ROCK HILL, S.C. – Following a fourth-place finish in the South Atlantic Conference Mountain Division, the Emory & Henry College Football Team has seen nine of its players earn a total of 10 postseason honors. The awards are voted on by the coaches in the league and were released by the conference office on Thursday.
This year, the all-league teams have been set to include one All-SAC Team, serving as the first team, and a pair of all-division teams recognizing co-second team performances.
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Emory & Henry earned one place on the All-SAC Team as fifth-year punter Ethan Muncy (Bluff City, Tenn.) was recognized. He finished the year with 69 punts for 2,914 yards (42.2 avg.). He put 21 of his kicks inside the 20 with only five going for touchbacks. He also forced 20 fair catches and had a career-long of 80 yards at Bluefield State (Sept. 9).
The Wasps also picked up five places on the All-Mountain Division Offense and four on the All-Mountain Division Defense.
The offense was paced by sophomore wide receiver/return specialist Cam Peoples (Reidsville, N.C.) who was one of two players in the league to receive recognition at two different positions. Peoples caught a team-best 43 passes for 435 yards and three touchdowns. He also returned 20 kicks for 572 yards and a score while also taking 19 punts back for 250 yards.
Senior running back J'Quan Anderson (Charlottesville, N.C.) posted 752 yards and a team-high seven touchdowns on 169 carries for a 4.4 yards per carry average. He tallied a pair of 100-yard games on the season and scored a touchdown in six straight games.
Junior offensive lineman Noah Sage (Jonesville, Va.) was the right guard on an offensive line that helped the Wasps score 28.5 points per game with an average of 275 yards of total offense. E&H allowed just 29 sacks on 348 passing plays on the season.
Sophomore kicker Trace Butcher (Dacula, Ga.) led the squad with 71 points scored. He made 35-of-36 extra-point attempts and converted 12 field goals with a long of 50 yards at Catawba (Sept. 30).
On the defensive side of the ball, senior defensive back Addison Knicely (Mount Crawford, Va.) earned his second all-conference honor in as many years. He finished second on the squad with 92 tackles, five interceptions, four additional passes defended and two blocked kicks.
Junior linebacker Kaleb Lundy (Winston-Salem, N.C.) led the team with 111 tackles and 12 stops for a loss to go along with three passes defended. He finished second in the SAC in tackles per game at 10.1 and had five games with 10 or more stops.
Junior defensive lineman Andre Crawley, Jr. (North Chesterfield, Va.) posted 41 tackles with nine stops for a loss and three sacks. He made five or more tackles on four different occasions during the year.
Redshirt freshman defensive lineman Ean Rhea (Glade Spring, Va.) led the team with 14.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks as he totaled 46 stops over the course of the year. He also forced four fumbles, had a fumble recovery for a touchdown and blocked a pair of kicks.
Additionally, the Wasps were recognized twice as part of the SAC season statistical champions. Peoples posted a league-best kickoff return average of 26.8 yards on his 20 kicks. Butcher led the conference in field goals per game at 1.09 with 12 makes over the 11-game campaign.
As a team, Emory & Henry posted a 5-6 record and finished fourth in the Mountain Division at 3-6. Picked to finish ninth overall in the league, the Wasps ended the year tied for eighth. E&H highlighted the year with yet another thrilling overtime contest against Newberry College. With eight overtimes, the contest went down in history as the longest-ever game between two NCAA Division II programs. The Wasps solidified themselves as the top Division II program in Central Appalachia, earning wins over Bluefield State, Concord, Tusculum and UVA Wise.
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