UCO players earn All-LSC North Division football honors

RICHARDSON, Texas (Nov. 17) – Josh Birmingham and Daniel Morrell earned first-team honors to lead a group of 15 Central Oklahoma players who received recognition on the All-Lone Star Conference North Division Football Team that was announced Wednesday.

Birmingham was also named the LSC North Division Freshman of the Year and the rookie running back from Luther was joined on the first-team offense by Morrell, a junior wide receiver from Blanchard.

Selected to the second team were quarterback Ethan Sharp, wide receivers Tucker Holland and Dolphin Davis, offensive linemen Jake Kessen and Cody Ellett, place-kicker Chris Robbs, linebacker Tucker Cason, defensive backs Creadell Pennon and Keno Meadows and deep snapper Bryce Davis.

Davis was also an honorable mention pick at tight end along with defensive tackles Herbert Byrd and Sam Moses and linebacker Turner Troup.

Cason, Holland and Robbs were also named to the Academic All-LSC North Division Team.

Birmingham put together a sensational season and is one of 24 candidates nominated for the Harlon Hill Trophy that goes to the NCAA Division II Player of the Year.  He rushed for 1,250 yards and 18 touchdowns on 243 carries and caught a team-high 49 passes for 384 yards and three more TDs.

Birmingham finished in the top 10 in five single-season statistical categories at UCO – second in all-purpose yards (1,645), third in both touchdowns (21) and points (126), seventh in receptions (49) and eighth in rushing yards (1,250).  He ranked third in the NCAA Division II scoring race this season, averaging 11.45 points a game.

Morrell, a second-team All-LSC North pick last season, moved up to the first-team unit this year after catching 40 passes for a team-leading 578 yards and five touchdowns.  He averaged a team-high 14.4 yards a catch and had six receptions of 30-plus yards.

Morrell ranks fifth in career catches (109) and eighth in career yards (1,595) at UCO.

Sharp, a sophomore from Eufaula, put together a stellar campaign in his first year as the starting quarterback.  He hit 225-of-382 passes (58.9 percent) for 2,444 yards and 24 TDs despite missing a game to injury, finishing fifth on the school’s single-season list for both passing yards and total offense (2,532 yards).

Holland, a sophomore from Edmond, caught 47 passes for 564 yards and a team-high six touchdowns, averaging 12.0 yards a catch.  Davis, a sophomore from Tulsa, had 35 receptions for 455 yards (13.0 a catch) and four TDs.

Kessen (Crescent senior) and Ellett (Broken Arrow senior) led an offensive line that allowed just five sacks all season, which ranked as the second-best in Division II.  Ellett earned second-team honors despite missing the last five games after suffering a knee injury against Eastern New Mexico.

Robbs scored 62 points for the Bronchos this season, with the Dallas, Texas sophomore hitting 41-of-44 extra points and 7-of-10 field goals with a long of 45.

Cason, a junior from Oklahoma City who was a first-team All-LSC North selection last season, collected a team-leading 91 tackles.  He also topped UCO in both tackles for loss (8.5) and sacks (3.0).

Pennon, a sophomore cornerback from Altus, had a team-high five interceptions this season and scored on a 37-yard fumble return while adding 37 tackles and six passes broken up.  A sophomore safety from Del City, Meadows finished third on the team in tackles with 87 in addition to breaking up three passes and intercepting one.