to give him the most career rushing yards in school history with 3,070. Herrion had six rushing touchdowns in 2018 to push him into second place all-time with 34 career rushing touchdowns. Jacob Britton (Sr., Wonder Lake, Ill./Woodstock North) helped Herrion reach those honors as Britton was named to the second team offensive line. Britton was a mainstay on the offensive line over the last three years, starting 28 of 30 games.
Andy Vujnovich (Columbus, Wis./Columbus) double dipped in honorable mention honors as both a punter and place kicker. Vujnovich punted 42 times this season for 1570 yards and an average of 37.4. Vujnovich made 31 of 34 extra points, the second most in the conference and had the second best extra point percentage among all conference kickers at 91.2%.
Kody Riemer, the junior from De Pere, Wisconsin and Menasha, Wisconsin had 666 receiving yards on 42 catches in 2018. Riemer produced a team-high nine touchdowns on the season, including four in the season finale against Wartburg. AJ Hunter (Jr., Elgin, Ill./Larkin) was paired with Riemer in the UD receiving core and the honorable mention list, producing 21 catches for 436 yards for a 20.8 average and four touchdowns. Hunter was also a dynamic returner, returning 17 kicks for 334 yards and a 19.6 yard average with a long of 35. Michael Lewis (Jr., Aurora, Ill./Joliet West) rounds out the all-conference honors for UD as he started all 10 games for the Spartans on the offensive line.
First Team Defense School Year Pos.
Jordy Borman Central College Junior DB
Dante Joseph Luther College Senior DB
Brendan Holmes Simpson College Junior DB
Ryan Lehr Simpson College Junior DB
JoJo McNair Wartburg College Sophomore DB
Gary Weaver Buena Vista University Junior DL
Daniel Vega Coe College Senior DL
Michael Noll Luther College Senior DL
Dillon Rademaker Wartburg College Senior DL
Chris Miller Loras College Junior LB
Michael Conner Simpson College Senior LB
Connor Frerichs Wartburg College Senior LB
First-Team Offense School Year Pos.
Blaine Hawkins Central College Sophomore QB
Matt Sacia Wartburg College Senior QB
Shaka Taylor Nebraska Wesleyan Senior RB
Cam Bunting Simpson College Senior RB
Dwayne Allen, Jr. University of Dubuque Junior RB
Matt Kopp Coe College Junior TE
Eric Pacheco Buena Vista University Sophomore WR
Dalton Kuehl Coe College Senior OL
Ryan Heinrichs Loras College Senior OL
Collin Stefanowski University of Dubuque Senior OL
Nic Vetter Wartburg College Senior OL
Hud Johnston Wartburg College Senior OL
First-Team Specialist School Year Pos.
Jon Alberts Central College Junior PK
Nathan Hawkins Simpson College Senior P
Elijah Thomas Loras College Freshman RS
Second-Team Defense School Year Pos.
Hunter Semelroth Coe College Junior DB
Prince Krah Simpson College Senior DB
Blaze Barista University of Dubuque Junior DB
Cedric Dobbins Wartburg College Junior DB
Trey Chumbley Simpson College Junior DL
Doug Gates University of Dubuque Senior DL
Jason Fisher Wartburg College Junior DL
Logan Rickard Coe College Junior LB
Terrence Hall Coe College Senior LB
Joe Weppler Simpson College Junior LB
Marshon Crowder University of Dubuque Sophomore LB
Marcus Johnson Wartburg College Senior LB
Second-Team Offense School Year Pos.
Cole Miller Buena Vista University Senior QB
Jonathan Curti Nebraska Wesleyan Junior QB
Maurece Herrion University of Dubuque Senior RB
Trevor Joiner Luther College Senior TE
Kolin Schulte Wartburg College Junior WR
JoJo McNair Wartburg College Sophomore WR
Cody Smith Central College Junior OL
Colton Davis Nebraska Wesleyan Sophomore OL
Mathew Wingerson Simpson College Senior OL
Carter Henken Simpson College Senior OL
Jacob Britton University of Dubuque Senior OL
Tyler Schager Wartburg College Senior OL
Second-Team Specialist School Year Pos.
Tristan Connell Coe College Sophomore PK
Cam Kiner Central College Junior P
Eric Pacheco Buena Vista University Sophomore RS
Honorable Mention School Year Pos.
Reed Kruse Buena Vista University Sophomore LB
Trevor Smith Central College Senior DB
Lou Gomez Central College Sophomore DB
Donny Groezinger Central College Senior RB
Pat Gray Central College Senior TE
Justin Schwennen Coe College Senior DB
Keegan Leliefeld Coe College Junior OL
Brian Gilles Loras College Senior DB
Alex Wernimont Loras College Senior LB
Dalton Vislisel Loras College Junior OL
Noah Sigwarth Loras College Sophomore QB
Brad Boelkow Loras College Senior WR
Alex Kruse Nebraska Wesleyan Senior DB
Jacob Garnas Nebraska Wesleyan Sophomore LB
Caleb Conway Nebraska Wesleyan Senior TE
Zachary Griswold Simpson College Senior OL
Tanner Krueger Simpson College Junior QB
Michael Lewis University of Dubuque Junior OL
Andy Vujnovich University of Dubuque Freshman PK
Andy Vujnovich University of Dubuque Freshman P
AJ Hunter University of Dubuque Junior RS
Kody Riemer University of Dubuque Junior WR
JoJo McNair Wartburg College Sophomore RS
