Carpenter named first team all-region; 3 others on second team
11/30/2006 5:00:00 AM | Football
DURANT, Okla. - On the heels of the football program's most succesful season in almost 30 years, four ACU football players have been selected to the NCAA II Daktronics all-Southwest Region football team, which was voted on by the region's sports information directors and released Wednesday.
Junior defensive end Travis Carpenter was the only Wildcat voted to the first team, while junior wide receiver Jerale Badon, junior offensive lineman Nathan Young and sophomore quarterback Billy Malone were voted to the second team. As a first team selection, Carpenter will be a candidate for the Daktronics all-America team, which will be released in mid-December.
ACU finished the 2006 season 8-3 and qualified for the NCAA Division II playoffs for the first time in program history. The Wildcats lost to West Texas A&M, 30-27, in overtime in a Nov. 18 first-round matchup in Canyon. The playoff game was ACU's first post-season action in football since the 1977 NAIA Division I championship game.
Carpenter was a defensive force for the Wildcats throughout the season, despite playing as an undersized defensive end. The 6-1, 225-pounder from Clyde led the LSC and was sixth in the nation in forced fumbles (four) to go along with 47 tackles (25 solo). He was second in the league in sacks (6.5 for minus-46 yards) and in tackles for loss (12.5 for minus-65 yards), and two weeks ago he was named first team all-Lone Star Conference South Division.
Malone - named earlier this month as the LSC South Division first team quarterback and a Southwest Region finalist for the Harlon Hill Award - finished his season with a school-record 245 completions on 386 attempts. He became just the third Wildcat in school history to throw for more than 3,000 yards in a season as his 3,136 yards left behind only Clint Longley (3,167 yards in 1973) and ahead of Rex Lamberti (3,010 yards in 1985) on ACU's single-season passing list. He also threw for 27 touchdowns, the fourth-best single-season total in school history.
Badon continued his record-setting career in 2006, and he will enter the 2007 campaign poised to become the school's all-time leader in both career receptions, yards and 100-yard games. He had five 100-yard games on the season on his way to first team all-LSC South Division honors. Badon's total of 63 catches this season is the third-best single-season total in school history, and his 973 receiving yards is the eighth-best single-season total in school history.
Badon continued his record-setting career in 2006, and he will enter the 2007 campaign poised to become the school's all-time leader in both career receptions, yards and 100-yard games. He had five 100-yard games on the season on his way to first team all-LSC South Division honors. Badon's total of 63 catches this season is the third-best single-season total in school history, and his 973 receiving yards is the eighth-best single-season total in school history.
Young was been the ringleader for an ACU offensive line that has allowed just 12 sacks on the season. That offensive line was one of the reasons ACU finished the season fourth in the nation in total offense, third in passing offense and eighth in scoring offense. Young, named first team all-LSC South Division two weeks ago, was also named the LSC South Division Offensive Lineman of the Year.
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