A Bobcat football player earned First Team All-America honors for the second straight day Tuesday, when senior defensive end Dane Fletcher was named to the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) FCS squad.

Fletcher, a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award as the FCS’ top defensive player, posted a sensational senior season. The Bozeman native finished second nationally in tackles-for-loss with 1.94 per game, and 16th in sacks (0.78). In spite of missing two games with mono and struggling with injuries early in the season, Fletcher finished 2009 with 17.5 tackles-for-loss and seven sacks. He also hurried the quarterback four times, broke up one pass, and blocked a pair of kicks.

Fletcher adds All-America honors to an already lengthy list of accolades this season. He earned First Team All-Big Sky honors for the first time, and became MSU’s third Big Sky Defensive MVP in the last seven seasons.

During his spectacular career, he recorded 51 tackles-for-loss, fifth among players active during 2009. He joins two-time All-America defensive lineman Corey Widmer (1990, ’91), long snapper Dusty Daws (2004), and defensive lineman Brad Daws (1975) as Bozeman products to earn All-America honors for the Bobcats.

Fletcher was one of five Big Sky players honored by the AFCA.



2009 AFCA Football Championship Subdivision Coaches’ All-America Team

Offense
Pos Name Ht. Wt. Cl. School Coach Hometown (High School)
WR Terrell Hudgins 6-2 236 Sr. Elon Pete Lembo Rocky Mount, N.C. (Rocky Mount)
WR Juamorris Stewart 6-3 205 Sr. Southern Pete Richardson Baton Rouge, La. (Istrouma)
TE Scott Sicko 6-4 235 Sr. New Hampshire Sean McDonnell Stillwater, N.Y. (LaSalle Institute)
OL Levi Horn 6-7 315 Sr. Montana Bobby Hauck Spokane, Wash. (Rogers)
OL Matt McCracken 6-3 300 Sr. Richmond Mike London Pittsburgh, Pa. (Mt. Lebanon)
C Kyle Mutcher 6-3 300 Sr. Weber St. Ron McBride Park City, Utah (Park City)
OL Austin Howard 6-7 319 Sr. Northern Iowa Mark Farley Davenport, Iowa (Central)
OL Joe Gibbs 6-5 285 Sr. Tennessee-Martin Jason Simpson Brilliant, Ala. (Brilliant)
QB Matt Nichols 6-3 220 Sr. Eastern Washington Beau Baldwin Cottonwood, Calif. (West Valley)
RB James Mallory 5-10 200 Sr. Central Connecticut St. Jeff McInerney Buffalo, N.Y. (Kenmore West)
RB Pat Paschall 6-0 198 Sr. North Dakota St. Craig Bohl St. Louis, Mo. (Chattahoochee)

Defense
Pos Name Ht. Wt. Cl. School Coach Hometown (High School)
DL Christian Anthony 6-4 275 Sr. Grambling St. Rod Broadway Birmingham, Ala. (Carver)
DL Arthur Moats 6-2 250 Sr. James Madison Mickey Matthews Portsmouth, Va. (Churchland)
DL Dane Fletcher 6-2 245 Sr. Montana St. Rob Ash Bozeman, Mont. (Bozeman)
DL Adrian Tracy 6-4 243 Sr. William & Mary Jimmye Laycock Sterling, Va. (Potomac Falls)
LB Jacque Roman 6-1 240 Sr. Appalachian St. Jerry Moore Kingland, Ga. (Camden County)
LB J.C. Sherritt 5-10 220 Jr. Eastern Washington Beau Baldwin Pullman, Wash. (Pullman)
LB Jake Lewko 6-1 240 Sr. Pennsylvania Al Bagnoli Medford, N.J. (Shawnee)
DB Mark LeGree 6-0 200 Jr. Appalachian St. Jerry Moore Columbus, Ga. (Pacelli Catholic)
DB Charles Graves 6-0 200 Sr. Delaware K.C. Keeler Raleigh, N.C. (Southeast Raleigh)
DB Justin Rogers 5-10 181 Jr. Richmond Mike London Baton Rouge, La. (Redemptorist)
DB Korey Lindsey 6-0 190 Jr. Southern Illinois Dale Lennon Baton Rouge, La. (Scotlandville Magnet)

Specialists
Pos Name Ht. Wt. Cl. School Coach Hometown (High School)
P Pedro Ventura 5-9 170 Jr. Prairie View A&M Henry Frazier Houston, Texas (Westfield)
PK Armando Cuko 5-11 190 Sr. Massachusetts Kevin Morris Beverly, Mass. (Beverly)
AP LeRoy Vann 5-9 185 Sr. Florida A&M Joe Taylor Tampa, Fla. (Blake)

Team Background: The AFCA has selected an All-America team every year since 1945. What makes these teams so special is that they are the only ones chosen exclusively by the men who know the players the best — the coaches themselves.
The five teams now chosen for each AFCA division evolved from a single 11-player squad in 1945. From 1945 until 1967, only one team was chosen. From 1967 through 1971, two teams, University Division and College Division, were selected. In 1972, the College Division was split into College I and College II. In 1979, the University Division was split into two teams — FBS and FCS. In 1996, the College I and College II teams were renamed Division II and Division III respectively. In 2006, the AFCA started selecting an NAIA-only team.
From 1965-81, a 22-player (11 offensive, 11 defensive) team was chosen. In 1982, a punter and placekicker were added to the team. In 1997, a return specialist was added, giving us the current 25-player team. The return specialist position was replaced by an all-purpose player in 2006.

Top Teams: Eastern Kentucky has been represented a total of 23 times by 21 players on the AFCA FCS Coaches’ All-America Team since 1979. The Colonels are followed by Appalachian State (20/16), Montana (18/18), Massachusetts (18/17), Delaware (18/15), Furman (16/15), Western Illinois (16/15), New Hampshire (16/13), Northern Iowa (16/13) and Georgia Southern (16/12) among current FCS schools.

Top Conference: The Colonial Athletic Association (formerly Atlantic 10) (108 appearances/99 players) is tops among all FCS conferences on the AFCA FCS Coaches All-America Team since 1979. Following the CAA is the Southern (98 appearances/86 players), Missouri Valley Football (formerly Gateway) (74/68), Big Sky (64/64), Ohio Valley (61/57), Southland (56/52), Southwestern Athletic (49/47), Patriot (43/42), Mid-Eastern Athletic (29/27), Ivy League (28/28), Northeast (14/12), Pioneer (11/11), Great West (8/7), Big South (6/6) and Metro Atlantic Athletic (5/4). These totals reflect FCS selections only from current conference members. Several schools had additional players chosen when they played in divisions other than FCS.

2009 Conference-by-Conference Breakdown: Colonial Athletic – 7; Big Sky – 5; Missouri Valley Football – 3; Southern – 3; SWAC – 3; Ivy – 1; Mid-Eastern Athletic – 1; Northeast – 1; Ohio Valley – 1.

Consecutive Years: Eastern Kentucky leads all schools, having had at least one player named to the AFCA FCS Coaches’ All-America Team in each of the first 15 years a FCS team was chosen (1979-93).

Double-Double-Double: For the first time since the AFCA has been selecting an FCS All-America team, three schools have two representatives each on this year’s squad. Richmond’s Matt McCracken (OL) and Justin Rogers (DB), Eastern Washington’s Matt Nichols (QB) and J.C. Sherritt (LB) and Appalachian State’s Jacque Roman (LB) and Mark LeGree (DB) were all named to the 2009 FCS All-America Team.

Repeat After Me: There are not any repeat selections from last year’s FCS Coaches’ All-America team. Linebackers Gary Reasons of Northwestern State (La.) (1981-83) and Dexter Coakley of Appalachian State (1994-96) are the only three-time AFCA All-Americans in the FCS.

Yearly Leaders: Grambling (1979-DL Joe Gordon, LB Aldrich Allen and DB Robert Salters) and Jackson State (1996-QB Grailyn Pratt, LB Otha Evans and DB Sean Woodson) are the only schools to have more than two players named to the AFCA FCS Coaches’ All-America Team in one year.

One Player, Two Schools: Punter Mark Bounds is the only player to earn Coaches’ All-America honors at two different schools. He was named to the AFCA College Division I team in 1990 while playing for West Texas A&M. He transferred to Texas Tech after West Texas dropped football and earned FBS All-America honors as a Red Raider in 1991.

Class Distinction: This year’s AFCA FCS Coaches’ All-America Team is made up of 20 seniors and five juniors.

For more information on the AFCA and its programs log on to the AFCA’s website at www.afca.com.
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