November 20, 2012  

Bearkat Football Players Receives All-Southland Honors

Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information

Sam Houston State’s 2012 Southland Conference championship team produced 21 players who have earned spots on the all-league honor squad.

Those awards include both “Player of the Year” recognition for running back Timothy Flanders and “Defensive Player of the Year” Darnell Taylor. Darnell and his twin brother Darius also become the first pair of twins at Sam Houston to earn all-conference recognition together.

The Bearkats’ list of All-Southland players after an 8-3 overall regular season and 6-1 march to a second consecutive league title include 10 first team selections, six second team honorees and six honorable mention players.

First team offense All-Southland players from Sam Houston include Flanders, tight end T. J. Jones, offensive linemen Kaleb Hopson and Chris Rogers and all-purpose back Richard Sincere.

First team defense Bearkats are defensive lineman J. T. Cleveland, lineback Darius Taylor, defensive backs Darnell Taylor and Dax Swanson and punter Matt Foster.

Second team all-conference Kats include quarterback Brian Bell, wide receiver Trey Diller, defensive lineman Gary Lorance and defensive backs Kenneth Jenkins and Bookie Sneed. Diller also received second team recognition as kick return specialist.

Receiving All-Southland honorable mention were running back Keshawn Hill, offensive linemen Donald Jackson and Riley Smith, defensive lineman Jarrett Brown, linebacker Jesse Beauchamp, defensive back Robert Shaw and place kicker Miguel Antonio.

Flanders and Darnell Taylor both earned their “Player of the Year” recognition for the second consecutive seasons. Flanders, Jenkins and Cleveland are three-time All-Southland selections.

Darnell Taylor, Hopson, Sincere, Swanson, Foster, Bell and Sneed each are in their second consecutive year as All-Southland honorees.

Sam Houston State will face Cal Poly in the second round of the NCAA Division I football championship Saturday, Dec. 1 at 3 p.m. at Elliott T. Bowers Stadium.

Complete ticket information is available on www.gobearkats.com. The SHSU athletic ticket office located in the Ron Mafrige Field House at Bowers Stadium is open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The telephone number is (936) 294-1729.

2012 All-Southland Conference Football Team

First-Team Offense
Pos. Name University Ht. Wt. Cl.
QB Wynrick Smothers Central Arkansas 6-1 208 Jr.
RB Timothy Flanders Sam Houston State 5-9 210 Jr.
RB Gus Johnson Stephen F. Austin 5-10 215 So.
TE T.J. Jones Sam Houston State 6-3 245 Sr.
WR Cordell Roberson Stephen F. Austin 6-3 215 Sr.
WR Jesse Grandy Central Arkansas 5-11 165 Sr.
WR Dominque Croom Central Arkansas 6-1 193 Sr.
OL Corey Howard Central Arkansas 6-1 290 Sr.
OL Kaleb Hopson Sam Houston State 6-6 300 Sr.
OL John Steel Stephen F. Austin 6-5 295 Sr.
OL Arinze Agada McNeese State 6-1 286 Jr.
OL Chris Rogers Sam Houston State 5-11 270 Sr.
AP Richard Sincere Sam Houston State 5-10 180 Jr.
PK Eddie Camara Central Arkansas 5-9 168 So.

First-Team Defense
Pos. Name University Ht. Wt. Cl.
DL Willie Jefferson Stephen F. Austin 6-6 234 Sr.
DL J.T. Cleveland Sam Houston State 6-0 290 Sr.
DL Jonathan Woodard Central Arkansas 6-5 251 Fr.
DL Darren Robinson Stephen F. Austin 5-11 247 So.
LB Darius Taylor Sam Houston State 6-0 240 Sr.
LB Seth Allison Central Arkansas 5-11 195 Sr.
LB Derek Rose Northwestern State 5-11 229 Sr.
DB Darnell Taylor Sam Houston State 6-0 195 Sr.
DB Robert Alford Southeastern La. 6-0 185 Sr.
DB Dax Swanson Sam Houston State 5-11 185 Sr.
DB Josh Aubrey Stephen F. Austin 5-11 202 Sr.
DB Jestin Love Central Arkansas 6-0 208 Jr.
P Matt Foster Sam Houston State 6-6 195 Sr.
KR Jesse Grandy Central Arkansas 5-11 165 Sr.

Second-Team Offense
Pos. Name University Ht. Wt. Cl.
QB Brian Bell Sam Houston State 6-2 175 Jr.
RB Marcus Wiltz McNeese State 5-9 192 Jr.
RB Jackie Hinton Central Arkansas 5-10 210 Sr.
TE/HB Nick Scelfo Nicholls State 6-4 235 So.
WR Trey Diller Sam Houston State 6-2 200 Sr.
WR Darius Carey McNeese State 6-0 184 Sr.
WR D.J. Ward Stephen F. Austin 5-11 180 Fr.
OL Alec Savoie McNeese State 6-7 309 Sr.
OL Gasten Gabriel Southeastern La. 6-5 310 Jr.
OL Taylor Johnson McNeese State 6-4 290 Sr.
OL Cole Caruthers Central Arkansas 6-4 284 So.
OL Sean Robertson Lamar 6-1 270 Sr.
AP Xavier Roberson Southeastern La. 5-9 170 Fr.
PK John Shaughnessy Northwestern State 5-11 181 Sr.

Second-Team Defense
Pos. Name University Ht. Wt. Cl.
DL Matt Hornbuckle Central Arkansas 6-2 281 Jr.
DL Gary Lorance Sam Houston State 6-0 290 Jr.
DL Jesse Dickson Lamar 6-3 265 Jr.
DL Everett Ellefsen McNeese State 6-3 230 So.
LB Jordan Piper Nicholls State 5-10 242 Sr.
LB Devan Walker Southeastern La. 6-3 240 Sr.
LB Joe Narcisse McNeese State 5-11 222 Sr.
DB Terence Cahee McNeese State 5-9 190 Jr.
DB Kenneth Jenkins Sam Houston State 5-10 195 Sr.
DB Bookie Sneed Sam Houston State 6-0 180 Jr.
DB Jamaal White Northwestern State 6-0 192 Sr.
DB Cortez Paige Northwestern State 6-1 181 Sr.
P Beau Mothe Southeastern La. 6-3 210 Sr.
KR Trey Diller Sam Houston State 6-2 200 Sr.
PR Darius Carey McNeese State 6-0 184 Sr.

2012 Southland Conference Individual Superlatives
Player of the Year: Timothy Flanders, Sam Houston State
Offensive Player of the Year: Wynrick Smothers, Central Arkansas
Defensive Player of the Year: Darnell Taylor, Sam Houston State
Offensive Lineman of the Year: Corey Howard, Central Arkansas
Freshman of the Year: Jonathan Woodard, Central Arkansas
Newcomer of the Year: Kevin Johnson, Lamar
Coach of the Year: Clint Conque, Central Arkansas

Honorable Mention:
Quarterback: Brady Attaway, Stephen F. Austin. Running Back: Marcus Washington, Nicholls State; Keshawn Hill, Sam Houston State. Tight End/H-Back: Mike Brooks, Stephen F. Austin; Jeremy Meyers, Southeastern Louisiana; Corey Simmons, Northwestern State; Chase Dixon, Central Arkansas. Wide Receiver: Kevin Johnson, Lamar; Dezmin Lewis, Central Arkansas; Louis Hollier, Northwestern State; Erik Buchanan, Nicholls State; Tony McCrea, Southeastern Louisiana. Offensive Linemen: Warren Jones, Northwestern State; Austin Wright, Stephen F. Austin; Abasi Salimu, Nicholls State; Donald Jackson, Sam Houston State; Andrew Ratliff, Stephen F. Austin; Riley Smith, Sam Houston State; Jonathan Landry, McNeese State; Carson Chaisson, McNeese State. Offensive All-Purpose: Phillip Harvey, Northwestern State; Ryan Gambel, Stephen F. Austin. Defensive Linemen: Lesley Deamer, Northwestern State; Pat Williams, McNeese State; Tremaine Lucas, Southeastern Louisiana; Jarrett Brown, Sam Houston State; Ryan Chambers, Stephen F. Austin; John Prescott, Lamar; Wade Williams, Northwestern State. Linebacker: Ryan Epperson, Stephen F. Austin; Justin Heard, Central Arkansas; Jermaine Longino, Lamar; Marcus Malbrough, Lamar; Kerry Guidry, Nicholls State; Patrick Black, Northwestern State; Robert Shaw, Sam Houston State; Jesse Beauchamp, Sam Houston State; Collin Garrett, Stephen F. Austin. Defensive Back: Branden Thomas, Lamar; Guy Morgan; McNeese State; Ford Smesny, McNeese State; Chad Allen, Lamar; Caleb Nelson, Stephen F. Austin; Tyler Stoddard, Southeastern Louisiana; Dillon Winfrey, Central Arkansas; Todd Washington, Southeastern Louisiana. Placekicker: Miguel Antonio, Sam Houston State; Jordan Wiggs, Stephen F. Austin. Punter: Cory Kemps, Nicholls State. Kick Return Specialist: Kevin Johnson, Lamar; Phillip Harvey, Northwestern State.

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About Cheval John

Cheval John is the Founder and CEO of Vallano Media, LLC, a marketing agency which helps small to mid-sized businesses use social media correctly to build a loyal following and in the process become more profitable. Cheval is also the host of "What's The Word?" a podcast about finding out what inspires people to choose their respective careers and how social media impacted their lives and business. He is the author of two books including the Amazon Best-Seller, "8 Lessons Every Podcaster Needs To Learn." He has spoken at Social Media Week Lima in Ohio and at Social Media Day Houston 2017 about topics around live streaming and podcasting. Cheval has been featured in media outlets including Ebony Magazine, Social Media Today and Forbes. He was named a Houston Top 25 Social Media Power Influencer (2016 and 2017) and a Twitter Top 50 Influencer by Onalytica in 2018.

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