Burnaby, B.C. – Simon Fraser University Clan football team seniors Kris Gluppe (Mission, B.C.) and Marc DesLauriers (White Rock, B.C.) headlined the list of SFU players who were honoured by the Great Northwest Athletic Conference when the GNAC announced the 2010 All-Star Teams and Award Winners late Monday afternoon. Gluppe and DesLauriers were named to the first team, while four players made the second team in the Clan’s first season of NCAA Division II football.
Gluppe started nine of ten games at centre for the Clan in 2010, coming off the bench in SFU’s game at Western Oregon due to injury. Gluppe was at the heart of an offensive unit that for four weeks of the season led the GNAC in rushing yardage. SFU finished the year second in the conference in team rushing, averaging 185 yards per game on the ground.
DesLauriers started all ten games for SFU at free safety, moving to the position after playing cornerback for the Clan in 2009. DesLauriers finished second on the team with 65 total tackles, and was first on the team with 42 solo tackles. The senior added one interception, one fumble forced, three break ups and four passes defended to his totals on the season.
Making the second team were running back Gabe Ephard (North Vancouver, B.C.), defensive end Justin Capicciotti (Toronto, Ont.), safety/linebacker Adam Berger (Surrey, B.C.) and cornerback Nigel Palma (Vancouver, B.C.).
In his junior season, Ephard was on pace to rush for over 1400 yards before an ankle injury during the Shrum Bowl limited his effectiveness over the remaining four games of the season. The speedy back finished the season with 941 rushing yards, third in the GNAC in overall rushing, while averaging 94.1 yards per game and 6.1 yards per carry.
A junior end, Capicciotti totaled 5.5 sacks on the year, finishing second behind Central Washington’s Eugene Germany for the conference lead. The Toronto native closed the season 19th in the conference with 51 total tackles, including 11 for a loss.
Redshirt freshman Berger was Mr. Utility for SFU in 2010, starting the season at safety before moving to the axe linebacker position when Kevin Semenowich was hampered due to injury. Berger finished tied for the team lead with three interceptions, while totaling 40 tackles on the year, and had the GNAC’s longest interception return of the season, a 65-yard touchdown return against Humboldt State.
A junior defensive back, Palma moved to cornerback in 2010 from halfback and played in nine games, missing one due to a concussion. Finishing tied for the team lead with three interceptions, Palma totaled 60 yards on interception returns, one forced fumble, 38 tackles, three break ups and six passes defended.
Here is the complete release from the GNAC:
GREAT NORTHWEST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
Report 13A (Nov. 15, 2010)
Football: Rowells, Bighill, Singleton Voted Top Players in GNAC
SPOKANE, Wash. – Humboldt State running back Lyndon Rowells, who led the conference in rushing (1,309 yards), all-purpose running (1,600 yards) and scoring (102 points) and Lumberjack coach Rob Smith, who has resurrected a program that had had only one winning season in the previous seven years before he took over, have been selected the 2010 Offensive Player -of-the-Year and Coach-of-the-Year, respectively, in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
The Coach-of-the-Year award is the eighth for Smith, who also won the GNAC Coach-of-the-Year award in 2001 and 2003 and the Columbia Football Association Coach-of-the-Year award in 1989, 1995, 1996, 1999 and 2000 while coaching Western Washington. Smith, a 1981 graduate of the University of Washington, has a career record of 124-79 in 20 seasons, including 15-17 in three campaigns at Humboldt.
Rowells was also a unanimous selection as the GNAC Newcomer-of-the-Year, while Humboldt State center Taylor Boggs, who led the blocking for Rowells, appropriately enough, was selected the GNAC Offensive Lineman-of-the-Year.
Rowells and Boggs were among seven players to receive special awards as voted on by the GNAC head coaches.
Central Washington linebacker Adam Bighill and Western Oregon defensive back Caleb Singleton shared the GNAC Defensive Player-of-the-Year each receiving two first-place votes from the five head coaches.
Bighill led a Wildcat defense that was absolutely dominating in its final five games, allowing a grand total of 86 yards rushing (17.2 per game) and less than a yard per carry (0.65 on 132 total carries) over than span. Bighill finished second in the GNAC in tackles (8.7 per game) and was the conference leader in tackles for losses with 16 ½.
Singleton ranked fourth in the conference in tackles with 89 and was the only non-linebacker to rank in the Top 10 in that category. He also tied for second in the conference for the most interceptions with six.
Central Washington defensive tackle Eugene Germany, who led the conference in sacks with 6 ½ and ranked fourth in tackles for losses with 11, was voted the GNAC Defensive Lineman-of-the-Year.
Another CWU defender Stan Langlow, who led the conference in interceptions with seven, tied in the balloting with Dixie State quarterback Cody Stevenson for GNAC Freshman-of-the-Year honors. Stevenson finished third in the conference in passing with 1,707 yards and 16 touchdowns.
Humboldt State placed eight players and Central Washington and Western Oregon each had seven selections on the 29-man first-team all-conference squad, reflecting the closeness of the conference race, which wasn’t decided until Western Oregon’s final possession in its 21-16 loss Saturday at Ellensburg.
Seven of the first team selections were repeaters including Boggs, Singleton and Dixie State defensive end Nick Rocco who each earned first team honors for the third year in a row. Other repeaters from the 2009 first team included Germany and three more players from Dixie – offensive lineman Braeden Dillon, linebacker Keauntea Bankhead and punter Mike Langston.
A total of 14 of the first-team selections were unanimous, including seven on offense and seven on defense.
Unanimous picks on offense were Rowells, Boggs, Humboldt State quarterback Mike Proulx, Central Washington running back Bryson Kelly and offensive linemen Jason Slowey of Western Oregon, freshman Mike Nelson from Central Washington and Braeden Dillon of Dixie State.
Unanimous defensive picks were Rocco, Germany, Bighill, Bankhead, Singleton, Langston and Humboldt State defensive lineman Andrew Iupati.
Nelson was one of only three freshmen selected to the first team. The others were Western Oregon defensive lineman Gustave John Benthin and Wolf punt returner Lucas Gonsalves.
2010 GREAT NORTHWEST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE ALL-STARS
Offensive Player-of-the-Year – Lyndon Rowells, Humboldt State. Defensive Player-of-the-Year – Adam Bighill, Central Washington & Caleb Singleton, Western Oregon. Offensive Lineman-of-the-Year – Taylor Boggs, Humboldt State . Defensive Lineman-of-the-Year – Eugene Germany, Central Washington. Newcomer-of-the-Year – Lyndon Rowells, Humboldt State. Freshman-of-the-Year – Cody Stevenson, Dixie State & Stan Langlow, Central Washington. Coach-of-the-Year – Rob Smith, Humboldt State.
Offense
First Team
QB – *Mike Proulx, HSU (5-11, 203, Jr., Castro Valley, CA)
RB – *Lyndon Rowells, HSU (5-10, 200, Jr., Largo, FL)
RB – *Bryson Kelly, CWU (6-2, 235, Sr., Mukilteo, WA)
WR – Justin Ore, WOU (6-3, 200, Sr., Anchorage, AK)
WR – Demario Ballard, WOU (6-7, 220, Sr., Thomson, GA)
WR – Nash Fowler, DSC (5-11, 190, Sr., Orem, UT)
TE – Demetrius Guice, CWU (6-6, 274, Jr., Portland, OR)
OL – *++Taylor Boggs, HSU (C, 6-3, 303, Sr., Pasadena, CA)
OL – *Jason Slowey, WOU (6-4, 300, Jr., Medford, OR)
OL – *Kris Giuppe, SFU (6-1, 280, Sr., Mission, BC)
OL – *Mike Nelson, CWU (6-4, 276, Fr., Carnation, WA)
OL – +Braeden Dillon, DSC (6-1, 275, Sr., Lodi, CA)
K – Sean Davis, CWU (5-11, 180, So., Federal Way, WA)
KR – Pat Gondkoff, HSU (6-0, 183, So., Pleasanton, CA)
Second Team
QB – Ryan Robertson, CWU (6-3, 200, So., Sammamish, WA)
RB – Darryl Valdez, WOU (5-11, 195, Sr., San Francisco, CA)
RB – Gabe Ephard, SFU (5-10, 205, So., North Vancouver, BC)
RB – Daniel Wyatt, HSU (5-8, 170, So., Vallejo, CA)
WR – Pat Gondkoff, HSU (6-0, 183, So., Pleasanton, CA)
WR – Chris Smith, CWU ( 6-0, 196, Sr., San Diego, CA)
WR – Kollin Hancock, CWU (6-0, 188, Sr., Columbus, OH)
TE – Matt Devlin, HSU (6-3, 240, Sr., Chugiak, AK)
TE – Alex Nelsen, DSC (6-4, 240, Sr., Brigham City, UT)
OL – Kevin Brockman, WOU (6-0, 330, Jr., Gaffney, CA)
OL – Kendall Perkins, DSC (6-3, 275, Fr., Kaysville, UT)
OL – Riordan Gomez, HSU (6-2, 314, Sr., Petaluma, CA)
OL – Joey Tivnan, CWU (6-2, 286, So., Centralia, WA)
K – Kelly Morgan, WOU (5-9, 170, So., Sherwood, OR)
KR – Lucas Gonsalves, WOU (5-9, 175, Fr., Kaihua, HI)
*Unanimous +Repeater ++Two-time repeater
Defense
First Team
DL – *++Nick Rocco, DSC (6-0, 225, Sr., Sammamish, WA)
DL – *+Eugene Germany, CWU (6-3, 276, Sr., Pomona, CA)
DL –*Andrew Iupati, HSU (6-1, 310, Jr., American Samoa)
DL – Justin Hornsby, HSU (6-3, 238, Sr., Jamul, CA)
DL – Gustave John Benthin, WOU (6-2, 285, Fr., Knappa, OR)
LB – *Adam Bighill, CWU (5-10, 222, Sr., Montesano, WA)
LB – *+Keauntea Bankhead, DSC (6-1, 255, Sr., Seattle, WA)
LB – Paul Wright, CWU (5-11, 220, Sr., Martinez, CA)
LB – Chris Peterson, HSU (5-11, 208, So., La Mesa, CA)
DB – *++Caleb Singleton, WOU (6-4, 205, Sr., Salem, OR)
DB – Elzie Gatson, HSU (5-10, 167, Sr., San Diego, CA)
DB – Bryce Peila, WOU (6-1, 200, So., Central Point, OR)
DB – Marc DesLauriers, SFU (5-10, 190, Sr., White Rock, BC)
P – *+Mike Langston, DSC (6-2, 200, Sr., Riverside, CA)
PR – Lucas Gonsalves, WOU (5-9, 175, Fr., Kaihua, HI)
Second Team
DL – Taylor Tanasse, CWU (6-0, 242, Jr., Yakima, WA)
DL – Andrew Oney, CWU (6-3, 258, Jr., Spanaway, WA)
DL – Levi Smith, WOU (6-4, 275, Jr., Hermiston, OR)
DL – Gavin Drake, WOU (6-3, 285, So., Portland, OR)
DL – Justin Capicciotti, SFU (6-3, 245, Jr., Toronto, Ont.)
LB – Nick Cragin, DSC (5-11, 205, Sr., Issaquah, WA)
LB – Scotland Foss, WOU (6-3, 235, So., Albany, OR)
LB – Jonathon Faraimo, HSU (5-11, 240, Jr., Sacramento, CA)
LB – Jared Silva-Purcell, CWU (5-10, 225, Sr., Honolulu, HI)
LB – Adam Berger, SFU (6-1, 195, Fr., Cloverdale, BC)
DB – Jordan McGowan-Smith, HSU (6-0, 175, Jr., Santa Rosa, CA)
DB – Eddie Umeh, HSU (6-1, 225, Sr., Greenfield, CA)
DB – Nigel Palma, SFU (5-9, 185, Jr., Vancouver, WA)
DB – Dominique Gaisie, CWU (5-9, 160, Jr., West Covina, CA)
DB – Stan Langlow, CWU (6-3, 200, Fr., University Place, WA)
P – Kyle Petersen, CWU (6-6, 248, Sr., Alta Loma, CA)
PR – Dominique Gaisie, CWU (5-9, 160, Jr., West Covina, CA)
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