12 Thunder Players Named All-MIAA
ROYAL OAK, Mich. - After finishing the football season second in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association, the Trine University squad had 12 honorees on the All-MIAA squad including the Offensive Most Valuable Player in senior wide receiver/return specialist JaVontae Hence (Elkhart, Ind./Concord).This marks the third time in four years that a Trine player has earned the Conference Offensive MVP as Hence joins former All-American quarterback Eric Watt who was a two-time winner.
Senior wide receiver Mario Brown (Battle Creek, Mich./Battle Creek Central) was also named the Pete Schmidt Memorial Scholar-Athlete Award winner, which honors Pete Schmidt who was a graduate of Alma College where he competed in football and baseball. After a successful high school coaching record he became head coach at Albion College, leading the Britons to nine championships in 14 seasons (1983-96) and an NCAA Division III national championship in 1994. He died of cancer in 2000. Brown joins former Trine/Tri-State students Jeremy Howard in 2010 and Adam Garvin in 2006 to win the award.
In all, 12 Trine football players earned All-MIAA honors, one behind conference champion Adrian who had 14 total. The nine Trine players to earn first team honors were three more than Albion and four more than Adrian.
Hence was also honored as an All-MIAA First Team selections as a both a wide receiver and return specialist joining senior quarterback Ryan Hargraves (Taylor, Mich./Truman), junior left tackle Taylor Sprague (Lowell, Mich./Lowell), sophomore left guard Andrew Webster (Fort Wayne, Ind./North Side), defensive end Louis Danesi (Santa Fe, Texas/Santa Fe), junior outside linebacker Caleb Nitz (Baroda, Mich./Lakeshore), senior cornerback Myron Puryear (Canton, Mich./Plymouth) and junior kicker Tyler Keck (Elkhart, Ind./Elkhart Memorial).
Named to the All-MIAA Second Team was senior right tackle Kenny Kill (Cromwell, Ind./West Noble) and safeties junior Blaek Combs (Rushville, Ind./Rushville Consolidate) and sophomore Tyler Guzy (Coldwater, Mich./Coldwater).
It marks the third straight season for Hence to be honored as All-MIAA after earning first team honors in 2011 and second team honors in 2010. Hence finished second in the conference in receptions and reception yards per game and fourth in all-purpose yards. Hence led the Thunder with 865 yards on the year and 64 catches with four touchdowns. As a returner, Hence took nine kicks back for 281 yards including an 82-yard touchdown and seven punts for 106 yards including a 79-yard score.
Hargraves helped led the Trine offense to a conference best 31.5 points per game. Through the air, Hargraves led the MIAA in total offense, averaging 227.5 yards per game, pass efficiency at 168.9 and was second in passing yards per game at 192.2 including completing 73.1 percent of his passes in MIAA play.
Sprague and Webster anchored Hargraves blind side the entire season, as both started all 10 games for the Thunder. This marks the fifth straight season that a Trine offensive lineman has earned All-MIAA First Team honors.
Keck connected on nine straight field goals to start the season, including a season-long 40-yard boot. Keck finished second in the conference in scoring, averaging 7.5 points per game, making a conference best seven field goals and was a perfect 24-for-24 on extra points which also led the conference.
On the defensive side of the ball, Puryear earns first team all-conference honors for the second straight season. Puryear was tied for fifth on the team in tackles with 60 (41 solo, 19 assisted) while also making an interception and returning a fumble 79 yards for a touchdown. Puryear also served as a kickoff returner, taking back 15 kicks for 399 yard including a season-long 92-yard score.
Danesi was the conference leader in sacks, recording 6.0 in MIAA action and 8.0 on the season, which ranks tied for second in school history. Danesi was third on the team in tackles with 68 (35 solo, 33 assisted) which included 15.5 tackles for loss, of which 9 came in conference action which ranked second.
Nitz ranked 13th in MIAA action averaging 6.8 tackles per game while finishing the season with 72 total tackles (37 solo, 35 assisted), despite missing a game due to injury. His 72 tackles ranked him 5th among all players in the MIAA on the year. Nitz also finished second on the team with 9.5 tackles for loss.
Kill earned All-MIAA honors for the first time in his career after starting all 10 games for the Thunder at right tackle.
Combs finished second in conference with four interceptions while making five total picks on the season. Combs was also fourth in the conference with 8.6 tackles per game, finishing with 60 total tackles on the season (31 solo, 29 assisted). Combs also recovered a conference leading two fumbles while making 4.5 tackles for loss on the year.
Guzy led the Thunder defense in total tackles for the season with 74 (44 solo, 30 assisted), and ranked tied for 31st in conference action with 5.0 tackles per game. The 74 tackles on the season ranked him 7th among the leaders in the conference at 7.4 per game. Guzy also recovered two fumbles and picked off a pass on the season.
