Southeast places three players on all-conference first team

Three Southeast Missouri State University players earned first-team honors and three more made the second team as all-Ohio Valley Conference football awards were doled out Tuesday, with voting done by the league's coaches and sports information directors.

Southeast senior tight end Ray Goodson, senior offensive guard Dan Bieg and sophomore punter David Simonhoff are on the first team.

Goodson, a Jackson High School product who earned second-team Division I-AA All-American honors last year, is a first-team all-OVC pick for the second straight season. He led Southeast in receptions for the second year in a row, catching 58 passes to rank third in the league.

Bieg, a four-year starter, also is on the all-OVC first team for the second consecutive season. He graded at 96 percent on pass blocking and 89 percent on run blocking this season, according to Southeast statistics.

Simonhoff, a second-team all-OVC pick as a freshman last season, set school and OVC records this year by averaging 46 yards per punt, which ranked second nationally in Division I-AA.

Second-team selections from Southeast are senior quarterback Andrew Goodenough, senior offensive tackle Dan Connolly and senior placekicker Derek Kutz.

Goodenough led the OVC in passing yardage with 2,820, which is the second-highest single-season total in school history. He also ranked 20th nationally in total offense. Goodenough set school and OVC records for both completions and attempts (279 of 467).

Connolly, a four-year starter, made second-team all-OVC four straight seasons. He is regarded as a possible NFL draft pick. Connolly graded at 98 percent on pass blocking and 95 percent on run blocking, according to Southeast statistics.

Kutz, from St. Vincent High School, was Southeast's placekicker the past four seasons, and he made all-OVC first team last year. This season, Kutz was 12 of 17 on field goals, including a career-long 51-yarder that was the longest kick in the OVC this season. He holds school records for most career and single-season extra points.

Tennessee State tailback Charles Anthony and Eastern Kentucky linebacker Justen Rivers were voted OVC offensive and defensive players of the year; Jacksonville State's Jack Crowe is coach of the year after leading the Gamecocks to their second straight league title; and Tennessee-Martin tailback Donald Chapman is the inaugural honoree as freshman of the year.

Anthony, the league's second all-time rusher, gained 1,739 yards to lead the nation in per-game average; Rivers had 97 tackles, including six for loss, two sacks and two fumble recoveries; and Chapman gained 1,084 yards to rank 16th nationally

Jacksonville State led the way with five first-team selections, followed by Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee Tech with four apiece.