Football Release (2005-06) - Guilford Football Student-Athletes Earn Regional Honors - Guilford College
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GUILFORD GRIDDERS CITED BY DON HANSEN'S FOOTBALL GAZETTE
Greensboro, NC (1/9/06) -- Guilford College junior Chris Barnette earned First Team NCAA Division III All-South honors from Don Hansen's Football Gazette Monday. Senior offensive lineman Ian Kirwan was a third-team honoree and junior receiver Micah Rushing earned honorable mention laurels.
The weekly Football Gazette has promoted small college football since 1986. Owner and publisher Don Hansen selected all four NCAA Division III regional teams from over 700 nominations and plans to announce Football Gazette's All-America squads Wednesday (1/11).
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Barnette,
a third team All-South pick according to D3football.com, shared the NCAA lead
(all divisions) with 10.1 catches per game. The 6-0, 175-pound receiver set Old
Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) and school records with 101 receptions, also
an NCAA high (all divisions). The 2005 First Team All-ODAC pick had six games
with at least 10 catches and recorded a school-best 1,369 receiving yards and 15
touchdowns. An ODAC Offensive Player of the Week and two-time member of
D3football.com's Team of the Week, Barnette tied the league and school
standards with 17 receptions in Guilford's Nov. 5 win over Catholic. He had a
school-record 233 receiving yards and three scores in the game. Barnette
ranked second among Division III leaders in receiving yards per game (136.9) and
50th in all-purpose yardage (133.9). He scored a team-high 96 points and placed
35th among Division III scoring leaders (9.0 points per game).
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A 6-1, 270-pound lineman, Kirwan centered the Quakers' line that yielded
16 sacks for an offense that threw a school-record 480 times this season and
ranked fifth among Division III passing leaders. Also a D3football.com Third
Team All-South pick, he started all 10 games and earned Second Team All-ODAC
honors despite spending his first two Guilford campaigns on the defensive line.
Kirwan and his mates were cited by D3football.com after the Catholic game
where they did not yield a sack against the ODAC's sack leaders in a
league-record 72 pass attempts. The Quakers' offensive line ranked third in the
league with 16 sacks allowed.
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Rushing
received honorable mention All-ODAC honors after ranking ninth in the nation in
receptions per game (7.8) and 35th in receiving yards per game (93.0). He also
placed among Division III's best in all-purpose yards per game (148.1, 34th) and
kickoff return average (23.7, 46th). Rushing caught 79 passes for 937
yards and scored 10 touchdowns (2 rushing, 8 receiving). He also threw a
touchdown pass and scored in nine of 10 games. He caught at least 11 passes in
three games and had five outings with 100 or more receiving yards. Rushing
amassed over 200 all-purpose yards four times, including a career-best 256-yard
showing in Guilford's win over Washington and Lee. He ran for 29 yards and a
touchdown, made a career-high 12 catches for 110 yards and a score, and returned
four kickoffs for 117 yards in the victory.
The trio helped Guilford (5-5) enjoy its best season since the 1997 club shared the ODAC title with an 8-2 record (4-1 ODAC). First-year head coach Kevin Kiesel's Quakers matched the school standard with four ODAC wins and won their last four games. Picked sixth in the preseason ODAC coaches' poll, Guilford shared second place in the league with a 4-2 record.