SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE GETS SIX PLAYERS ON ALL-OVC FOOTBALL TEAM

Six Southeast Missouri State University football players have earned all-Ohio Valley Conference recognition, including three who made the first team.

The all-OVC teams, as voted on by the league's head football coaches and sports information directors, was announced Tuesday afternoon.

Earning first-team honors from Southeast were senior tight end John Borne, senior linebacker Jeremy Atwell and senior cornerback Brian Hinton.

Making the second team were senior defensive lineman Joel Becker and senior linebacker Donovan LaViness while senior offensive lineman Chris Kiefer earned honorable-mention honors.

Borne led all OVC tight ends in receptions with 28 as he averaged 17.3 yards per catch and scored three touchdowns.

Atwell led the OVC in tackles for much of the season before finishing fourth with 112, which led the Indians. Atwell tied for the league lead in fumble recoveries with three and was third in tackles for loss with 19.

Hinton led the OVC in interceptions and interception return yards, with five for 118 yards. He was also second in the league and 13th nationally in kickoff returns with a 26.6-yard average.

Becker paced all Southeast defensive linemen in tackles with 53 and he led the Indians in quarterback sacks with four.

LaViness ranked fifth in the OVC and second on the team with 104 tackles. He was also sixth in the league in tackles for loss with 17.

Kiefer, a Perryville High product, was part of a Southeast offensive line that started the season slowly but became a force over the latter part of the campaign.n Murray State quarterback Justin Fuente, Tennessee State defensive end Lamar Carter and Tennessee State coach L.C. Cole earned the OVC's three major honors by being named Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Coach of the Year, respectively.

Fuente completed 240 of 400 passes for an OVC-record 3,497 yards and 27 touchdowns. He led the conference and ranked eighth nationally in total offense with 3,407 yards, becoming the first player in league history to eclipse 3,400 yards of total offense in a season.

Despite playing just two seasons with the Racers after transferring from Oklahoma, Fuente ranks sixth in OVC history in career passing yards (6,393) and total offense (6,170). He is one of 16 finalists for the Walter Payton Award, which honors the top offensive player in Division I-AA football.

Carter led the OVC with 12 sacks and was fifth in the league with 17.5 tackles for loss despite missing the Tigers' final two games with a shoulder injury. Carter is Tennessee State's career sacks leader with 41.5, breaking the mark held by former NFL standout Richard Dent.

Cole earned the league's top coaching honor for the second straight season after leading the Tigers to an 11-0 record and their second consecutive OVC title. Tennessee State was the only undefeated team in I-AA football this year and is the No. 1 seed for the I-AA playoffs that begin Saturday.

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Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech and Western Kentucky all had five players named to the all-OVC first team, followed by Murray State with four.

Joining Carter from Tennessee State were wide receiver Corey Sullivan, offensive tackle Michael Thompson, offensive guard Bennie Anderson and return specialist Avion Black.

Selected from Tennessee Tech were defensive end Branon Vaughn, linebacker Chad Evitts, rover Joshua Symonette, offensive tackle Wes Gallagher and kicker David Collett.

Chosen from Western Kentucky were running back Rod Smart (the league's only 1,000 yard rusher with 1,249 yards), center Patrick Goodman, linebacker Melvin Wisham, defensive end Ben Wittman and safety Bobby Sippio.

Joining Fuente from Murray State were running back Jermaine Manning, wide receiver Terrence Tillman (the league's leading receiver with 64 catches) and punter Brian Bivens.

Rounding out the first team are offensive guard Josh Hunter and defensive tackle Terry Thomas, both of Eastern Kentucky, and Eastern Illinois safety John Williams (the league's leading tackler with 120).