Springfield, Ohio — The postseason honors continue to roll in for members of the Wittenberg University football team as seven scholar-athletes have earned NCAA Division III All-Ohio honors from OhioCollegeFootball.com (OCF).
Wide receiver Josh McKee, class of 2012 from New Carlisle, Ohio, quarterback Ben Zoeller, class of 2012 from Louisville, Ky., kicker Sean Williams, class of 2013 from Plainfield, Ind., linebacker Zach Hurtt, class of 2012 from Fort Thomas, Ky., and safety Seth Parker, class of 2012 from DeGraff, Ohio, were named first-team All-OCF. Offensive tackle Brian Alspaugh, class of 2012 from Indianapolis, Ind., and wide receiver Michael Cooper, class of 2012 from Springfield, Ohio, were named to the second team.
A year after McKee set Wittenberg and North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) records with 1,386 receiving yards and school records with 67 receptions and 16 receiving touchdowns, he nearly duplicated the feat. McKee, who now holds the Wittenberg and NCAC records for career receiving yards, receptions and touchdowns, topped the team and conference in 2011 with 1,077 receiving yards and 12 receiving touchdowns on 62 receptions, which tied for second in the final statistics. McKee finished his career ranked in the top 15 in NCAA Division III history with 4,022 receiving yards and 46 receiving touchdowns, based on totals prior to the 2011 season.
Zoeller earned NCAC Offensive Player of the Year for the second straight year after leading the NCAC in passing yards (2,651) and passing yards per game (265.1). He also ranked second in the league with 18 touchdown passes and fifth with 164 completions. A two-year starter, Zoeller moved all the way up to second in career passing yards, completions and touchdowns in program history.
Williams led the Tigers with 75 total points in 2011 after hitting 12-of-14 field goals and 39-of-41 extra points. He broke school records for consecutive field goals (19) and extra points (50) during the 2011 season (both streaks started during the 2010 season), and he has made a school record-tying 12 field goals in each of the last two seasons.
Hurtt led Wittenberg and ranked fourth in the NCAC in tackles with 110. He added three tackles for loss, two interceptions and seven passes broken up. Hurtt, who ranked in the top three on the team in tackles following each of his four seasons in the Red & White, finished his career with 365 tackles to rank fifth in program history.
Parker finished the 2011 season with 45 tackles, four passes broken up, a blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown against Wooster and two interceptions, one of which he returned an NCAA record-tying 100 yards for a score against Huntingdon.
Cooper caught 47 passes for 808 yards and six touchdowns to rank among the NCAC leaders in all three categories. He finished his career ranked in the top five in program history in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.
Alspaugh cleared the way for an offense that piled up 404.8 yards per game and allowed just 15 sacks through 10 games.
Six of the scholar-athletes earned first-team All-NCAC honors, while Cooper claimed a second-team award, the first conference recognition of his career. Zoeller, McKee and Parker both made their second straight appearance on the first-team all-conference list. Hurtt earned first-team All-NCAC three straight years, while Williams moved up from the second team in 2010 and Alspaugh earned his first all-conference award of any kind in 2011.
The Tigers finished the 2011 season with records of 8-2 overall and 5-1 in the NCAC, good for second place in the final standings.
Written By: Ryan Maurer
078-11