Thirteen Bearcats earn All-MIAA honors

Jones named Defensive POY; Tjeerdsma named COY

MARYVILLE, Mo. — Northwest Missouri State had 13 players, or more than half its starting lineup, named to the All-MIAA Football Team announced today by the conference office. It’s the eighth time Northwest has had 13 or more honorees since 1997 with 2007 being the most recent occurrence.

Northwest had nine first-team honorees and four second-team selections. Included in the tally is senior cornerback Ryan Jones who was named the league’s Most Valuable Defensive Player. It’s the sixth time in the last 11 seasons a Bearcat has captured the award.

Head coach Mel Tjeerdsma was named MIAA Coach of the Year for the fifth year in a row and for the 12th time in his 17 seasons at Northwest. He guided the Bearcats to a 9-0 league record for the fifth year in a row and for the 10th time since 1997. No one has won as many MIAA Coach of the Year awards as Tjeerdsma (1995-2000, 2002, 2006-10).

Jones leads the league with six interceptions, two of which he returned for touchdowns. Only five players in the nation have more interceptions than Jones. He also has 43 tackles, three for loss, 10 pass break-ups and one blocked kick.

Jones is one of three MIAA players who were a unanimous first-team selection by the league’s head coaches. It’s the second year in a row Jones has been a first-team pick.

Junior wide receiver Jake Soy, last year’s national wide receiver of the year, is a first-team selection for the second year in a row. Soy is two touchdown receptions shy of the MIAA record of 40 held by Washburn’s Sam Sissom. Soy leads Northwest with 58 catches for 961 yards and 10 touchdowns this season.

Senior right tackle Jason Wiseman is a repeat, first-team choice from a year ago. He’s joined on the offensive line by left tackle Dane Wardenburg, a first-team choice, and senior left guard Brett Grozinger, a second-team choice this season after earning first-team All-MIAA and All-America awards last season.
Senior quarterback Blake Bolles makes it five repeat honorees for the Bearcats. Bolles earned second-team honors after earning first-team and All-America honors a year ago. Bolles has thrown for 2,857 yards and 22 touchdowns this season. He became Northwest’s all-time leading passer during last weekend’s win against Pittsburg State.

Including Jones, Northwest had six All-MIAA defensive players including five first-time honorees. Senior defensive end Roberto Davis and junior defensive tackle Josh Lorenson were first-team picks. Lorenson was the MIAA’s Freshman of the Year back in 2008. Davis leads the team with six sacks and 9.5 tackles-for-loss.

Senior Willie Horn and junior Chad Kilgore account for two-thirds of the league’s first-team linebackers. Kilgore leads the Bearcats with 83 tackles while Horn is second with 73 stops.

Senior cornerback Justin Welch was a second-team choice. Welch has 37 tackles, an interception and nine pass break-ups this season.

Senior Michael Stadler joins Jeff LeBlanc (1999) and Joel Mathews (2002, 2004) as punters to earn All-MIAA honors under Tjeerdsma. Stadler was a second-team choice after averaging 41.1 yards per boot and placing 10 punts inside the 20-yard line. With a 40.3 yards per punt average, Stadler is the leading punter in program history.

Jordan Simmons is one of two underclassmen to earn first-team honors. Simmons earned a spot for his role as a kick and punt returner. He ranks third in the nation with an 18.6 yard average on punt returns and is averaging 21.4 yards per kick return.

Senior running back Kelvin Austin, senior tight end Josh Baker and senior defensive lineman Shayne Shade were Northwest players who earned honorable mention honors as were senior linebacker Bill Baudler, senior safety Aldwin Foster-Rettig and sophomore kicker Todd Adolf.