A turnaround season for the Fort Lewis College football team saw a team’s worth of players honored for their performance.
Eleven Skyhawks claimed All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference awards Tuesday after finishing the regular season 7-4 overall and 6-3 in conference games. It was the team’s best season since 2006.
Junior linebacker Andrew Ike, a converted wide receiver, was the lone FLC player selected to the All-RMAC First Team. He was in on a team-high 78 tackles, which ranked 14th in the league. His three forced fumbles tied for a league high. He had two interceptions and also returned a blocked field goal 100 yards for a touchdown in a win against Black Hills State.
Senior wide receiver and kick returner Juquelle Thompson doubled up on second-team awards with selections at both of his positions. Thompson totaled 579 yards and two touchdowns on 41 receptions. Both touchdowns came in the season finale win at Chadron State. Thompson also was a dynamic return man, returning 28 kickoffs for 628 yards. He was even more dangerous on punt returns, with 411 yards and one touchdown on 28 opportunities.
Three more Skyhawks, Sione Folaumoeloa, Dalten Lane and Kenny Shinley, were named to the second team.
Folaumoeloa and Lane were two forces on the FLC defensive line that dominated the majority of opponents all season. Folaumoeloa, a Preseason All-RMAC selection, had five sacks and had eight tackles for a loss and four quarterback hurries. He totaled 43 tackles and added a forced fumble.
Lane had 47 tackles, including seven for a loss. He added 1.5 sacks and blocked the field goal Ike returned for a touchdown.
Shinley helped the Skyhawks’ offense rush for 2,600 yards and throw for another 1,856. FLC ranked second in the RMAC in rushing yards per game with 234.
The Skyhawks placed another six players on the honorable mention team with senior quarterback Jordan Doyle, sophomore running back PJ Hall, senior defensive end Juan Hull, junior defensive end Kohlton Teegeler, senior defensive back Joshua Roybal and senior defensive back Michael Benabides.
Before fracturing his elbow at Western State with two games still left on the schedule, Doyle passed for 1,265 yards and 10 touchdowns and ran for 527 yards and three more touchdowns. He completed more than 60 percent of his passes and threw only two interceptions all season.
Hall finished with 1,128 yards rushing and eight touchdowns for FLC, averaging nearly 5 yards per carry. He is only the third rusher in school history to go over 1,000 yards rushing in a single season.
Benabides led FLC with four interceptions and added 37 tackles and eight pass breakups.
Hull was a dominant force on the defensive line with 53 tackles, 7½ for a loss. He had one sack, hurried the quarterback three times and had two fumble recoveries to go with one forced fumble.
Tegeler had 32 tackles and added two sacks and 3½ tackles for a loss.
Roybal battled a separated shoulder and still played in 10 games. He made 32 tackles and 5½ for a loss from the secondary. He also had one interception.
No. 4 Colorado State University-Pueblo, the defending NCAA Division II national champions and reigning RMAC champions, cleaned up on the yearly awards by winning four of the six issued.
John Wristen was named the RMAC Coach of the Year for a fifth consecutive season after leading the ThunderWolves to a 10-1 overall record and 9-0 in the RMAC.
Cameron McDondle, the team’s star running back, was named RMAC Offensive Player of the Year, and Morgan Fox was named the RMAC Defensive Player of the Year. Fox led the country in sacks per game (1.67) and was eight in tackles for loss per game (2.0).
McDondle finished second in the nation in rushing with 1,943 yards, and his 24 rushing touchdowns lead the nation.
Dustin Rivas of Colorado Mesa and Dakota Swinehart of Western State were named Co-Special Teams Players of the year.
CSU-Pueblo quarterback AJ Thompson was named the Offensive Freshman of the Year after throwing for 1,268 yards and completing 61.1 percent of his passes.
CSU-Pueblo’s Darius Williams was named the Defensive Freshman of the Year with 25 tackles and two interceptions.
Durango High School alum Avery Llewellyn, a kicker for Colorado Mines, was named to the All-RMAC second team in his senior season with the Orediggers.
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