FIVE BUCS NAME 1ST TEAM ALL CONFERENCE FOOTBALL

Nineteen Buccaneers earn all-conference recognition

Five Blinn College football players earned first-team all-conference honors from the Southwest Junior College Football Conference, while 14 others earned second-team and honorable mention accolades.

“This group was the backbone of the team,” said Ryan Mahon, Blinn head coach. “I couldn’t be more proud of how these guys played every game.”

Offensive lineman Garrett Nickelson (League City), running back Carlos Grace (Crosby), and wide receivers Corey Smith (Cameron) and Keric Wheatfall (Cypress) earned first-team all-conference honors after being a part of a Blinn offense that led the nation in total offense with 507.4 yards per game yards and was third in the nation in scoring with 43.2 points per game.

Nickelson was a force on the line for the Buccaneers, while Grace led the Buccaneers with 837 rushing yards on 171 carries for six touchdowns. Smith and Wheatfall teamed up to lead Blinn’s receiving corps. Smith tallied 894 receiving yards with 56 catches and tied for fourth in the nation with 10 touchdowns. Wheatfall followed with 736 receiving yards on 42 catches for five touchdowns.

Defensive lineman Djuan Matthews (Houston) picked up first-team all-conference honors after leading a defense that recorded 798 tackles and led the nation with 48 sacks. Matthews totaled 38 tackles, four sacks, and 10 tackles for a loss.

“Our first-team offensive players are a big part of why we led the nation in total offense and ranked third in scoring,” Mahon said. “Defensively we had guys like Djuan Matthews who played hard throughout the whole season.”

Blinn had two players that made second-team all-conference in quarterback Daveon Boyd (Humble) and linebacker Trevor Harmanson (Dickinson). Boyd led Blinn’s offense with 112-of-181 passing for 1,755 yards and 19 touchdowns. He ranked third in the nation with 250.7 yards per game. Harmanson totaled 36 tackles, while recording two sacks, a fumble, and an interception.

Tight end Rhett Read (Buffalo), center Garrison Tullos (Bryan), and offensive linemen Joe Oliver (New Orleans, La.), Travis Arroyo (Pflugerville), and Doro Omerhi (Pearland) picked up honorable mention honors on the offensive side, while defensive linemen Adrian Johnson (Center), Kirsten Williams (Houston), and Zechariah Hopkins (Cuero), and defensive backs Tuciano Pope (Houston), Darius Milton (Sugar Land), Colby Peterson (Round Rock), and Miles Banks (Missouri City) earned honorable mention.

Read caught three receptions for 35 yard and one touchdown.

Johnson totaled 24 tackles and led Blinn with eight sacks, Williams recorded 19 tackles, while Hopkins recorded 29 tackles and 12.5 tackles for loss.

Pope led the Buccaneers with 73 total tackles and six broken up passes. Peterson and Milton followed with 47 and 45 total tackles respectively, while each recording two interceptions. Banks totaled 36 tackles and tied for first on the team with three interceptions.

The Buccaneers posted a 6-4 overall record and went 4-3 in conference play.

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(COURTESY: Tara Dreyer, Blinn Information)