Edinboro's Fletcher Claims PSAC Football Western Division Athlete of the Year Recognition; All-Conference Teams Released
LOCK HAVEN, Pa. --- Edinboro redshirt junior Walter Fletcher was named the 2018 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division Offensive Athlete of the Year, the league announced Wednesday afternoon in conjunction with the release of the all-conference football teams.
All-conference teams and major award winners were determined by a vote of the league’s West head coaches.
Fletcher is the fifth Fighting Scot to garner the award It marks the eighth time the EU has boasted the recipient and the first time since 2008. Fletcher finished the season second in rushing yards per game in the PSAC (147.6) while turning in the third-most rushing touchdowns with 17. His 1624 rushing yards is fifth-best in NCAA DII and second best in the PSAC. He is only one of two PSAC rushers to accumulate more than 1500 yards. Fletcher turned in nine 100+ yard games, including a season-high 328 against Seton Hill (Oct. 20.). He scored a rushing touchdown in all but one contest and had four games with multiple. Fletcher showed his versatility while amassing 30 receptions and 249 yards on the season. He landed on an all-conference team for the third time in his career.
California junior Lamont McPhatter claimed the Defensive Athlete of the Year award and is the first Vulcan to accomplish the feat since 2012 (Rontez Miles). He is the fourth Cal athlete to garner the award while it marks the fifth time that Cal has boasted the representative. McPhatter finished tied for third in interceptions (5) while pacing the PSAC in interception return yards (198). The junior picked off all five of his passes in the first four games of the year. The Vulcan turned in his best contest in a game against Clarion (Oct. 6) when he accumulated 10 tackles, 0.5 sacks, a fumble recovery, an interception and blocked a kick. He finished the season with 63 tackles and 3.5 sacks.
Cal’s Noah Mitchell was named Freshman of the Year and is the fourth Vulcan to win the award and first since 2010 (Darnell Harding). Mitchell was one of two PSAC quarterbacks to throw for more than 250 yards per game (250.8). The rookie threw 19 touchdown passes and was one of five PSAC signal callers to accumulate more than 2000 yards in the air. Mitchell registered a passing touchdown in all but one contest and opened his career with four consecutive multi-touchdown games. During the stretch, he threw nine touchdown passes, ran for a touchdown and tossed a season-high 418 yards against Kutztown (Sept. 8). His 56.2 completion percentage tied him for seventh in the league.
Slippery Rock’s Shawn Lutz garnered Coach of the Year merits for the first time in his career. The Rock made an appearance in the PSAC Championship Game and led SRU to its ninth NCAA DII postseason appearance. Under his direction, seven Rock athletes received first-team all-conference recognition. Lutz’s offense paced the PSAC in yards per game (467.7) while sitting in third in points per game (38.6). Entering the postseason with a 9-2 record, The Rock will trek to No. 13/13 LIU Post (10-0) Saturday, Nov. 17 at 1 p.m. for an NCAA DII First Round contest.
IUP paced the division with 14 all-conference representatives, including seven on the first team. SRU boasted 10 representatives while Cal and Mercyhurst had eight apiece.
IUP QB Lenny Williams landed on his fourth all-conference squad.
PSAC FOOTBALL WEST MAJOR AWARDS
Offensive Player of the Year: Walter Fletcher, Edinboro
Defensive Player of the Year: Lamont McPhatter, California
Freshman of the Year: Noah Mitchell, California
Coach of the Year: Shawn Lutz, Slippery Rock
PSAC FOOTBALL WESTERN DIVISION ALL-CONFERENCE OFFENSIVE FIRST TEAM
| Pos. |
Player |
School |
Cl. |
Hometown / Previous School |
| QB |
Roland Rivers III |
Slippery Rock |
Jr. |
Ellenwood, Ga. / King Valdosta State |
| RB |
Walter Fletcher^* |
Edinboro |
R-Jr. |
Columbia, Md. / Randolph-Macon |
| RB |
Wes Hills |
Slippery Rock |
Sr. |
Wildwood, N.J. / Delaware |
| RB |
Marcus Jones* |
Gannon |
Sr. |
Painesvile, Ohio / Riverside |
| OT |
Steve Gaviglia^^ |
Slippery Rock |
R-Sr. |
Cranberry Twp, Pa. / Seneca Valley |
| OT |
Craig McCorkle^* |
California |
Jr. |
Cincinatti, Ohio / Winton Woods |
| OG |
Colin McAllister |
IUP |
R-Jr. |
Boothwyn, Pa. / Chichester |
| OG |
Colten Raabe |
Slippery Rock |
R-Jr. |
Butler, Pa. / Slippery Rock |
| C |
Jeff Arnold^^ |
IUP |
R-Jr. |
Pittsburgh, Pa. / Brashear |
| TE |
Grant Smith |
IUP |
Fr. |
Harrisburg, Pa. / Central Dauphin |
| WR |
Ardell Brown^* |
Seton Hill |
Sr. |
Rochester, N.Y. / Bishop Kearney |
| WR |
Ta’Nauz Gregory^ |
Edinboro |
Jr. |
Erie, Pa. / Cathedral Prep |
| WR |
Tyson Hill |
California |
So. |
New Kensington, Pa. / Valley |
| PK |
Jake Chapla^ |
Slippery Rock |
Jr. |
Pittsburgh, Pa. / Plum |
PSAC FOOTBALL WESTERN DIVISION ALL-CONFERENCE DEFENSIVE FIRST TEAM
| Pos. |
Player |
School |
Cl. |
Hometown / Previous School |
| DL |
Derek Dorr^ |
Edinboro |
Sr. |
Buffalo, N.Y. / Frontier |
| DL |
Deandre Easterling* |
IUP |
Sr. |
Washington, D.C. / Gonzaga |
| DL |
Jeff Marx |
Slippery Rock |
R-Fr. |
Youngstown, Ohio / Navy |
| DL |
Dondrea Tillman^ |
IUP |
Jr. |
Sterling, Va. / Potomac Falls |
| DL |
Brandon Vocco^ |
Clarion |
Sr. |
Lilly, Pa. / Portage |
| LB |
London Cloud |
California |
Jr. |
Bedford, Ohio / Bedford |
| LB |
Damon Lloyd* |
IUP |
Jr. |
Bel Air, Md. / John Carroll |
| LB |
Chris Peluso |
Mercyhurst |
Sr. |
New Castle, Pa. / Laurel |
| LB |
Brad Zaffram |
Slippery Rock |
Jr. |
Buffalo, N.Y. / Canisius |
| DB |
Brandon Anderson* |
Edinboro |
R-Jr. |
Willingboro, N.J. / Holy Cross |
| DB |
Zuril Hendrick^ |
Edinboro |
Sr. |
Rochester, N.Y. / Pittsford Mendon |
| DB |
Lamont McPhatter* |
California |
Jr. |
New Castle, Pa. / New Castle |
| DB |
Dante Redwood* |
Mercyhurst |
Sr. |
North Ridgeville, Ohio / Grafton Midview |
| RS |
Quashah Carter |
IUP |
Fr. |
Philadelphia, Pa. / Simon Gratz |
| P |
Brendan Cole* |
Mercyhurst |
R-Jr. |
Queens, N.Y. / Saint Francis |
PSAC FOOTBALL WESTERN DIVISION ALL-CONFERENCE OFFENSIVE SECOND TEAM
| Pos. |
Player |
School |
Cl. |
Hometown / Previous School |
| QB! |
Noah Mitchell |
California |
Fr. |
Euclid, Ohio / Euclid |
| QB! |
Lenny Williams^^* |
IUP |
R-Sr. |
McKees Rocks, Pa. / Temple |
| RB |
Nelson Brown |
California |
Jr. |
Salisbury, Md. / Wicomico |
| RB |
Justice Evans |
IUP^ |
So. |
Pittsburgh, Pa. / Central Catholic |
| RB |
Garrett Owens |
Mercyhurst |
R-Fr. |
North East, Pa. / North East |
| OT |
Joe Peterson |
IUP |
Sr. |
DuBois, Pa. / DuBois |
| OT |
Trey Staunch |
Edinboro |
Sr. |
West Middlesex, Pa. / West Middlesex |
| OG |
Josh Dauberman |
IUP |
So. |
Hughesville, Pa. / Hughesville |
| OG |
Zack Morris*^ |
Clarion |
Sr. |
Pittsburgh, Pa. / Upper St. Clair |
| C |
Christian DiGalbo |
California |
Jr. |
Secane, Pa. / Monsignor Bonner |
| TE |
Bryce Mostoller* |
Mercyhurst |
Sr. |
Somerset, Pa. / Somerset |
| WR |
James Clark* |
Edinboro |
Sr. |
Coatesville, Pa. / Coatesville |
| WR |
Jordan Dandridge |
California |
R-Jr. |
Duluth, Ga. / Duluth |
| WR |
Dontae Owens |
Gannon |
R-Jr. |
Reading, Pa. / Reading |
| PK |
Dillon Sarka^ |
IUP |
R-Jr. |
Lebanon, Ohio / Findlay |
PSAC FOOTBALL WESTERN DIVISION ALL-CONFERENCE DEFENSIVE SECOND TEAM
| Pos. |
Player |
School |
Cl. |
Hometown / Previous School |
| DL |
Andrew Berger |
Gannon |
R-Jr. |
Altoona, Pa. / Bishop Guilfoyle |
| DL |
Jay Bullock*^ |
Gannon |
Jr. |
Philadelphia, Pa. / Archbishop Ryan |
| DL |
Noah Harris-Lyles* |
Gannon |
Jr. |
Atlantic City, N.J. / Atlantic City |
| DL |
Alec Heldreth |
Clarion |
Sr. |
Canfield, Ohio / Canfield |
| DL |
Saif Khan |
Clarion |
Jr. |
Lorton, Va. / South County |
| LB |
Nick Amendola* |
IUP |
Jr. |
North Huntingdon, Pa. / Norwin |
| LB |
Corbin Kessler^ |
Mercyhurst |
Jr. |
Harmony, Pa. / Seneca Valley |
| LB |
Rocky Owens |
Mercyhurst |
R-So. |
North East, Pa. / North East |
| LB |
Layne Skundrich^ |
Clarion |
Sr. |
Pittsburgh, Pa. / North Allegheny |
| DB |
Martel Davis |
Gannon |
R-Sr. |
Columbus, Ohio / Licking Heights |
| DB |
Eric Glover-Williams |
Slippery Rock |
Jr. |
Canton, Ohio / Ohio State |
| DB |
Kyle Hall |
Slippery Rock |
Sr. |
Canton, Ohio / Canton Glenoak |
| DB |
Shaq Jones |
IUP |
Jr. |
Philadelphia, Pa. / Iowa Western CC |
| RS |
Dante Redwood* |
Mercyhurst |
Sr. |
North Ridgeville, Ohio / Grafton Midview |
| P |
Jake Chapla^ |
Slippery Rock |
Jr. |
Pittsburgh, Pa. / Plum |
* Indicates previous All-PSAC First Team selection
^ Indicates previous All-PSAC Second Team selection
! Indicates tie