December 10, 2018
BLUFFTON, Ohio - Senior Isaac Zickafoose (Middlebury, Ind./Northridge) has been named Second Team All-America by the American Football Coaches Association following a 2018 campaign when he earned his second HCAC Defensive Player of the Year award. It marked the fourth time in five years that a Beaver defensive end has secured the top honor in the HCAC. He is the first Bluffton football player since Ryan Aelker in 2015 to earn All-America honors.
The AFCA has selected an All-America team since 1945 and currently selects teams in all five of its divisions. 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.
Zickafoose led the Heartland with 11.5 sacks (3rd all-time at Bluffton) and his 17.0 TFL's were second in the HCAC and fifth all-time for a season at Bluffton. His 80 fumble recovery yards topped the HCAC and set a new school mark, while his eight breakups were tied for sixth in the HCAC and fifth all-time at Bluffton. He was second on the team with 63 tackles and his 49 solo stops led the Beavers.
Zickafoose, a four-time First Team All-Heartland Conference selection, used his four TFL's and two sacks in Bluffton's 34-7 win over Defiance to take over the top spot on the career lists with 60.5 TFL's and 35.5 sacks! He also stands at the top of Bluffton career charts with 308 TFL yards, 228 sack yards, 85 fumble recovery yards and 15 quarterback hurries. The three-time All-North Region honoree wrapped up his record-setting career with five forced fumbles (tied for 5th all-time) and 193 tackles (11th all-time).
-BEAVERS-