Wednesday, November 15, 2017

PORTLAND, Ore. – In a year where there were a number of high-caliber offensive performers, it was Humboldt State senior running back Ja’Quan Gardner that rose to the top as the Offensive Player of the Year to lead selections to the 2017 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Football All-Conference Team.

Gardner, who was also the 2015 GNAC Offensive Player of the Year, earned first team selections at both running back and kick return after another stellar season. He is joined in the special awards by teammate and senior offensive lineman Alex Cappa, who was named the conference’s Offensive Lineman of the Year for the fourth consecutive year.

Conference champion Central Washington landed 10 players on the all-conference first team and collected four special awards. Senior linebacker Kevin Haynes was named the GNAC Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive year while senior Bo Banner was voted as the Defensive Lineman of the Year. Junior transfer quarterback Reilly Hennessey was selected as the Newcomer of the Year while head coach Ian Shoemaker was named by his peers as the Coach of the Year.

Simon Fraser offensive lineman Brayden Gatland rounds out the special awards with his selection as the Freshman of the Year.

Gardner concluded his career as one of the top offensive players in conference history. The senior led the league and ranked 10th in Division II in rushing, averaging 125.9 yards per game, while ranking fourth in Division II with 19 rushing touchdowns. Gardner also led the GNAC and was fourth nationally with 192.6 all-purpose yards per game as he added kick return duties to his plate this season.

The Ceres, California, native ends his career as the GNAC’s all-time leader in touchdowns (75), points scored (450), all-purpose yards (6.979), all-purpose yards per game (170.2), rushing attempts (878), rushing yards (5,426) and rushing touchdowns (70).

Cappa, meanwhile, becomes the first player in GNAC history to win one of the football special awards in four consecutive years. The senior is expected to be an NFL Draft prospect after leading a Humboldt State offensive line that allowed the Lumberjacks to fiish with an average of 488.3 yards of total offense per game, 10th in Division II, and allowed just 22 sacks all season.

Haynes becomes the second player in conference history to be named Defensive Player of the Year in back-to-back years. The senior is the lynch-pin for a Wildcats’ defense that enters the NCAA Division II Playoffs ranked third nationally in total defense, allowing 244.5 yards per game. Haynes finished the regular season with 84 tackles, tying for third in the GNAC. His 12.5 tackles for loss tied him for second in the conference. In addition, Haynes set a GNAC career record with 217 solo tackles.

Banner, the Defensive Lineman of the Year, finished the regular season with 24 tackles and his 0.82 sacks per game (nine total) ranks 25th in Division II. He tied with teammate Haynes for second in the GNAC with 12.5 tackles for loss per game while helping solidify a CWU defense that is 16th in Division II in scoring defense, allowing 16.1 points per game, and leads the nation with 10.6 tackles for loss per game.

Hennessey was an immediate impact player for Central Washington upon transferring from Division I-FCS Eastern Washington. The Newcomer of the Year finished the regular season third in the GNAC with 256.5 total offense yards per game and finished fourth in the league in both passing (208.5 yards per game) and rushing (48.1 yards per game). The leader of the nation’s No. 19 ranked offense (464.5 yards per game), Hennessey is 14th in Division II with a pass efficiency rating of 161.4 and is 15th with 26 passing touchdowns. Hennessey was one of two quarterbacks named to the first team as at-large selections.

Leading the Wildcats’ perfect 11-0 regular season run was Shoemaker, who earned Coach of the Year honors in his fourth season at the helm. Shoemaker has led Central Washington to its first GNAC football championship since 2012 and just the third undefeated regular season in conference history. Central Washington earned the No. 1 seed in Super Region 4 in the NCAA Division II Playoffs, a first-round bye and home-field advantage in the playoffs through the semifinals.

Gatland was selected as the Freshman of the Year for his role on Simon Fraser’s offensive line. Head coach Kelly Bates recognized his growth at the position despite being undersized against experienced GNAC defenses.

The All-Conference Team features a unprecedented trio of four-time first team selections in Haynes, Cappa and Western Oregon wide receiver Paul Revis. The three are just the fifth, sixth and seventh four-time first-teamers in GNAC history and the first since Central Washington’s Mike Nelson in 2013.

Of the first team performers, all but two were unanimous selections by the conference’s coaches (listed on four ballots, coaches could not vote for their own players). The squad features 26 repeat performers, including 12 repeat first-team selections from 2016.

2017 GNAC FOOTBALL ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
Offensive Player of the Year: Ja’Quan Gardner, Humboldt State
Defensive Player of the Year: Kevin Haynes, Central Washington
Coach of the Year: Ian Shoemaker, Central Washington
Offensive Lineman of the Year: Alex Cappa, Humboldt State
Defensive Lineman of the Year: Bo Banner, Central Washington
Freshman of the Year: Brayden Gatland, Simon Fraser
Newcomer of the Year: Reilly Hennessey, Central Washington

* - Unanimous Selection    
+ - First Team Selection In 2016  
# - Second Team Selection In 2016  
& - Honorable Mention Selection In 2016 
@ - First Team Selection In 2015  
$ - Second Team Selection In 2015  
! - First Team Selection In 2014    
^ - Second Team Selection In 2014