Lakeland College

Awards Keep Coming for Lakeland Football Team

Athletics - posted on 1/9/2006

Four Lakeland College football players have been named to the Don Hansen National Weekly Football Gazette 2005 NCAA Division III North All-Region Team.

Senior linebacker Ryan Van De Loo (Sheboygan Falls/Sheboygan Falls) was named First Team Defense. Senior offensive lineman Bryon Vandlen (Monroe/Monroe) was named Second Team Offense, while senior defensive end David Benton (Ashtabula, Ohio/Ashtabula) was named Second Team Defense. Senior quarterback Ryan Maiuri (Sterling Heights, Mich./Stephenson) earned Honorable Mention Offense honors. The Football Gazette's All-America team is expected to be announced later this week.

"This is a great accomplishment for these athletes personally," said head coach Jim Zebrowski. "They are four of the hardest working players on the team. It is also a great day for Muskie football as this is great recognition for the program. I hope that one or two of these guys get voted as an All-American as they have worked hard all season long. They are all tremendous players and they earned it."

It's the latest in a long list of award for the Muskies, who earned the first postseason playoff berth in school history this past fall and won the Illini-Badger Conference title for the second straight season.

Van De Loo was also named a D3football.com All-American and a member of the website's All-North Region first team defense, 2005 IBFC Linebacker of the Year, first team All-IBFC linebacker in 2005 and second team in 2004. He was sixth in tackles for loss per game nationally and led the IBFC in that category.

In addition to being named to the second team defense by the Football Gazette, Benton was also named to the D3football.com All-American Team, All-North Region first team defense, 2005 IBFC Defensive Lineman of the Year and first team All-IBFC defensive line in both 2004 and 2005. Benton was second in the nation in sacks per game and 15th in tackles for loss per game.

Vandlen is making his second appearance on the Football Gazette All-North Region squad, moving up to second team this year after earning a third team spot last season. Vandlen played an important role on an offensive line that allowed only 15 sacks all season. The line also anchored the 15th best rushing offense in the nation.

Receiving honorable mention honors was Maiuri, who was the 2005 IBFC Player of the Year. Maiuri led the league in total offense averaging 242.3 yards per game this season, and was third in rushing with 77.6 yards a game. The quarterback was also named to the All-IBFC first team for the second straight season. Last year, Maiuri was named the IBFC's Outstanding Offensive Back.

For a completed look at the Football Gazette's all-region teams, visit www.donhansen.com. For information regarding Lakeland College athletics visit www.lakeland.edu/athletics.