ARKADELPHIA – Just a few days removed from winning the program's third Great American Conference championship, the Ouachita Tigers football team was rewarded with a league-best 17 all-conference selections.
In addition to the student-athletes honored, Ouachita head coach Todd Knight was selected as the 2017 GAC Coach of the Year, his third such GAC honor and fourth overall conference-awarded honor, including his Gulf South Conference Coach of the Year award in 1998 as head coach of Delta State. Knight picked up his 100th win as Ouachita's head coach in this past Saturday's Battle of the Ravine victory over Henderson State.
Four Tigers earned All-GAC First Team honors, highlighted by sophomore offensive lineman Justin Gooseberry, who was one of only two players in the league to be a unanimous selection. Justin's brother Cori Gooseberry, also a sophomore offensive lineman, was selected to the first team along with junior all-purpose back Drew Harris and sophomore receiver Allie Freeman. Freeman was also recognized as an honorable mention return specialist. He ranks sixth in the nation and leads the GAC in kickoff returns with an average of 30.6 yards per return. Harris and Freeman are now two-time All-GAC honorees.
Ouachita's second team honorees include senior defensive end Jon Rachal, junior defensive tackle Ernest Reed, senior linebacker Elijah Jones, senior linebacker Luke Holt, and sophomore cornerback Keandre Evans. Reed and Jones are now two-time All-GAC honorees.
Other than Freeman's nod as a return specialist, the Tigers landed seven additional All-GAC honorable mention selections, including senior quarterback Austin Warford, junior running back Kris Oliver, sophomore linebacker John Johnson, senior cornerback Shaquille Hunter, senior safety Zach Miller, senior punter Shelton Wooley, and junior kicker Cole Antley. Oliver, Wooley, and Antley are all now three-time All-GAC honorees.
The Gooseberry brothers anchored an offensive line that ranks first in the nation in sacks allowed with an average of 0.55 allowed per game. Ouachita's offense features a balanced attack that ranked second in the conference in scoring, third in total offense and second in rushing offense.
Drew Harris is all over the GAC and NCAA statistical leaderboards. He ranks second in the nation and first in the GAC in with a total of 26 touchdowns scored. He's racked up 489 rushing yards with 20 touchdowns, 723 receiving yards with 6 touchdowns, and has even thrown one touchdown pass this season.
Jon Rachal and Ernest Reed have been a vital part of Ouachita's front line defense this season. Rachal has 40 total tackles and leads the team in tackles for loss (8.5) and sacks (6.5). Reed has 27 total tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.
Elijah Jones currently leads Ouachita and ranks sixth in the GAC with 91 total tackles. Lucas Holt has racked up 71 tackles. Keandre Evans is tied for second in the league with a total of 13 passes defended, including 11 pass breakups and two interceptions.
Austin Warford leads the GAC and ranks 10th nationally in passing efficiency. He's completed just over 67 percent of his passes this season and has racked up 2,076 passing yards with 13 touchdown tosses. He ranks third in the league in total offense.
Kris Oliver has paced the Tiger rushing attack this season with an average of 6.1 yards per carry. He's totaled 795 rushing yards on 131 carries with three rushing touchdowns.
John Johnson has tallied 32 tackles this season with 2.5 tackles for loss and two pass breakups added. Shaq Hunter has 45 tackles, three tackles for loss, one sack, one interception and nine passes defended. Zach Miller has 48 tackles, two interceptions, and a team-best 13 passes defended.
Special teamers Shelton Wooley and Cole Antley return to the All-GAC teams for the third consecutive season. Wooley has 33 punts this season for an average of 42.3 yards per punt, a long of 58 yards and 13 punts downed inside the opponent 20-yard line. Antley is 12-for-16 on field goals this season with a long field goal of 42 yards. He is 53-for-54 on extra points.
The 17 total selections is the second largest all-conference class in Ouachita football history, only trailing the 2014 squad that went undefeated in the regular season and finished the year 10-1. The 2017 Tigers finished the regular season at 9-2.
The 2017 campaign continues this Saturday in the opening round of the NCAA Division II Football Playoffs. 25th-ranked Ouachita travels to Big Rapids, Michigan to face off against 10th-ranked Ferris State. Kickoff is set for noon eastern time, 11 a.m. central time at Top Taggart Field on the Ferris State campus.
Reader Comments(0)