Moore names Newcomer of the Year; six get All-Southland honors

From NSU Sports Information

The Colonels picked up the Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year award for the second straight season, when junior defensive back Kareem Moore was awarded the honor from the Southland Conference on Tuesday morning. Nicholls also had six players receive all-conference accolades as well, including three on the first team.

Of those receiving the nod for all-conference were senior offensive lineman Jacob Bender, senior linebacker Cory Vavala, and senior defensive back Toney Edison. Bender was a major catalyst for the Colonels leading the conference in rushing, while Vavala and Edison were key components for Nicholls’ number two-ranked defense in the Southland.

Among the second team members was senior defensive lineman Greg Casnave, sophomore running back Zack Morgan, and defensive back Kareem Moore. Casnave was a major contributor on the Southland’s number one ranked defense, and closed out his career with team high six tackles. Morgan finished second on the team in rushing and third on the team in receiving, which propelled him in the voting. Moore finished the season with a 20.4-yard kick return average, third on the team in tackles with 68, and one interception.

After ranking in the top three in five different statistical categories during the regular season and helping the McNeese State Cowboys to an all-time high 11th regular-season league championship, Steven Whitehead has been named the 2006 Southland Conference Football Player of the Year.

Whitehead, a junior from Slidell, La., is also a first-team All-Southland Conference pick at wide receiver and return specialist. Despite being listed 5 feet, 8 inches and weighing 170 pounds in the McNeese State media guide, Whitehead ranks second in the Southland with 131.5 yards of all-purpose yards per game. He has accumulated 1,447 yards in 11 games to help McNeese post a 7-4 overall record and go 5-1 in SLC play to win its fourth regular-season crown in the last six years.

Whitehead finished the regular season ranked second in the league in punt and kickoff return average as well. He is tops in the SLC with 20 returned punts, averaging 17.6 per return with one touchdown. His 25.1-yard average on 17 kickoff returns is just three-tenths off the league leader’s mark.

From his wide receiver position, Whitehead ranks third in both receptions and reception yards per game. He has caught 41 passes (3.7 per game) for 530 yards (48.2 ypg). His 41 catch total is good for second in the league this year.

Whitehead edged out Sam Houston State’s D.D. Terry for Player of the Year honors as voted by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors. However, Terry was voted Offensive Player of the Year in the SLC. A senior who played linebacker until this season at SHSU, he rushed for 1,328 yards in just 10 games for the 6-5 Bearkats, who were playing for a league title on the final day of the regular season. He also caught passes for 237 yards to lead the Southland with 1,565 all-purpose yards.

Defensive Player of the Year goes to Bryan Smith of McNeese State. A junior defensive lineman, Smith ranks 17th in the SLC with 64 tackles, but is first by a long shot with 12.5 quarterback sacks and 20 tackles for lost yardage. He is also tops in the SLC with four forced fumbles. Smith ranks second nationally in sacks and sixth in TFLs. Earlier in the year, the Newton, Texas, product established a new Southland single game record with five of his quarterback sacks.

McNeese quarterback Derrick Fourroux has been voted the Freshman of the Year after guiding the Cowboys to the SLC’s top scoring season at 27.0 points per game. A redshirt from Erath, La., Fourroux split time with sophomore Mark Fontenot, but managed to finish second in the league in pass efficiency with a 122.0 rating. He has thrown for 1,374 yards with 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Nicholls State picked up its second Newcomer of the Year award in a row as free safety Kareem Moore has been chosen. The transfer from Ittawamba (Miss.) Junior College finished 12th in the league with 68 tackles.

McNeese’s Matt Viator, who took over the Cowboy program mid-year, has been voted Coach of the Year in the SLC. With the Cowboys sitting 1-3, the long-time McNeese assistant was named interim head coach on Oct. 4. From there, McNeese went 6-1, including five wins in a row to end the regular season to capture the league crown. Viator leads McNeese into the postseason the Cowboys travel to Montana for a first-round game in the NCAA Division I Playoffs. Viator had the “Interim” tag removed from his title prior to leading McNeese at a 26-10 win over Nicholls State. The win gave the Cowboys the outright SLC championship and the SLC’s automatic bid to the playoffs.

McNeese State led all schools with eight first-team All-SLC selections with three on offense, three on defense and two special team players. In all, 11 Cowboys were named first or second team, matched only by Texas State’s 11 selections, seven of which were on the second units.