Nov. 27, 2002
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - As the opening round of the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs approaches, Western Kentucky University had 13 players earn all-Gateway Football Conference honors Wednesday, including six who were voted first-team.
Linemen Buster Ashley and Chris Price were first-team selections on the offensive side of the ball while Jeremy Chandler, Sherrod Coates, Patrick Reynolds and Antonio Veals were named to the defensive first-team. Second-team all-conference honorees included running back Jon Frazier, offensive lineman Daniel Withrow and linebacker Erik Dandy. Punter Brian Claybourn, linebacker Jon Drummond, placekicker Peter Martinez and quarterback Jason Michael earned honorable mention accolades.
The team was chosen by the league's head coaches, sports information directors and selected media members.
Ashley, a 6-foot-4, 290-pound sophomore from Owensboro, Ky., moved up after earning second-team honors in 2001. He recorded an overall grade of 90 percent, an assignment grade of 97 percent and a 91 percent factor grade in 11 starts, and was credited with 108 pancake blocks and a team-best 44 decleaters, leading the team in the latter category.
A 6-foot, 290-pound senior from Indianapolis, Ind., Price has an overall grade of 89 percent, an assignment grade of 98 percent and a factor grade of 88 percent. He was credited with 107 pancake blocks and 26 decleaters, and committed just two penalties on 682 snaps while not allowing a sack on 122 pass attempts this year. It's the third straight year that Price has earned first-team all-league honors.
Ashley and Price - whose efforts helped WKU rank in the top 10 nationally in rushing for the 12th consecutive season - were the only two players in the league to be named Gateway Offensive Lineman of the Week twice.
Chandler leads the league and is ranked 28th in NCAA Division I-AA with 0.45 interceptions per game, adding a career-best 49 tackles (39 unassisted) and three passes defended. The 5-foot-9, 160-pound junior cornerback from Indianapolis, Ind., had the first multiple-interception game of his career with two picks against Florida International Oct. 12 and collected a season-best nine stops in Western's regular-season finale at Southern Illinois.
Coates, a 6-foot-2, 225-pound senior outside linebacker, ranks second in the conference with 24 tackles for loss, nine sacks and four forced fumbles and has accounted for 109 yards lost by the opposition. The Boynton Beach, Fla., native also has 67 tackles - ranking third on the team in the category - with an interception and a pass broken up. He was named the Football Gazette and Gateway Conference Defensive Player of the Week after posting 14 tackles, including eight for loss with two sacks, and forcing a fumble in the Toppers' victory over Indiana State Oct. 26. Coates has earned all-conference recognition in each of his four years on the Hill.
A 6-foot-3, 250-pound Bowling Green, Ky., resident, Reynolds is a first-team selection for the second consecutive year after leading all WKU defensive linemen in total tackles (career-high 59), stops for loss (12) and sacks (four). The senior also has broken up a pass and recovered a fumble which he returned for the first points of his career, while his efforts have helped Western lead the league with 34 sacks, the second-highest total in school history.
Veals - who switched to free safety in spring practice prior to this season - collected 56 tackles in eight games to go along with three interceptions, which ranks second in the conference, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. The 6-foot, 190-pound junior from Louisville, Ky., was named the league's Defensive Player of the Week Nov. 16 after collecting a career-high 15 tackles with an interception and a forced fumble in the Hilltoppers' regular-season finale at SIU.
WKU leads the Gateway in rush, pass, pass efficiency, total and scoring defense, and has allowed only 9.0 points per game in Gateway action. The Toppers are giving up 248.5 total yards per contest, which leads all NCAA Division I-AA scholarship programs.
No. 15 Western (8-3, 6-1 Gateway), which earned a share of its first league championship in only its second year in the conference, will take on 23rd-ranked Murray State (7-4, 5-1 Ohio Valley Conference) in the first round of the NCAA I-AA playoffs Saturday. Kickoff at L.T. Smith Stadium/Jimmy Feix Field is set for 1 p.m. (CST).
- WKU -
