BLUFFTON, Ohio - Freshman Montez Archer Jr. (Detroit, Mich./Martin Luther King) will need to invest in a box truck to load up all the hardware he earned when the Heartland Conference released it All-HCAC awards on Friday, April 23, 2021. Archer was named the Defensive Player of the Year, the Special Teams Player of the Year and the Newcomer of the Year after his record-setting first season with the Beavers!
Archer was joined on the first team by senior Dana Shoulders II (Mansfield/Lexington). John Boyd III (Muncie, Ind./Muncie Central), Nolan Childress (Cleveland/Ginn Academy), Stephan Kosakowski (Cleveland/Benedictine), Markus Finley (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) and Nick Perry (Northwood/Lake) all collected Second Team All-HCAC recognition, while Darian Greeley (Belleville, Mich./Chippewa Valley), Keith Holmes Jr. (Toledo/St. Francis DeSales) and Hunter Lacer (Oak Harbor) were named Honorable Mention all-conference.
Archer kicked off 2021 with an otherwordly two-game stretch, picking off six passes in a span of eight days as the Beavers took down Manchester and Anderson to open Heartland Conference play. He was named to the D3football.com Team of the Week twice, while earning HCAC Player of the Week three consecutive weeks. Archer's seven interceptions leads all of NCAA Division III for pickoffs. He is also tops in the country with 531 kickoff return yards and 234 punt return yards. His 21.3 yards per punt return is currently 3rd in the nation.
The sensational freshman moved into second place on the single-season interceptions list with the seven pickoffs and his 65 fumble return yards is already 2nd on the career list. He led the Beavers and was second in the Heartland Conference with 54 total tackles, including 40 solo stops. Archer also broke up seven passes in addition to the seven interceptions and he chipped in with two TFL's.
Shoulders nailed down his first All-HCAC post-season honor and it was a big one, First Team All-Heartland Conference! He led the team with 9.5 TFL's for 40 yards and four sacks for 24 yards. The senior defensive end was tied for 5th on the team with 42 tackles. He added a breakup, a quarterback hurry and a forced fumble to his resume in 2020-21. Shoulders has 118 career tackles with 22.5 TFL's and 9.5 sacks. He has forced three fumbles, recovered three fumbles and tallied five quarterback hurries.
Coming at opposing quarterbacks from the other end of the line was Boyd who racked up 35 tackles with three TFL's and a sack. Boyd forced a fumble, recovered a fumble and blocked a kick during his senior campaign. He went over 100 career tackles (106) and has 17 career TFL's, 8.5 sacks, two blocked kicks, two forced fumbles and an interception.
Childress had a breakout senior campaign with 43 tackles, tied for 3rd on the team. The senior linebacker had two sacks for 14 yards, a pickoff, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery after coming into his final season with four total tackles.
Although he had his senior season cut short with a broken hand that forced him to miss the final three games, Kosakowski picked up his third straight All-HCAC award. The standout defensive back followed up consecutive Honorable Mention All-HCAC hardware with second team recognition. Kosakowski has wrapped up 167 career tackles with 127 of the solo variety. His 21 breakups are 4th all-time, the same as his 28 passes defended. He forced three fumbles, recovered three fumbles and picked off seven passes for his career.
Moving the pile up front, Finley opened up holes for Greeley and Maalik Tucker (Fostoria) to plow through. He helped the Beavers put up 204.8 yards per game on the ground, good for 3rd in the conference. With the dominating freshman anchoring the line, Bluffton averaged 356.9 yards of offense per game.
Rounding out Bluffton second team selections was Perry, a freshman hybrid who showed his versatility as a linebacker and safety. He finished tied for fifth with 42 tackles this season. He also forced a fumble and recovered one while finishing with 2.5 TFL's.
Making his third appearance as an All-Heartland Conference selection, Greeley had a phenomenal season that was cut short in his fifth game with a knee injury. Despite missing the final three and a half games, he still finished fourth in the country with 644 rushing yards. His eight touchdowns was tied for second in the nation.
Greeley made the D3football.com Team of the Week after he put up the 2nd most rushing yards ever for a Beaver. His 297 yards on 42 carries against Adrian on October 24 trails only Mike Goings who holds the all-time mark of 314 against Alma in 1962. His 42 carries were also the most ever recorded for a Beaver. Greeley went for three touchdowns in Bluffton's 28-21 victory over the Bulldogs after rolling up 171 yards on the ground in the first half.
He finished 11th all-time with 2,404 career yards on the ground. His 138 points are 18th on the all-time scoring list for the Beavers.
Holmes was in on 38 tackles from his defensive end position, including five TFL's and a sack. He also had a hurry this year. Through three seasons, Holmes has 104 career tackles, 14 TFL's, five sacks and two forced fumbles heading into his senior campaign.
Lacer notched his second straight All-HCAC honor following the unique 2020-21 season. He was a second team honoree as a sophomore in 2019. He has been a mainstay on Bluffton's line throughout his three years as a Beaver. Lacer was counted on for even more leadership when senior Cade McClellan (Edgerton) went down for the season during the Franklin game.
Contratulations to Coach Krepps, the trainers, his coaching staff and the players for their tireless work in making the season a reality when most of NCAA Division III was unable to even get onto the field in 2020-21.
-BEAVERS-