TERRE
HAUTE, IND. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology placed 13
players on all-Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference football
teams this season, in results released by the league office.
Junior running back Kyle Kovach
(Munster/Andrean) and senior offensive tackle Jeff
Ketchum (Cincinnati, Ohio/Sycamore) led the Engineers with
first-team all-conference honors.
Second-team all-conference award winners included junior linebacker Ryan Gallagher (Greenwood), senior defensive back Matt Green (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle), senior defensive end Ben Parker (Fillmore/South Putnam), sophomore punter Eric Schaible (Findlay, Ohio) and freshman offensive guard Eric Taylor (Chapel Hill, N.C./Carrboro).
Honorable mention
all-league award winners included senior defensive back
Brad D'Agnillo (Cincinnati, Ohio/Colerain);
freshman linebacker Grant DePalma (Mount Prospect,
Ill./Prospect); sophomore defensive end Dean
Griffing (Plano, Ill./Aurora Christian); junior defensive
back Jordan Martin (Shelbyville/Triton
Central); senior wide receiver Jordan Nielson
(Syracuse, Utah/Clearfield); and senior defensive back
Bobby Short (Martinsville, Ill.).
Kovach led the HCAC
and finished second in school history with 1,213 rushing yards this
season. He stands third on Rose-Hulman's career rushing list
with 3,005 yards and holds the career school record with 5,192
all-purpose yards. He also stands third in Fightin' Engineer
history with 31 rushing touchdowns. His efforts included a
school record 246-yard rushing effort against Anderson.
Ketchum started all 40
games of his Rose-Hulman career at the offensive tackle positions
and helped the Engineers compile a 24-16 mark during his era.
His blocks helped Kovach become the career school record
holder for all-purpose yards; Derek Eitel become Rose-Hulman's
all-time leading passer; and Reed Eason earn the college's career
receiving records. He also earned three second-team
all-conference honors as a Fightin' Engineer.
Gallagher earned second-team all-league
honors after recording 72 tackles, two sacks and seven
tackles-for-loss in his first year as a starting linebacker.
His career statistics include 88 career stops.
Green was a two-time HCAC Defensive Player of the Week and tallied a team-high 94 tackles and added 10.5 tackles-for-loss this season. His career totals included 189 tackles, and he became the first Fightin' Engineer with 20 tackles in a game since 1987 with his performance against Mount St. Joseph.
Parker gained his
first substantial playing time this season with 57 tackles,
including 10.5 tackles-for-loss and 3.5 sacks. He was named
the team's Defensive Player of the Week once during the season and
made a total of 68 tackles in his career.
Schaible averaged 38.1 yards per punt this season, including 15 kicks inside the opponent's 20-yard line. His efforts also included five punts of more than 50 yards, a long kick of 56 yards, and seven forced fair catches. He also had just four touchbacks in his 19 total kicks that landed inside the 20.
Taylor jumped into the
starting lineup as a freshman with nine appearances at eight starts
at the right guard position. His efforts helped the offense
cross the 3,500-yard mark for the season, including a school record
625-yard performance against Anderson.
D'Agnillo opened the honorable mention all-conference award list with 56 tackles this season, increasing his career total to 202 stops. DePalma amassed 50 tacklees as a freshman, with two fumble recoveries and one blocked punt. Griffing appeared in seven games due to injury but still had a team-high 12 tackles-for-loss and pitched in with two sacks and one fumble recovery.
Martin recorded 83 tackles to rank second on the squad, including a team-high 58 solo stops with two interceptions. Nielson made 40 receptions for 536 yards and three touchdowns in his first year as a starting wide receiver. Short rounded out the honorable mention all-league honorees with 49 tackles and a team-high three interceptions in his first year as a starter.
In addition, Short was also named to the HCAC Sportsmanship Team for his efforts this season.
Rose-Hulman finished 5-5 overall this season and finished second in the HCAC with a 5-3 mark in conference play. The Fightin' Engineers recorded their seventh consecutive season at .500 or above and also retained the Battle of the Borders Broadsword by defeating Earlham College for the 11th consecutive year.
The 2012 season begins with a home game against Kalamazoo College on Sept. 1 at 7 p.m.