Whiteside Leads All-Region
12/1/2010 2:54:37 PM | Football
Whiteside earns his second consecutive First Team nomination after being named Lone Star Conference South Division Defensive Lineman of the year for the third straight time. The Vernon, Texas, native recording 28 tackles for ACU including seven sacks and forcing two fumbles and blocking three kicks on the season.
Joining Whiteside on the First Team Defense is senior linebacker Kevin Washington. He recorded 78 tackles to lead the Wildcats on a defense that was second in the LSC and 28th in NCAA Division II in yards per game. For the second straight year he led the Wildcats in tackles and tackles for loss with 16 adding three sacks.
For the Wildcat offense senior standout receiver Edmund Gates was named First Team wide receiver after posting 1,182 yards receiving and becoming just the fifth player in ACU history to catch 60 plus passes finishing the season with 66. Trevis Turner joins Gates on the all-Region First Team after earning LSC First Team honors. Turner helped an ACU offense that led the LSC and was third in the nation in scoring offense (43.5 ppg), and second in the LSC in rushing, passing and total offense allowing just 15 sacks in the regular season.
All four First Team selections will be added to the all-America ballot looking to add to the Wildcats list of All-America athletes. The team, which is sponsored by Daktronics, Inc., an acknowledged leader in scoring, timing and programmable display systems, is voted on by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Five Wildcats earned second team accolades with quarterback Mitchell Gale leading the way who earned LSC South Offensive Back of the Year honors for 2010. Gale is also one of nine finalists for the Harlon Hill Award after leading the nation in passing efficiency (167.33) and tossing 38 TD passes on the season. Gale threw for the second-highest single-season total in ACU history with 3,595 yards. Two deserving offensive linemen, Royland Tubbs and Matt Webber, joined him on the Second Team.
Tubbs and Webber helped lead an ACU offense that was second in the LSC in rushing, passing and total offense and allowed just 15 sacks and throwing for 3,595 yards. The Wildcat offense also led the LSC in scoring offense at 43.5 points per game.
Place-kicker Morgan Lineberry and linebacker Courtney Lane also earned Second Team honors for the Wildcats. Lineberry, a sophomore from Dallas, led the Wildcats in scoring converting on 48 of 53 extra points and 21 of 30 field goals with a long of 49 yards. Lane finished the season with 41 tackles and one forced fumble on an ACU defense that was second in the LSC in yards per game. He often covered receivers in ACU's 3-4 scheme and helped an ACU defense that allowed just over 80 yards per game ranking eighth in the nation.
