December
8, 2004
SIX
FOOTBALL PLAYERS SELECTED DAKTRONICS ALL-NORTHEAST REGION
SHIPPENSBURG,
Pa. - Shippensburg
University, the top-ranked team in the Northeast Region, had six players
selected to the 2004 Daktronics All-Northeast Region Football Team on
Wednesday. The Red Raiders, who
had the most first-team selections with four, trailed only national
semifinalist West Chester University who has seven overall selections.
Senior fullback John
Kuhn (York, Pa./Dover), junior offensive guard Chris Leavenworth
(Milan, Pa./Athens), senior defensive end Ryan Hoffman
(Phoenixville, Pa./St. Pius X) and junior cornerback Brent Grimes
(Philadelphia, Pa./Northeast) represented Shippensburg on the first-team while
senior linebacker Dan Walsh (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) and senior strong safety Mike Street
(Philadelphia, Pa./Mastbaum) earned second-team selections.
Kuhn and Grimes
are two of only three repeat selections on the first-team. The Pennsylvania State
Athletic Conference (PSAC), who placed four teams in the 2004 NCAA Division II
Football Championship, led the way 26 overall selections, including 16 on the
first-team. Sports information
directors from the Northeast Region select the team. The region consists of 33 schools from
the PSAC, the Northeast-10 (NE-10) and West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic
conference (WVIAC).
A three-time
All-PSAC selection, Kuhn was chosen First-Team All-PSAC Western Division this
year after totaling 1,487 yards rushing and 14 touchdowns. A Northeast Region finalist for the
Harlon Hill Trophy, given to the top player in NCAA Division II each year, he
finished his career with 21 school records, including career marks in yards
rushing (4,685), carries (910), touchdowns (53), all-purpose yards (5,300) and
games with at least 100 yards rushing (26).
Leavenworth
earned his first career All-PSAC and postseason accolade this year in helping
Shippensburg establish a new school record for rushing yards in a single-season
with 3,112. The Red Raiders also almost set new single-season records for total
offense and points with 4,882 yards of total offense and 392 points. The
offensive line yielded only 18 sacks in 223 passing attempts this season, an
average of one every 12.
A national
finalist for the inaugural Gene Upshaw Award, given to the top lineman,
offensive or defensive, in Division II, Hoffman led the team in tackles for
loss with 12.5 for 58 yards, sacks with 4.5 for 38 yards in losses and
quarterback hurries with four. He
had at least one tackle for loss in nine of the teamıs 12 games this season and
finished his career with 38.0 tackles for loss and 14.5 sacks.
A threat to
opposing teams on both defense and special teams, Grimes tied for the team lead
in interceptions with seven for 132 yards in returns and one touchdown, an
average of 18.9 per return, while leading the team in punt returns with 17 for
189 yards (11.1 avg.) and totaling seven kick returns for 148 yards (21.1
avg.). He was also second on the
team in pass breakups with 12. Grimes was chosen first-team All-conference at
cornerback and second-team choice as a return specialist.
Walsh led the
team in tackles for the second consecutive year with 72 total, including 51
solo and 21 assisted. One of two team captains, he was chosen First-Team
All-PSAC Western Division for the second-straight season and totaled 4.5
tackles for a loss of 12 yards and 1.5 sacks for seven yards in losses.
Shippensburg led the conference in scoring defense, rushing defense and total
defense this year.
Street tied for
the team lead in interceptions and had the second-longest interception return
for a touchdown in team history with a 92-yard return at home against then-No.
20 Bloomsburg University. He
finished fourth on the team in tackles with 64, the highest total among all
defensive backs. Named PSAC
Western Division Player of the Week and the Shippensburg VFW Defensive Player
of the Game following his performance against Edinboro University in the
Homecoming game.
Shippensburg, who
finished with a 10-2 record this season, won a share of the PSAC Western
Division championship for the first time since 1988 and advanced to the second
round of the 2004 NCAA Division II Football Championship. The team won 10 games
for the first time since 1991 and posted 10 wins during the regular-season for
the first time since 1981.
The first-team
selections from the Daktronics All-Northeast Region Football Team will be
forwarded to the national ballot.
The All-America team will be released on Thursday, December 16. Both teams are sponsored by Daktronics,
Inc., an acknowledged world leader in scoring, timing and programmable display
systems for virtually every sport at all levels of competition.
- Red Raider Football -