Fireworks Expected on Cold Night

January 07, 2010

The West features two 1,000-yard rushers and three 1,000-yard receivers and that doesn’t even touch on the quarterbacks.  Edinboro’s Trevor Harris and hometown hero Billy Garza (Texas A&M-Kingsville) will be taking the snaps and they will have some impressive options when handing the ball off or throwing it.

Northwest Missouri State’s LaRon Council is the big name running back in the game coming off a National Championship.  He rushed for 1,782 yards and scored 22 touchdowns to go along with 42 receptions for 395 yards.  Joining him in the backfield are Keldrick Johnson (Ouachita Baptist) and Jon Richardson (Gannon).  Johnson averaged 112.2 yards per game on the ground and scored 12 touchdowns in 10 games.  Richardson came in just under 1,000 yards for the season with 943 while scoring 16 touchdowns on the ground.

Harris completed 66.9 percent of his passes, had a 3-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio and averaged 275.3 yards passing per game.  He also picked up 370 yards on the ground and scored six touchdowns.

Garza owns a number of Javelina passing records.  He completed nearly 61 percent of his passes this season and averaged 225.9 yards per game in an offense that ran the ball more than they passed.

Harris and Garza will have a plethora of options to throw the ball too.  Adam Saur (Colorado School of Mines) leads the way with 84 catches for 1,219 yards and 15 touchdowns.  Midwestern State’s Andy Tanner had 75 catches for 1,186 yards and 12 scores while Johnny Spevak (Central Washington) had 74 catches for 1,020 yards and 12 touchdowns on the season.  Southeastern Oklahoma’s Daniel Nichols just missed 1,000 yards with 971 and 12 touchdowns.  Tight end Jarrell NeSmith (Tusculum) adds 56 catches for 678 yards from his slot.

The East appears to have a stronger passing game on paper with two of the most prolific passers in NCAA Division II calling the signals.  Grand Valley State’s Brad Iciek had a passer rating of 164.1 in leading the Lakers to the NCAA Division II championship game.  He passed for 35 touchdowns against only three interceptions.  Nick Graziano (Arkansas Tech) will be the other quarterback.  He only passed for 359.4 yards per game and 38 touchdowns in just 12 games.  He also rushed for 455 yards and seven touchdowns.

The East only has a single 1,000-yard rusher, but he has star power.  Carson-Newman’s Buck Wakefield averaged 8.1 yards per carry and averaged 137.7 yards per game while scoring 21 touchdowns.  Joining him in the backfield are Demetrice Johnson (Albany State) and Jarom Freeman (Southern Connecticut State) who each averaged over 5.0 yards per carry.  Johnson also had 30 receptions for 446 yards and five touchdowns.

The East boasts four 1,000-yard receiving threats.  A.J. Jackson (California of PA) had 101 receptions for 1,424 yards and 18 touchdowns, all top marks among all players in the all-star game.  Arkansas Tech’s Frantz Simeon teams with Graziano for one more game.  Simeon had 90 catches for 1,359 yards and 14 scores.  Eddie Hills (West Liberty State) played for one of the highest scoring offenses in the country and had 88 catches for 1,091 yards and five scores.  Shippensburg’s Mike Harris is the final 1,000-yard receiver in the game.  He had 62 catches for 1,020 yards and 10 touchdowns.  Grand Valley State’s Blake Smolen adds 57 catches for 917 yards and he also had 322 yards rushing on the season.

Both squads feature a number of top kick return men.  Jerome Hewitt (Southeastern Oklahoma) will be fielding kicks for the West after scoring five special teams touchdowns this year.  He averaged 30.5 yards per kick return and 16.7 yards per punt return.  C.J. Lovett (Fort Hays State) will likely be back on kicks as well after averaging 27.3 yards per kickoff return and 38.8 yards per punt return.  He scored four special teams touchdowns.

Reggie Smith (Elizabeth City State) is the East’s return specialist.  He had four touchdowns on the year while averaging 26.8 yards per kick return and 20.2 yards per punt return.  Frantz Simeon will likely be back on kick returns as well after averaging 24.7 yards per return with a touchdown.

If the game is close look for either West team kicker Garrett Rolsma (Central Washington) and East team kicker Mark Petro (Hillsdale) to make an impact on the game.  Rolsma made 20-of-25 field goals this year with a long of 47 while scoring 100 points.  Petro went 19-for-23 on field goals with a long of 45 while scoring 108 points.

On defense, the top tacklers for the West are Jarred Schumpert (Southwest Baptist) and Zach Watkins (Washburn).  Schumpert had 116 tackles with 19.0 for loss while Watkins had 108 tackles with 11 for loss.  The top sack man on the squad is Angelo State’s Calvin Fance who had 14.0 quarterback sacks.  Randy Shepherd (Central Missouri) and Myles Burnsides (Northwest Missouri State) lead the team with six and five interceptions, respectively.

The East defense is led by John Jacobs (Saginaw Valley State) and J.D. Douglas (West Alabama).  Jacobs had 149 tackles and 14.5 tackles for loss while Douglas had 131 tackles with 3.5 tackles for loss.  Andre Bernardi (North Greenville) and Drew Berube (Hillsdale) bring 13.5 and 13.0 sacks, respectively, to the defensive line.  Justin Hamilton (Elizabeth City State) and Josh Jones (Harding) lead the team with nine and eight interceptions, respectively.

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