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| David Akey repeated as a first-team member |
Posted November 19, 2008
David Akey became the first UW-Platteville defender to earn consecutive first team honors in 13 years, as the defensive end was honored by the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Wednesday.
Akey, a senior from Merrill, is the first Pioneer since receiver Matt Kent in 2001-02 to earn back-to-back all-WIAC first team honors and the first UWP defender to do so since linebacker Dan Fox in 1994-95. He was one of 12 Pioneers garnering league recognition.
Earning second team honors were running back Mike Genslinger and receiver Nick Grosso, both seniors from Naperville, Ill. (Neuqua Valley), center Ben Hermus (Sr., Little Chute), linebacker Joe Tinucci (Sr., Willowbrook, Ill./Hinsdale Central), defensive lineman Tim Stephenson (Sr., Lanark, Ill./Eastland), and defensive back Quincy Hudson (Jr., Milwaukee/Bay View).
Making honorable mention were wide receiver Aunton Terry (Jr., Waukesha/North), all-purpose back Tyson Droessler (Sr., Cuba City), and returner Paul Pridemore (So., Hartford/Union). Dustin Moor, a senior linebacker from Cuba City, earned a spot on the all-sportsmanship team.
Defensive Honors
Akey was second on the team in tackles with 65, including a team-high 12 for losses. He had 6.5 quarterback sacks this season and disrupted opponents' passing games all season long. For his career, Akey made 140 tackles, including 21 for losses and 9.5 sacks.
Tinucci was the WIAC leader in total tackles with 57 solo and 38 assisted. He averaged a league-best 9.5 tackles per game. With 7.0 quarterback sacks, Stephenson ranked second in the conference, and with 13 tackles for losses, he was fifth. Hudson intercepted five passes, the most for a Pioneer since Barry Boganz grabbed six in 1990. Hudson's five thefts ranked second in the WIAC. He also broke up eight passes, caused one fumble and recovered another. Moor made 28 solo and 25 assisted tackles from his linebacker spot. The Pioneer defense dropped its scoring average by almost eight points per game from 2007 and to its lowest level (21.5 ppg) since 1995.
Offensive Honors
Despite battling injuries, Genslinger earned his third all-WIAC honor and became the Pioneers' third all-time leading rusher. The standout rushed for 447 yards in 2008, giving him 2,565 yards in his career. He also scored 25 career touchdowns. Terry and Grosso ranked fifth and sixth in the conference in both receptions and yards gained. Terry caught 62 passes for 803 yards and three scores, while Grosso grabbed 50 for 641 yards and four touchdowns. Hermus' blocking helped the Pioneers rank second in the conference with 217.1 passing yards per game. Droessler caught 21 passes for 260 yards and a touchdown and was one of the top blocking receivers in the conference. Overall, the Pioneers averaged 301.8 yards of total offense and were second in the WIAC by converting 76.2 percent of their chances in the red-zone.
Special Teams Honors
Pridemore was sixth in the WIAC in both kickoff and punt returns, averaging 20.2 yards per kick and 6.1 yards per punt return.
The Pioneers were 4-6 overall, a two-game improvement from 2007, and 2-5 in the WIAC, good for sixth place.
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