Football | 11/13/2018 4:00:00 PM
BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. – Six members of the West Liberty University football squad were named to the 2018 All-Mountain East Conference Team on Tuesday when the league coaches announced the results of their post-season voting.
Senior linebacker Cliff Clark earned his second consecutive first-team berth while junior cornerback Josh Ojo also earned first-team All-MEC laurels. A pair of juniors, defensive tackle
Cody Rine and defensive back
Logan Deri, were second-team selections along with freshman placekicker
Owen Rozanc. Sophomore H-Back
Ridge Durbin received All-MEC honorable mention from the coaches.
Notre Dame tailback Jaleel McLaughlin was voted Offensive Player of the Year and Offensive Freshman of the Year. Charleston defensive end John Cominsky was the Defensive Player of the Year with Notre Dame defensive tackle Jack Kosko collecting Defensive Freshman of the Year honors. Mike Jacobs was the runaway choice for Coach of the Year after leading Notre Dame to an unbeaten season.
Following are brief capsules on West Liberty's All-MEC honorees:
CLIFF CLARK, a 6-4, 235-pound senior linebacker from Cambridge, Ohio, ranked among the national leaders with a career-high 120 tackles and 79 solo stops. He also had 11.5 tackles-for-loss to go along with 5 quarterback sacks. The three-year starter had seven double-figure tackle games, highlighted by an 18-tackle performance against Shepherd. His 120 tackles are the most by a West Liberty player in more than two decades.
JOSH OJO, a 5-10, 180-pound junior cornerback from Stephens City, Va., led the Mountain East Conference with 7 interceptions, returning two of them for scores. He had back-to-back games with 2 interceptions at Charleston (9/13) and vs. UVa-Wise (9/22). Ojo had a 20-yard interception return TD to key West Liberty's 37-34 win against West Virginia Wesleyan and gave WLU an early 7-0 lead with a 25-yard interception return TD at Notre Dame.
CODY RINE, a 6-4, 300-pound junior defensive tackle from Wellsburg, W.Va., battled through injuries to anchor West Liberty's interior defensive line with 47 tackles – including 36 solo stops – 8 tackles-for-loss and 2.5 quarterback sacks.
LOGAN DERI, a 6-1, 195-pound safety from North Huntingdon, Pa., earned his third straight All-MEC honor by ranking among the team leaders with 72 tackles, 54 solo stops and 7.5 tackles-for-loss.
OWEN ROZANC, a 5-11, 175-pound placekicker from Sheffield Lake, Ohio, converted 12-of-15 field goal attempts and 29-of-33 PATs to lead the team in scoring with 65 points. The 12 field goals ranked No. 3 nationally among all freshman kickers.
RIDGE DURBIN, a 6-2, 240-pound sophomore H-Back from Howard, Ohio, caught 44 passes for 344 yards and a pair of touchdowns in his first full season as a starter.
2018 ALL-MEC FOOTBALL TEAM
Offensive Player of the Year: Jaleel McLaughlin (Notre Dame)
Offensive Freshman of the Year: Jaleel McLaughlin (Notre Dame)
Defensive Player of the Year: John Cominsky (Charleston)
Defensive Freshman of the Year: Jack Kosko (Notre Dame)
Coach of the Year: Mike Jacobs (Notre Dame)
First Team
Pos. Name School Cl.
QB Tyson Bagent Shepherd Fr.
RB Khalik Hamlin Fairmont State So.
RB Jaleel McLaughlin Notre Dame Fr.
RB Mario Pender Glenville State Sr.
WR Ryan Feiss Shepherd Sr.
WR Tyrell Henderson W.Va. State Sr.
WR Marvelle Ross Notre Dame Jr.
WR Michael Strachan Charleston So.
TE DJ Cornish Shepherd Jr.
OL Jimmy Burchett Notre Dame So.
OL Jamie Colon Shepherd Sr.
OL Zach Cox Fairmont State Jr.
OL Derek Dressler Concord Sr.
OL Gus Deviney Charleston Sr.
OL Brandon Nicholson Notre Dame So.
OL Chandler Zavala Fairmont State So.
Defense
DL Kahzin Daniels Charleston Sr.
DL John Cominsky Charleston Sr.
DL Austin Hill Glenville State Sr.
DL Mikal Toliver Urbana Jr.
DL Sha'haun Williams Notre Dame Jr.
LB CLIFF CLARK WEST LIBERTY Sr.
LB Duray Hall Urbana Jr.
LB Dominic Cizauskis Glenville State Jr.
LB Chrys Lane Shepherd So.
LB Guam Lee Notre Dame So.
DB Cedric Lynch Notre Dame So.
DB DeJuan Neal Shepherd Sr.
DB JOSH OJO WEST LIBERTY Jr.
DB Michael Porter Fairmont State Jr.
DB Marcus Tarrer UVa-Wise So.
DB Stephen Turner Fairmont State Sr.
Special Teams
P Justin Watts Glenville State Jr.
K Aaron Ball W.Va. State Sr.
KR/PR Lyrics Klugh Fairmont State Sr.
Second Team
Offense
QB Takwan Crews-Naylor Fairmont State Jr.
RB Jamorya Cousins UVa-Wise So.
RB Jimmy Wheeler Charleston Sr.
RB Calil Wilkins W.Va. State So.
WR Javon Butler Glenville State So.
WR Kaian Duverger UVa-Wise Sr.
WR Shawn Harris Fairmont State Jr.
WR Jujuan Linzy W.Va. Wesleyan So.
TE Zaire Mitchell Notre Dame So.
OL Keandre Batson Shepherd Jr.
OL Devon Bradshaw W.Va. State Jr.
OL Doug Hardin Urbana Sr.
OL Brice Hinton Notre Dame Jr.
OL Garrett Kapstein Fairmont State Jr.
OL Levi Lloyd Shepherd Sr.
OL Lonnell McGuire Fairmont State Jr.
OL Austin Treneff Notre Dame Sr.
Defense
DL Josh Ballard Fairmont State Sr.
DL Vince Ellis Notre Dame Sr.
DL Kenny Randall Charleston So.
DL CODY RINE WEST LIBERTY Jr.
DL Ricky Robinson Shepherd So.
LB CJ Bagwell Charleston Sr.
LB Zach Malone Concord Sr.
LB Donovan Montague UVa-Wise Sr.
LB Jalen Nelson Charleston Sr.
LB Curtis Collins Notre Dame Jr.
DB Cedric Amadi Charleston Sr.
DB Ponce Deleon Shepherd So.
DB LOGAN DERI WEST LIBERTY Jr.
DB Dezmon Hopkins UVa-Wise Sr.
DB Jonte Pooler Charleston Sr.
DB Jeffrey Thomas Notre Dame So.
Special Teams
P Brandon Purk Urbana Sr.
K OWEN ROZANC WEST LIBERTY Fr.
KR/PR Marvelle Ross Notre Dame Jr.
Honorable Mention
Offense
QB: Chris Brimm (Notre Dame)
RB: Rakeem Darden (Fairmont State), Carl Garmon (W.Va. State), Isaiah Young (Urbana)
HB: RIDGE DURBIN (WEST LIBERTY)
WR: Wanya Allen (Shepherd), Javon Hayes (Fairmont State), Tywan Pearce (Concord)
TE: Alex Wetzel (Shepherd)
OL: Trevor Haislip (Glenville State), Sage McBride (UVa-Wise), Eric Ostrow (Shepherd)
Defense
DL: Derrick Brumfield (Fairmont State), Scott Dixon (Shepherd), Tatah N'Deh (Shepherd), Shavonta Timothy (UVa-Wise), Glenwood Williams (Fairmont State)
LB: RJ Goodwin (Notre Dame), Antonio Harris (Fairmont State), Buster Henderson (UVa-Wise), Robby Huddleston (W.Va. Wesleyan), Joe Stoneman (W.Va. State)
DB: Tevon Littleton (W.Va. State), Quintavius Twine (Glenville State), Moises Valcarcel (W.Va. State), Sam Quinn (Charleston)
Special Teams
P: Sam Tucker (Fairmont State)
K: Colin Harvath (Fairmont State)
KR/PR: Chaudlier Shepherd (Concord)
