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Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference announces preseason football award selections

Preseason awards announced; media day next week

The season opener is still more than a month down the road, but Thursday’s Preseason Football Players of the Year announcement by the Rocky Mountain Athetic Conference is a fresh reminder that the sounds of collisions, whistles and cannon blasts are right around the corner.

After tallying votes cast by all 11 of the league’s head coaches, Colorado Mines senior quarterback Justin Dvorak and Western State senior running back Austin Ekeler were named RMAC Football Preseason Offensive Players of the Year. Colorado Mesa junior defensive lineman William Milo was chosen as the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, and Adams State senior kicker and punter Zach Cimaglia was selected as Preseason Special Teams Player of the Year.

Dvorak is certainly a worthy selection. He led all of NCAA Division II with an average of 369 passing yards per game in 2015 and was second in touchdown passes and passing yards.

Ekeler led Division II last season with 203.9 all-purpose yards per game. He also led in scoring, averaging 12.6 points per game, and ran for the third most yards in Division II with 1,637. Ekeler is the all-time Western State leader in rushing yards and was named a Second-Team All-American last season.

Milo started all 11 games at nose tackle for Colorado Mesa. He is a former Defensive Freshman of the Year and has improved each season. He was third on the team with 61 tackles in 2015 to go along with two sacks and 10 tackles for a loss.

As Adams State’s kicker/punter, Cimaglia converted nine field goal tries and 21 extra points for a total of 48 points last season. He averaged 43.8 punting yards and was named to the 2015 Special Teams All-RMAC Second Team.

The announcement precedes next week’s RMAC media day, in which the entire Preseason RMAC All-Conference team will be announced. All 11 teams will send coaches and player representatives to Colorado Springs on Monday for press conferences and other activities. New Fort Lewis head coach Ed Rifilato will be in attendance with Skyhawks linebacker Shane Nelson and offensive lineman Kenny Shinley.

Fort Lewis will open play at noon, Sept. 3 on the road against Chadron State.

heraldsports@durangoherald.com



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