ANGOLA, IND. -- Eleven members of the Trine University football team cap the 2021 season by earning All-Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association honors for their individual efforts during the year.
Sophomore Xaine Kirby (Sweetser, Ind./Eastbrook), seniors Noah Meeker (Elida, Ohio/Elida), Nicholas LaFountain (South Bend, Ind./John Adams), sophomore Kyle Naif (Riverview, Mich./Riverview), junior Keysean Amison (Sandusky, Ohio/Perkins) and senior Ryan Hibbets (Monticello, Ind./Twin Lakes) were first-team selections. Sophomore Alex Price (Reading, Mich./Reading), freshmen Connor Arthur (Bryan, Ohio/Bryan), Jamon Gibson (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic) and juniors Aaron Dean (Fort Wayne, Ind./Eastside) and Angel Sanchez (Valparaiso, Ind./Portage) were second-team picks.
As a team, the Thunder finished with a 4-1 overall record and went 2-1 in the MIAA in an abbreviated season.
Offensively, LaFountain and Meeker were part of an offensive line that helped the Thunder average 389.0 yards of total offense to rank third in the MIAA. Trine had 300 or more yards of offense in all five games during the season and had three games of 400 or more yards with a season-high 483-yards performance in the season-finale against Olivet (Mich.) College. The Thunder averaged 175.6 yards on the ground to lead the conference and the team scored 33.2 points per game which was the second-most in the MIAA. As a unit, the offensive line allowed 15 quarterback sacks which resulted in 213.4 yards per game passing.
Kirby led Trine and was second in the MIAA in rushing with 458 yards and averaged 91.6 yards per game which led both the team and the conference. Kirby found the endzone six times and averaged 5.4 yards per carry. He had two games of 100 or more yards that included a 141-yard effort in the season opener against Adrian on Oct. 3 which was a career-high at the time and scored three times. In the second-to-last game of the season, in the second meeting against the Bulldogs, Kirby improved upon his earlier all-time mark with 166 yards and two more touchdowns. In addition, Kirby earned MIAA "Player of the Week" honors during the season as well as D3football.com "Team of the Week" accolades at the national level.
Price was the team's primary quarterback, starting all five games and completed 61-of-111 passes for an even 1000 yards and tossed six TD. His 1000 passing yards were the third most in the MIAA and he averaged 200.0 passing yards per game which were fourth highest among the conference QBs. He was also the team's third-leading rusher with 79 yards (1.5 yards per carry) and had one rushing TD. Price had two games of 200 or more passing yards, including a career-high 331-yard day against Olivet in which he completed 16-of-25 passes and two TD.
Arthur was one of Price's prime targets at wide receiver and was also one of three players to finish with 200 or more reception yards during the year. He caught 11 passes for 212 yards, both stats ranked third on the team. Arthur averaged 19.3 yards per catch and 42.4 receiving yards a game. Additionally, he led the team in receiving TD with three. Arthur posted season-high efforts of 73 yards and four catches in the matchup against Albion to go along with a TD, and then had a season-best 91 yards in four receptions and one TD against Olivet to end the season.
Defensively, Naif helped anchor a squad that allowed 368.0 yards of offense and accounted for 12 takeaways with eight fumble recoveries and four interceptions. Individually, Naif finished fourth on the team in tackles with 20. He was second in solo tackles with 16 and added four assisted stops. Two of his tackles were for loss and he also had a pair of pass breakups. Naif had a career-high effort of 13 tackles (12 solo and one assist) in the matchup against Albion (Mich.) College on Mar. 20.
Gibson was part of a defensive line that helped Trine make 11 sacks during the year. He had 10 tackles in his first season with the Thunder with five solo and five assists. He tallied a half tackle for loss and also had a pass breakup. Gibson had at lead one tackle in each of the three games he played, including a season-high of five stops (three solo and two assists) against Adrian in late March. He also had a four-tackle game (two solo and two assists) the previous week against Albion.
Amison, Dean and Sanchez were part of the defensive secondary that accounted for a combined four interceptions on the year. Sanchez led the group with two interceptions, while Dean and Amison picked off a pass each. Amison finished second on the team in tackles with 27 (15 solo and 12 assists) and had a season-high of eight stops (six solo and two assists) against Albion. His eight tackles were part of four straight games of five or more tackles. In addition to his interception, Amison also recovered a fumble to go along with a fumble forced and a pass breakup.
Sanchez was fifth in tackles with 17 (10 solo and seven assists) and was second in pass breakups with three. Sanchez recorded a least a tackle in all five games with a season-best of six tackles (all solo) in the second meeting against Adrian on Mar. 27. He also had one his interceptions in that game which he ran back for a 54-yard touchdown and led to "Team of the Week" accolades by D3football.com. Dean led the team in pass breakups with four and had 13 total tackles on the year (nine solo and four assists). Dean's interception came in the second week of the season against Manchester in which he returned it 50 yards and led to a Trine field goal. In addition to the INT, Dean had a fumble recovery and blocked a field goal attempt in the season opener against Adrian that he ran back for an 84-yard touchdown.
On special teams, Hibbet capped an outstanding career as a kicker finishing second on the team in scoring with a total of 25 points thanks to six field goals and seven extra points. Five of his field goals were of 30 or more yards, including two of over 40 yards with a season-high 48-yarder against Olivet in which he finished three-of-three in that game. He also averaged 59.2 yards on kickoffs with 10 touchbacks. Hibbets ends his career with 47 points scored on 13 field goals and eight extra points. He holds the school record for longest field goal (53 yards) and owns the top-five distances for made field goals in program history.
