10 Bengals Earn All-Conference Honors; Four Earn First-Team

 
POCATELLO, Idaho- The Big Sky Conference released its all-conference football team on Tuesday and Idaho State had 10 players garner all-conference honors. ISU finished with four first-team all-conference players in Mitch Gueller, Skyler Phillips, James Madison and Mario Jenkins.

Michael Dean and Chase Collins earned third-team all-league while Brian Fineanganofo, Ty Flanagan, Andy Whittier and JonRhyeem Peoples earned honorable mention all-conference.

The 10 student-athletes who garnered all-league honors is the most since the 2014 team had 16 receive recognition. The Bengals haven't had four players earn first-team all-conference honors since Sale' Key, Mark Weivoda, Jared Allen and Emery Beckles earned the honors in 2003.

Madison had a break out year rushing for a career-best 933 yards and five touchdowns on 185 carries. He rushed for 253 yards at Northern Colorado and he had three games with 100 yards or more on the ground. He rushed for 105 at Montana State and 160 vs. Portland State. Madison was also a threat catching the ball as he had 21 receptions for 213 yards and one touchdown.

Phillips was a leader on the offensive line all season. He has been a starter every year he has been in Pocatello and he has been a big key in the team's offensive success this year. Phillips has accepted an invitation to play in the 2018 Senior Bowl.

Jenkins has been one of the top tacklers in the Big Sky Conference and nation all year. He finished the year with 111 tackles and had a career-high 18 in a win over Cal Poly. He had 17 tackles in a win at Nevada, 13 vs. Montana and UC Davis and 10 vs. Sacramento State and Weber State. Jenkins is a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award.

Gueller caught 36 passes for 871 yards and eight touchdowns this year. He played and started in all eight conference games. In the win over Portland Sate he caught four passes for 195 yards and scored a touchdown on a school record 97-yard pass play. He had 188 yards receiving and two touchdowns vs. Montana, 149 and three touchdowns at Northern Colorado and 125 vs. Cal Poly.

As the starting slot receiver Dean caught 52 passes for 754 yards and eight touchdowns. He caught five passes for 133 yards in a win over Nevada. Against Cal Poly, he caught six passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns against Cal Poly and at Sacramento State he had nine receptions for 128 yards and one touchdown.

After missing last year due to a season-ending injury, Collins started every game at tackle and was key in the Bengals offensive success that allowed Gueller, Dean, Madison and Flanagan to have big seasons.

Fineanganofo started all season at the tackle spot and along with Collins and Phillips were key in the offenses growth this year.

Flanagan rushed for 634 yards on 125 carries and scored a conference-best 11 touchdowns. He had four rushing touchdowns and carried the ball 21 times for 108 yards in the win over Portland State. He rushed for 100 yards in the win over Western Oregon and 106 at Utah State.

Peoples started all season on the defensive line and finished the year with 14 tackles. He had a career-high 14 in the victory over Cal Poly.

Keelan Doss from UC Davis was name the Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Year and Taron Johnson from Weber State was named the Defensive Player of the Year. Troy Andersen from Montana State was the Freshman of the Year and Jake Maier from UC Davis was the Newcomer of the Year.


Offensive Player of the Year: Keelan Doss, UC Davis
Defensive Player of the Year: Taron Johnson, Weber State
Freshman of the Year: Troy Andersen, Montana State
Newcomer of the Year: Jake Maier, UC Davis
 
 
* - Unanimous All-First Team Selection
$ - Two-Time All-Big Sky First Team Selection
% - Three-Time All-Big Sky First Team Selection
 

FIRST TEAM OFFENSE
Position	Player	Year	School
Wide Receiver	Elijah Marks	Senior	Northern Arizona
Wide Receiver	Keelan Doss	Junior	UC Davis
Wide Receiver	Mitch Gueller	Sophomore	Idaho State
Tackle	Iosua Opeta	Junior	Weber State
Tackle	David Reese	Senior	Montana
Guard	Skyler Phillips	Senior	Idaho State
Guard	Tyler Shank	Senior	Northern Arizona
Center	Zach Larsen	Sophomore	Southern Utah
Tight End	*$Andrew Vollert	Senior	Weber State
Quarterback	$Case Cookus	Sophomore	Northern Arizona
Running Back	%John Santiago	Junior	North Dakota
Running Back	James Madison	Junior	Idaho State
Fullback	Jared Mohamed	Senior	Cal Poly
Kicker	Trey Tuttle	Freshman	Weber State
Returner	Rashid Shaheed	Freshman	Weber State
FIRST TEAM DEFENSE
Position	Player	Year	School
Tackle	McKay Murphy	Senior	Weber State
Tackle	Anu Pole'o	Senior	Southern Utah
End	Ben Sorenson	Senior	Sacramento State
End	George Obinna	Junior	Sacramento State
Outside Linebacker	%Michael Needham	Senior	Southern Utah
Outside Linebacker	Mac Bignell	Senior	Montana State
Inside Linebacker	Mario Jenkins	Senior	Idaho State
Inside Linebacker	LeGrand Toia	Junior	Weber State
Cornerback	*Taron Johnson	Senior	Weber State
Cornerback	Jarmaine Doubs	Senior	Southern Utah
Safety	Wes Sutton	Junior	Northern Arizona
Safety	Mister Harriel	Junior	Sacramento State
Punter	Jordan Dascalo	Senior	Eastern Washington
Special Teams	Brady May	Junior	Weber State
SECOND TEAM OFFENSE
Position	Player	Year	School
Wide Receiver	Nic Sblendorio	Senior	Eastern Washington
Wide Receiver	Alex Wesley	Junior	Northern Colorado
Wide Receiver	Andre Lindsey	Junior	Sacramento State
Tackle	Dylan Mahoney	Senior	Montana State
Tackle	Marquez Tucker	Junior	Southern Utah
Guard	Pailake Aiono	Senior	Sacramento State
Guard	Tyshon Mosley	Senior	Portland State
Center	Spencer Blackburn	Junior	Eastern Washington
Tight End	Charlie Taumoepeau	Sophomore	Portland State
Quarterback	Gage Gubrud	Junior	Eastern Washington
Running Back	Antoine Custer	Sophomore	Eastern Washington
Running Back	James Felila	Sophomore	Southern Utah
Fullback	Brady May	Junior	Weber State
Kicker	Devon Medeiros	Junior	Sacramento State
Returner	Dre'Sonte Dorton	Sophomore	Eastern Washington
SECOND TEAM DEFENSE
Position	Player	Year	School
Tackle	Augustino Elisaia	Senior	Cal Poly
Tackle	Robert Torgenson	Senior	Southern Utah
End	Albert Havili	Senior	Eastern Washington
End	Tucker Schye	Senior	Montana
End	Jonah Williams	Sophomore	Weber State
Outside Linebacker	Josh Buss	Junior	Montana
Outside Linebacker	Landon Stice	Junior	Weber State
Inside Linebacker	James Banks	Senior	Montana
Inside Linebacker	Chinedu Ahanonu	Junior	Southern Utah
Cornerback	Xequille Harry	Senior	Weber State
Cornerback	Khalil Dorsey	Sophomore	Northern Arizona
Safety	Kam'ron Johnson	Junior	Northern Arizona
Safety	Jordan Preator	Junior	Weber State
Punter	Jered Padmos	Sophomore	Montana State
Special Teams	Dante Olson	Sophomore	Montana
THIRD TEAM OFFENSE
Position	Player	Year	School
Wide Receiver	Nsimba Webster	Junior	Eastern Washington
Wide Receiver	Michael Dean	Sophomore	Idaho State
Wide Receiver	Darnell Adams	Senior	Portland State
Tackle	Jon Blade	Senior	Sacramento State
Tackle	Chase Collins	Senior	Idaho State
Guard	Baron Bruce	Junior	Weber State
Guard	PJ Nu'usa	Sophomore	Southern Utah
Center	Blake Porter	Senior	Northern Arizona
Tight End	Wes Preece	Sophomore	UC Davis
Quarterback	Jake Maier	Sophomore	UC Davis
Running Back	Cory Young	Junior	Northern Arizona
Running Back	Treshawn Garrett	Junior	Weber State
Fullback	Sefesi Vaa'ivaka	Senior	Southern Utah
Kicker	Brandon Purdy	Sophomore	Montana
Returner	Xequille Harry	Senior	Weber State
THIRD TEAM DEFENSE
Position	Player	Year	School
Tackle	Tank Harris	Junior	North Dakota
Tackle	James Walton	Senior	Northern Arizona
End	Kiefer Morris	Junior	Northern Colorado
End	Taylor Pili	Senior	Southern Utah
Outside Linebacker	Tanner Palmborg	Junior	North Dakota
Outside Linebacker	Marcus Bruce	Junior	Sacramento State
Inside Linebacker	Taylor Nelson	Senior	Southern Utah
Inside Linebacker	Manoah Pearson	Junior	Sacramento State
Inside Linebacker	Connor Strahm	Senior	Montana
Cornerback	Dre Terrell	Junior	Sacramento State
Cornerback	Ryan McKinley	Senior	Montana
Safety	Mitch Fettig	Junior	Eastern Washington
Safety	Bryson McCabe	Senior	Montana State
Punter	Jake DeMaio	Senior	Weber State
Special Teams	Anfernee Gurley	Freshman	Eastern Washington

 
 
 
Honorable Mention
Wide Receiver - Keenan Curran, Montana; Jerry Louie-McGee, Montana; Mitch Herbert, Montana State; Isaiah Hennie, Sacramento State; Landen Measom, Southern Utah; Drew Batchelor, Weber State.
 
Tackle - Brian Fineanganofo, Idaho State; Cole Habib, Northern Arizona; Randin Crecelius, Portland State; Kyle Sulka, UC Davis; Tyler Downs, Weber State.
 
Guard - Tristen Taylor, Eastern Washington; Robert Luke, Montana; Wyatt Ming, Sacramento State; Julian Bertero, UC Davis.
 
Center - Joey Kuperman, Cal Poly; Cooper Sprunk, Montana; Alex Neale, Montana State.
 
Tight End - Logan Parker, Southern Utah.
 
Quarterback - Patrick Tyler, Southern Utah.
 
Running Back - Sam McPherson, Eastern Washington; Ty Flanagan, Idaho State; Jeremy Calhoun, Montana; Brady Oliveira, North Dakota; Joe Logan, Northern Arizona; Jay Green, Southern Utah.
 
Placekicker - Reid Taubenheim, North Dakota.
 
Return Specialist - Jerry Louie-McGee, Montana; John Santiago, North Dakota.
 
Tackle - JonRyheem Peoples, Idaho State; Zach Wright, Montana State; Tucker Yates, Montana State; Khairi Bailey, Northern Colorado; Dariyn Choates, Sacramento State.
 
End - Clarence Smith, Northern Arizona; Chance Bearnson, Southern Utah; Brandon Weaver, UC Davis.
 
Outside Linebacker - Darren Adjei, Cal Poly; Beau Duronslet, Portland State; Immanuel Anderson, Sacramento State; Kyle Tauili'ili, Southern Utah.
 
Inside Linebacker - Byron Evans, Northern Arizona; Taylor Powell, Northern Arizona; Henry Stelzner, Northern Colorado; Ryan Bua, UC Davis.
 
Cornerback - Josh Lewis, Eastern Washington; Maurice Davison, Northern Arizona; Marshaun Cameron, Northern Colorado; Donovan Olumba, Portland State; Vince White, UC Davis.
 
Safety - B.J. Nard, Cal Poly; Stone Kane, Northern Colorado; Tyler Collett, Southern Utah; Mitch Dalley, Southern Utah.
 
Punter - Casey Sublette, Cal Poly; Rashaan Miller, Southern Utah.
 
Special Teams Player - Andy Whittier, Idaho State; Mitchell Thompson, Portland State; Alan Holsten, Southern Utah.
 

Tweet #DigDeep