Nine Red Raiders Selected All-PSAC Western Division
Nov. 14, 2007
SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. - A total of nine players from the Shippensburg University football team were honored with All-PSAC Western Division selections on Wednesday, including four first team and five second team selections.
The Red Raiders' nine selections were the third-most among the 14 teams in the PSAC, seven behind PSAC Western Division champion California (Pa.) and one behind Indiana (Pa.), both of whom advanced to the 2007 NCAA Division II Football Championship.
Shippensburg has had a total of 21 all-conference selections
in the last two years after garnering 12 in 2006. Since
2004, the Red Raiders have boasted 44 All-PSAC Western Division selections,
the second-most in the division during that time, trailing only California
(Pa.) who has had 46. The Vulcans have also won three of the last four Western
Division titles.
Leading the way for Shippensburg were red-shirt senior Aaron Dykes
(West Chester/Downingtown), red-shirt sophomore Mike Harris
(East Earl/Garden Spot), senior Jamie Reder (Warrenton,
Va./Fauquier) and red-shirt
senior Jonathan Aldridge (Pittsburgh/Seneca Valley),
all of whom were first team honorees.
Dykes led the team in rushing for the third-straight season, totaling 634
yards and 11 touchdowns, both career-highs. He also finished his career
with his third consecutive All-PSAC Western Division selection and first,
first team selection. Dykes totaled 1,790 yards rushing, rankng him eighth
in school history. He also had 20 career rushing
touchdowns.
After red-shirting in 2006, Harris returned as one of the top receivers in the conference this season. He totaled 57 receptions for 779 yards which were the third and fourth-highest totals, respectively, in the PSAC and the most in a single-season at Shippensburg since Jamie Ware set the school records with 74 for 1,334 yards in 1999.
Harris' 57 receptions were the fourth-most in a single-season in school history while his 779 yards were eighth. He also added four touchdowns.
Reder concluded his career as one of the top kickers in school history after totaling 244 points, the most ever by a kicker, and 44 field goals which are just one behind Howie Guarini's school record total of 45. Reder made 44-of-58 career field goal attempts, 75.9 percent, while hitting 39-of-45 attempts from inside 40 yards (86.7 percent).
One of the top safeties in the PSAC over the last four years, Aldridge earned his first all-conference selection after leading the team in tackles for the second time in the last three seasons. After totaling a team-high 91 tackles this year, He finished his career with 256 stops in 38 career games, 32 of which were starts.
Aldridge also had a team-high 97 tackles in 2005 and finished his career with 8.0 tackles for loss and 16 pass breakups.
Shippensburg's lone All-PSAC Western Division Second Team selection on offense was red-shirt junior Kerry Robbins (Mechanicsburg/Cumberland Valley) who earned his second-straight second team honor. He started all 11 of the team's games at center for the second consecutive season while helping Shippensburg rank seventh in the PSAC in rushing offense and fifth in sacks against with just 20 which was an improvement of plus-10 from last year.
Including Aldridge, the Red Raiders boasted four all-conference selections defensively who helped the team finish the regular season ranked third in total defense and fifth in both rushing and pass defense.
Red-shirt junior Jason Groller (Easton/Easton) picked up his second consecutive second team selection after finishing second among defensive linemen with 44 tackles which included 4.0 for loss and 1.5 sacks. He led the team in quarterback hurries with three and also had a fumble recovery.
After appearing in his first 11 games as a reserve, red-shirt sophomore Andy Casale (Mechanicsburg/Cumberland Valley) started the final six of the season at linebacker where he finished second on the team in tackles with 71 to earn All-PSAC Western Division Second Team accolades.
Casale posted career-highs in tackles the final two weeks of the season, posting 13 at Indiana (Pa.) on November 3 before totaling 14 in the season-finale at sixth-ranked California (Pa.) on November 11.
A year after earning first team honors following one of the best defensive seasons in school history, red-shirt senior Jaron Nalewak (Chambersburg/Chambersburg) picked up a second team selection this season after finishing fourth on the team with 58 tackles in just nine games. He led the team in tackles for loss for the second consecutive year with 8.5 while adding 1.5 sacks.
Nalewak finished his career with 201 tackles, including 38.5 for loss, the ninth-most in school history, as well as 10 sacks.
The final member of this year's team to earn an All-PSAC Western Division selection was sophomore Kyler Ford (Bedford/Bedford) who was named to the second team, a year after earning first team honors. He ranked sixth in the conference in punting with an average of 39.5 yards per punt, a mark that was also 27th in Division II.
After two seasons, Ford is averaging 39.6 yards per punt which is the second-best in school history behind Steve Ecker's mark of 46.2 yards from 1963-65.
Shippensburg finished the season 3-8 overall, including 2-4 and in fifth place in the PSAC Western Division. The last time the Red Raiders finished with three wins or less was in 1996 when they also went 3-8.
However, despite the team's record, Shippensburg was only 14 points from having a 6-5 record after a five-point loss at then No. 9 Shepherd on September 1, a five-point defeat at home against then No. 19-ranked West Chester on September 22 and a four-point loss at home to Slippery Rock who finished the season ranked seventh in the Northeast Region.
The top six teams advanced to the 2007 NCAA Division II Football Championship which included Shepherd and West Chester. This season, the Red Raiders played against four teams in this year's national playoffs, the most of any team in the Northeast Region.
Shippensburg opens the 2008 season at home against Shepherd in the 11th annual Great Valley Classic on August 30.
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