FREELAND, Mich. – The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) has announced the 2021 All-MIAA Football first and second teams as voted by the association's coaches. Ten members of the Trine University football team were named All-MIAA and senior Justin White (Indianapolis, Ind. / Perry Meridian) received the Pete Schmidt Award.
The Pete Schmidt Memorial Scholar-Athlete award has been presented every year since 2001 honoring the legacy of Pete Schmidt, an Alma College alumni and Albion College football coach who died of cancer in 2000. The award is the MIAA's highest scholar-athlete honor for football.
White is the fifth Thunder football senior to receive the honor. Majoring in both Criminal Justice and Psychology, White overcame cancer and a Gitelman's Syndrome to continue competing for the football program while also excelling in the classroom. The senior earned a MIAA Academic Honor Roll status in his first year eligible. White has served as the Thunder's starting long snapper on field goals and extra points for the past two seasons.
Off the field he has been an active member of the campus community serving as president of the Tau Kappa Epsilon and as the Survivorship Chairman for Relay for Life at Trine. Off campus he has represented the university by attending a national leadership academy, interning with ILEA's legal staff and at Turning Point, a homeless shelter that offers help and housing to families and individuals.
Five members of the Thunder earned first team honors. Representing the team on defense were sophomore Jamon Gibson (Toledo, Ohio / Central Catholic), junior Kyle Naif (Riverview, Mich. / Riverview) and senior Keysean Amison (Sandusky, Ohio / Perkins). Representing special teams were seniors Ryan Hibbets (Monticello, Ind. / Twin Lakes) and Josh Davis (Sterling Heights, Mich. / Sterling Heights).
Gibson was a force to be reckoned with on the defensive line. He finished the season with 15 tackles for a loss for a total of 77 yards lost, including five sacks. Those five sacks all came during conference play the fourth highest total among MIAA student-athletes. All told he finished with 48 tackles including 29 coming solo. He forced a fumble during the season and returned his lone interception of the season back for a 62-yard touchdown.
Naif helped anchor the center of the Trine defense as a linebacker. He finished the season with 77 tackles leading the team and tied for seventh in the MIAA during conference play with 41 tackles. He led the team with five and a half sacks in the season, but came in fifth during MIAA season with four. He finished the season with nine and a half tackles for a loss. He forced one fumble and came recovered another which he returned for a defensive touchdown. He also made his mark on special teams with a pair of punt blocks.
Amison came in second on the team with 76 tackles during the season, including a team high 48 solo attempts. During MIAA play his 48 tackles was third best among competition. He recorded seven pass break ups from his safety position while also forcing a pair of fumbles. His five breakups during MIAA play was second amongst competitors. This is the second time that both Amison and Naif have earned first team honors.
Hibbetts makes his second straight appearance as the first team All-MIAA kicker this season. This season he finished 9-12 on field goal attempts and 33-36 on point after attempts. His long for the season was a 46-yard field goal happening twice, once against Manchester and once against Kalamazoo. His long was tied for longest during MIAA play and he finished second with 37 points.
Davis earned first team honors as a return specialist following a spectacular season of returning kickoffs. He led the conference with 367 return yards and averaging just over 40 yards per return. during the MIAA season. He was the only player to record a kick return touchdown during the MIAA season.
Five more student athletes represented Trine as members of the second teams. Offensively juniors Xaine Kirby (Sweetser, Ind. / Eastbrook) and Jackson Linback (Lafayette, Ind. / McCutcheon) were selected. On defense seniors Tyler Pollard (Homosassa, Fla. / Crystal River), Angel Sanchez (Valparaiso, Ind. / Portage) and Aaron Dean (Fort Wayne, Ind. / Eastside) all took home honors.
Linback was a staple on the offensive line which helped the Thunder rack up over 1600 yards of rushing. Kirby accounted for over 800 of those yards while averaging just under 100 yards per game. During the MIAA season Kirby was third with 494 yards averaging 82.3 per game.
Pollard, who played beside Naif at linebacker, finished third on the team with 75 total tackles, 29 of which were solo attempts. He recorded a pair of sacks during the season with eight total tackles for a loss. He also forced a pair of fumbles and his lone interception was returned for a touchdown against Alma.
Dean was half of a dangerous pair of cornerbacks starting for the Thunder. He finished the season leading the team with three interceptions and eight pass breakups. During conference play he finished with five breakups finishing second in the MIAA. His three interceptions all came during MIAA contests, the third highest total for the season. He also finished with 22 tackles.
Sanchez, the other half of the cornerback pair, finished the season with a pair of interceptions and seven pass breakups. He totaled 28 tackles through the season.
Trine finished the season 6-4 overall and 4-2 in MIAA play, third in the conference.