The South Atlantic Conference Announces 2021 Football Award Winners

ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – The South Atlantic Conference Champion Newberry Wolves had 13 All-SAC football selections as the annual football honors were released today.

In addition to the All-Conference first and second teams, the conference's major awards were announced. Leading the way was the Offensive Player of the Year and Offensive Freshman of the Year, Dwayne McGee from Lenoir-Rhyne, and on the defensive side of the ball, Lenoir-Rhyne's Amari Houston was named Defensive Player of the Year, and Mars Hill's Tristan Rankin was named Defensive Freshman of the Year. Wingate's Andrew Strickland was named the Jacobs Blocking Trophy award winner and Newberry head coach Todd Knight took home Coach of the Year honors.

McGee, a freshman running back from Kissimmee, Fla., led the SAC in every rushing category during the 2021 season, including rushes (224), yards (1,594), yards per game (159.4), yards per rush (7.1), and touchdowns (19). He rushed for over 100-yards in nine of ten games, including seven games of 150-plus yards and two games with over 200-yards rushing. McGee, a first team all-conference selection at running back, is the first-ever player to be named both Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year in the same season in SAC history. 

Houston, a graduate student defensive tackle from Fountain Inn, S.C., is one of the top defenders and prolific pass rusher, he ranks in the top-10 in sacks (5.5), sack yards (51), and fumble recoveries (2). He finished the season with 46 total tackles, including 23 solo tackles. Behind his leadership, the Bear defense allowed just 317.3 yards offense per game and were the No. 2 scoring defense in the SAC, averaging 14.9 points per game on defense.

Rankin, a freshman defensive back from Hickory, N.C., led the SAC with eight interceptions this season, including setting a Mars Hill record with three interceptions in a single game versus Limestone. He returned two interceptions for touchdowns and was named SAC Defensive Player of the Week once this season. He finished the year with 34 tackles, 10 pass breakups, and three tackles for loss.

Strickland, a graduate student offensive lineman from Raleigh, N.C., was the leader of a Wingate offensive that ranks third in the league in rushing yards per game (162.1), fifth in passing yards per game (218.8), and averaged 31.3 points per game.

In his 13th season at the helm of the Newberry football team, Knight led the Wolves to the 2021 SAC Football Championship, the first Newberry football championship since 2016, with a 7-1 record in the conference. The Wolves rank second in the league in total offense (4,612 yards), second in yards per game (419.3), and fifth in points per game (30.5). They are currently riding a six-game winning streak as they head into the 2021 NCAA Division II Football Playoffs.

In addition to Newberry's 13 All-SAC selections, Lenoir-Rhyne had 15 All-SAC picks, while Mars Hill had seven selections. Wingate had six honorees, while Tusculum had five, and UVA Wise had four All-SAC selections. Carson-Newman had three players named All-SAC, with Limestone earning two selections, and Catawba rounding out the All-SAC selections with one.

2021 SAC Football All-Conference

FIRST TEAM OFFENSE

QB –     Grayson Willingham, Lenoir-Rhyne

RB –     Dwayne McGee, Lenoir-Rhyne

RB –     Mario Anderson, Newberry

RB –     Nijere Peoples, Wingate

WR –    CJ Thompson, Mars Hill

WR –    Bryson Woodruff, Newberry

WR –    Devin Heckstall, UVA Wise

OL –     Blake Jefferson, Lenoir-Rhyne

OL –     Andrew Strickland, Wingate

OL –     Thomas Mahoney, Tusculum

OL –     Alec Blackmon, Newberry

OL –     Leondre Andreas, Mars Hill

TE –      Ty Snelson, Mars Hill

PK –     McLean Robertson, Wingate

LS –      Tyler Keaton, Lenoir-Rhyne

RS –      Leonte Dundley, Carson-Newman

FIRST TEAM DEFENSE

DL –     Amari Houston, Lenoir-Rhyne

DL –     Dan Louba, Lenoir-Rhyne

DL –     TyRan Dixon, Newberry

DL –     Chavon Fields, UVA Wise

LB –      Dexter Fitzpatrick, Mars Hill

LB –      Landon Honeycutt, Mars Hill

LB –      Nick Yearwood, Newberry

LB –      Jaquan Edwards, Wingate

DB –     Anthony Blue, Newberry

DB –     Tristan Rankin, Mars Hill

DB –     Eric Jackson, Lenoir-Rhyne

DB –     Markel Dailey, UVA Wise

P –        Ethan Evans, Wingate

SECOND TEAM OFFENSE

QB –     Dre Harris, Newberry                

RB –     Courtney Jackson, Tusculum

RB –     Troy Dendy, Carson-Newman

RB –     Jaevon Gillespie, UVA Wise

WR –    Deondre Lester, Lenoir-Rhyne

WR –    Justice Parham, Tusculum

WR –    Dareke Young, Lenoir-Rhyne

OL –     Cameron Thomason, Limestone

OL –     Cam Williams, Newberry

OL –     Justin Bullock, Mars Hill

OL –     Bryce Heidinger, Lenoir-Rhyne

OL –     Ian Brinson, Lenoir-Rhyne

TE –      Ryder Martin, Wingate

PK –     Chase Allbaugh, Lenoir-Rhyne

LS –      Blake Arnoult, Newberry

RS –      Ryan Carter, Lenoir-Rhyne

SECOND TEAM DEFENSE

DL –     Nelson Louis, Tusculum

DL –     Andre Jefferson, Lenoir-Rhyne

DL –     Jordon Anderson, Wingate

DL –     Ty Kelly, Newberry

LB –      Jon Ross Maye, Lenoir-Rhyne

LB –      Preston Joseph, Lenoir-Rhyne

LB –      AJ Valentine, Newberry

LB –      Rondrow Pebbles, Carson-Newman

DB –     David Vereen, Newberry

DB –     Jordan Taylor, Tusculum

DB –     Kris Williams, Limestone

DB –     Marcus Morgan, Newberry

P -       Clayton Crile, Catawba

Offensive Freshman of the Year

Dwayne McGee, Lenoir-Rhyne

Defensive Freshman of the Year

Tristan Rankin, Mars Hill

Offensive Player of the Year

Dwayne McGee, Lenoir-Rhyne

Defensive Player of the Year

Amari Houston, Lenoir-Rhyne

Jacobs Blocking Trophy

Andrew Strickland, Wingate

Coach of the Year
Todd Knight, Newberry

Statistical Champions