News - Lakeland College, Sheboygan WI

Romagnoli leads Muskie football players receiving All-NAC honors

Athletics - posted on 11/19/2012

WAUKESHA - Lakeland College senior linebacker Bruce Romagnoli (Iron Mountain, Mich.) headlines a list of seven Muskie football players who received Northern Athletics Conference postseason honors, as the conference released its awards Friday.

Romagnoli was named a First Team All-NAC linebacker for the third consecutive season. He was joined by teammates Joe Ciha (Sr.-New Franken, Wis.), Norman Grinstead (Fr.-Taylor, Mich.) and Cody Lemke (Jr.-Kewaskum, Wis.) as second team selections, while Andy Crivellone (So.-Oak Lawn, Ill.), Yaphay Harvey (So.-Milwaukee, Wis.) and Sam Spaeth (Jr.-Appleton, Wis.) all were named honorable mention all-conference.

Romagnoli concluded a stellar four-year career with his third consecutive first team all-conference award. This season he finished with 76 tackles, 11 1/2 tackles for loss and 4 1/2 sacks, leading the Muskie defense in all three categories. He finished fourth in the NAC in tackles for loss, and also added three passes defensed, including one interception.

Romagnoli completed his terrific career as a three-year starter with 252 tackles. Included in that total were 34 tackles for loss, including 8 1/2 sacks, as well as seven passes defensed, two interceptions, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.

Ciha concluded his career by being named Second Team All-NAC on the offensive line. A three-year starter, he moved from left guard to center this year and started all ten games. Ciha started 28 games in his four-year career and this year received all-conference recognition for the first time.

Lemke was named to the second team as a defensive back, following up his receiving honorable mention recognition last year as a sophomore. Playing at safety, Lemke tied for second on the team with 65 tackles, with 2 1/2 tackles for loss including one sack. He tied for third on the team with eight passes defensed and also tied for second with two interceptions.

Grinstead was named as the NAC's Second Team kick return specialist. The freshman wide receiver finished with 25 kickoff returns for 597 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown against Aurora (Ill.) University. He led the NAC in return yardage, and his 23.9 yard return average ranked third in the conference.

Crivellone was named an honorable mention selection on the offensive line for the second straight year, while Spaeth received honorable mention on the line for the first time. Both started all 10 games-Crivellone at left guard, Spaeth at right tackle-and were part of a group that greatly improved as the season went on. Lakeland averaged 326.7 yards per game over its last six games after averaging just 165.3 yards per game in its first four contests.

Harvey also was named to the honorable mention team for the first time in his first season as a starter. The sophomore stepped in at the team's Nickel defensive back rover position and tied Lemke for second on the team with 65 tackles. He was disruptive in the opponent's backfield with seven tackles for loss, including 2 1/2 sacks, and also led the team with 11 passes defensed, including two interceptions. He ranked third on the squad in tackles for loss and also led the team in pass breakups with nine.

Jake Koehler of Concordia University Chicago was named the NAC Offensive Player of the Year, while Ben Lockton of Benedictine (Ill.) University was named NAC Defensive Player of the Year. Michael Beasley-Hart of Aurora is the conference's Freshman of the Year, and Lonnie Pries of Concordia Chicago was voted as the NAC Coach of the Year.