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MILWAUKEE, WI - Scottie Bobeck was selected as the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Defensive Player of the Year as the Benedictine University football team piled up postseason honors.

Bobeck earned his second consecutive first team honor and is the third player from Benedictine to earn defensive player of the year. Jarrett Lecas won the award most recently in 2014 while Ben Lockton received the honor twice. Bobeck matched his career high with 105 tackles and earned NACC Defensive Player of the Week after a win over Lakeland by recording a career best 20 tackles to go with a game-sealing interception. Bobeck finished with three interceptions on the year, tied for the second most in the conference and also recovered a fumble. The Kenosha, Wis. native recorded double-digit tackles on five occasions and notched seven or more in every game.

Bobeck was one of five players to earn First Team All-NACC status. Joining Bobeck on the defensive side was Jalaan Owens. A cornerback, Owens broke up six passes, recorded two interceptions, and finished third on the team with 56 tackles. Owens was named as the conference defensive player of the week after recording a pair of turnovers in the first week of the season. Joshua Williams and Austin Jarnagin earned first team honors on the offensive side of the ball. Jarnagin grabbed his first position on the first team after back--to-back years as a second team choice. Jarnagin helped lead the way for Williams, who gathered his first selection to the first team as well after earning second team last year. Williams surpassed 1,000 yards rushing for the season and tied for the team lead with nine touchdowns. The senior tallied five games with 100+ yards rushing, all in conference play. Tanner Mateus received first team honors as a punter in his first season on campus. The Belvidere, Ill. native punted 37 times for an average of 33.9 yards with nine inside the 20 and a long of 53.

There were four representatives on the second team including Williams again as a return man. Alex Lopez was named second team at tight end after leading the team with 51 catches for 670 yards and eight touchdowns. Sophomore Gannon Grider gathered more honors for the offensive line with his first award. Braxton White received second team honors on the defensive line. White finished with 45 tackles.

Mateus received recognition a second time at kicker with an honorable mention choice. Other honorable mention choices were Tyler Jarnagin, Kiandre Morris, Calvin Jordan, Keenon Davis, Blake Davis and Danny Wood. The last four of which were on the defensive side.

Benedictine finished the season with a 7-3 record, reversing last season's mark. The team logged a 6-1 finish in the NACC to claim second place.

BELOW COURTESY OF THE NACC
MILWAUKEE, Wis. (naccsports.org) --- The Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) has announced its major awards and all-conference teams for the 2019 football season.

Record-setting junior quarterback Gavin Zimbelman (Manteno, Ill.) of Aurora University was named the NACC Football Offensive Player of the Year, while Benedictine University senior linebacker Scottie Bobeck (Kenosha, Wis.) was named the NACC Football Defensive Player of the Year. Eureka College defensive lineman Alex Brittain (Eureka, Ill.) was named the league's Freshman of the Year and Aurora mentor Don Beebe was recognized by his peers as the 2019 NACC Football Coach of the Year.

The awards are voted on by the league's head coaches.

Through 10 regular-season games, Zimbelman has completed 241 of 383 passes for a league-leading 3,182 yards and an NCAA Division III-best 51 touchdowns. He set a new NACC single-season mark for TD passes in just the seventh game of the season and sits 117 yards short of matching the league's single-season yardage mark. Zimbelman threw for four or more touchdowns in eight of 10 regular-season games, tying the NACC single-game record of seven in the season opener against St. Norbert. He then proceeded to hit that mark three more times during the course of the season. Zimbelman also rushed for 355 yards and three touchdowns on 75 carries, including a season-best 93 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries in a 63-27 win over Concordia University Chicago on Oct. 12. In addition to leading NCAA Division III in touchdown passes, he also leads the nation in total offense (361.9 yards per game) and points responsible for (326), while ranking fourth in total passing yards, fifth in passing yardage per game (318.2 ypg), ninth in completions per game (24.1 per game) and 14th in passing efficiency (172.0). Zimbelman is the first Spartan to be named NACC Offensive Player of the Year and the first AU player to receive a major NACC football award since Defensive Player of the Year honors went to Kam Dawtyne in 2017.

Bobeck ranked third in the NACC with 105 tackles, including 46 solo stops. He also picked off three passes, tied for second among NACC players. Bobeck posted at least seven tackles in each game this season, reaching double-digits five times. His high-water mark of 20 (eight solo, 12 assists) came in a 34-26 win against Lakeland on Nov. 9. In addition to his three interceptions, he also broke up a pair of passes and blocked a kick against Loras. Bobeck is the third Eagle to receive NACC Defensive Player of the Year honors following two-time winner Ben Lockton (2011-12) and Jarrett Lecas (2014).

Brittain finished the year as Eureka's second-leading tackler with 48, including 30 solo stops, despite playing in just nine of 10 games. He also contributed three sacks and recovered a fumble. He twice posted a season-high nine tackles - first against Concordia Chicago on Oct. 19, then again against Lakeland on Nov. 2. Brittain is the second Red Devil student-athlete to capture a major NACC football award. Le'Anthony Reasnover was named the league's offensive player of the year last season.

In his first season, Beebe led the Spartans to a 9-1 regular-season record, an undefeated 7-0 mark in league play, the program's third NACC title and Aurora's fifth trip to the NCAA Division III Football Championship. Carried by their high-flying offense, the Spartans rank sixth in Division III in total offense at 518.0 yards per game and 14th in passing offense at 318.9 yards per game. Beebe is the third AU coach to be named NACC Football Coach of the Year.

All eight NACC football schools were represented on the 2019 All-NACC Teams. League champion Aurora led all NACC programs with 16 all-league selections, including seven first-teamers. Eureka College was next with 10 honorees, split evenly between the first and second teams, while Benedictine University had nine players selected, including five to the first team. Lakeland University, with four first-team picks, finished with six all-league players overall, followed by Concordia University Wisconsin with five selections, Concordia University Chicago with four, Wisconsin Lutheran College with three and Rockford University with two.

Among the 55 All-NACC selections were a pair of double honorees. Eureka senior James Douglas III (Orlando, Fla.) was selected to the First Team as both a wide receiver and a return specialist, while Benedictine senior Josh Williams (Chicago, Ill.) earned first-team honors at running back and second-team honors as a return specialist. Elsewhere among specialists, Benedictine freshman Tanner Mateus (Belvidere, Ill.) paired first-team punter honors with an honorable mention as a placekicker.