ABILENE ? The ACU offense dominated the Lone Star Conference and most of NCAA Division II football throughout the 2008 season, and six of the members of that unit wee voted to the Daktronics all-Super Region 4 team, which was released Wednesday.
Running back
Bernard Scott ? one of the finalists for the Harlon Hill Award, which is given annually to the top player in Division II football ? wide receiver
Johnny Knox and offensive linemen
Sam Collins,
Joseph Thompson and Tony Washington were each voted first team all-region, while record-setting senior quarterback
Billy Malone was a second team selection.
Also voted first team all-region were senior placekicker
Matt Adams and redshirt freshman defensive end
Aston Whiteside. Senior inside linebacker
Mike Kern was voted second team all-region. Each of the ACU players honored by Daktronics were voted first team all-Lone Star Conference South Division.
This season Scott rushed for 2,156 yards and 28 touchdowns and caught 47 passes for 826 yards and another six TDs. His play helped the Wildcats to their first perfect regular season (10-0) since 1950 and the program's first outright Lone Star Conference championship since 1973. ACU, which qualified for the NCAA Division II playoffs for the third straight season in 2008, saw its season come to an end on Saturday, Nov. 29, with a 45-36 loss to Northwest Missouri State in the quarterfinal round.
Scott led Division II in scoring (17.0) and all-purpose yards (256.8) and was second in rushing with a 179.7 yard average per game. He averaged more than eight yards per carry and rushed for more than 200 yards in four of his last six games.
He rushed for more than 100 yards in his last 17 straight games dating back to the 2007 season, and he topped the 200-yard mark six times in 25 games as a Wildcat. In ACU's 93-68 playoff victory over West Texas A&M earlier this season, Scott ran for 292 yards and six touchdowns and added 61 yards and one touchdown receiving.
Knox finished the season with 56 catches for 1,069 yards and 13 touchdowns, giving him 1187 catches for 2,227 yards and 30 touchdowns on his career. Knox finished as the Wildcats' all-time leader in touchdown receptions, tied for sixth on ACU's career receptions list and fifth on ACU's career yardage list.
The foundation for ACU's success was the offensive line, which was well-represented by three first team selections in Collins, Thompson and Washington. All three were voted first team all-LSC South Division, while Washington was voted the LSC South Division Offensive Lineman of the Year. They helped ACU lead Division II football in points, points, per game, total yards and yards per game while allowing just eight sacks on the season.
Collins started all 46 ACU games over the last four seasons and is a repeat first team all-region selection as are Scott and Knox.
Adams put together the greatest career of any placekicker in ACU history, and arguably the greatest career by any LSC placekicker. He leaves ACU as the conference and ACU career record-holder in PATs (213), PAT attempts (222) and kicking points (339). Last season he set the LSC and ACU record for PATs in a season (82) and PAT attempts in a season (86), and his 117 kicking points in 2008 is the new LSC and ACU single-season record, passing the 115 points he scored last year.
Whiteside was the Wildcats' other first team selection, and it's another honor for a redshirt freshman who was one of the most disruptive players on the ACU defense. He led the Wildcats in sacks with 9.0 and in tackles for loss with 16.0. He was voted both the LSC South Division Freshman of the Year and the LSC South Division co-Defensive Lineman of the Year while also being voted first team all-LSC South Division.
Malone was a second team selection after wrapping up a career that saw him become the LSC and ACU all-time leader in completions, attempts, yards, touchdown passes, completion percentage, total offensive yards and total offensive yards per game.
Malone is the only quarterback to lead the Wildcats to the NCAA Division II playoffs, and he did so in 2006, 2007 and 2008. In 2008 he led the Wildcats to only the second perfect regular season in program history and the program's first outright LSC championship since 1973.
Kern was a second team selection to the defensive unit after leading the Wildcats in tackles (65), including 30 solo stops. He had 5.5 tackles for loss, two pass breakups, three passes defended, four quarterback hurries, one fumble recovery and one interception, which he returned 99 yards for a touchdown against Southeastern Oklahoma State.
