Lineman U Strikes Again
MOORHEAD, Minn. (11/26/13)—Concordia junior defensive end Nate Adams became the latest in a long line of Cobber Mike Stam Award winners which honor the top lineman in the conference. Adams was also one of 17 Concordia athletes to receive MIAC postseason honors.
Adams becomes the second consecutive Cobber lineman to win the Stam Award. Tom Knowlton earned the honor last season. Concordia has now had seven Stam Award winners in the past 14 seasons. Concordia has steadily turned into "Lineman University" for its ability to produce Stam Award winners. CC is the only school in the MIAC to have more than five players earn the Stam award in the past 20 years.
Adams, who transferred to Concordia from Bemidji State, made an immediate impact on the Cobber "Black Shirt" defense by leading the MIAC in sacks and tackles for a loss in 2013. He finished the year with 9.0 sacks in all games and 6.5 sacks in conference play. He also had 14 tackles for a loss in the eight league games. Adams' biggest play of the season came on the final play of the year when he sacked the Gustavus quarterback on the last play of the game with the Gusties on the Cobber 14-yard-line and trying to tie the game to force overtime.
Cobber Mike Stam Award Winners
2013 – Nate Adams
2012 – Tom Knowlton
2008 – Travis Aufderheide
2007 – Grant Weller
2004 – Nick Didier
2002 – Derek Flann
2000 – Mark Hankel
Concordia put up seven All-MIAC First Team selections, five All-MIAC Second Team honorees and five All-MIAC Honorable Mention award winners. The fabulous 14 helped the Cobbers post its second consecutive second-place finish in the final MIAC standings. The Cobbers have now had 40 MIAC postseason award winners in the past two seasons. Concordia ended the 2013 season with an 8-2 overall record and a 6-2 mark in conference play.
The Cobbers also achieved a pair of important program milestones in the season. Concordia earned its 500th career program victory when CC beat Augsburg on Oct. 26. Concordia is one of four colleges in Minnesota to reach the 500-win total as a football program. The other significant mark came in the very last game of the season when the Cobbers beat Gustavus 38-31 to record only the third back-to-back eight or more win season in the 96 year history of the program.
The All-Conference First Team selections were split evenly between offense and defense with one special team honoree. Junior quarterback Griffin Neal as well as junior wide receiver Brandon Zylstra and senior offensive lineman Ben Tamm all earned first team awards. Adams and seniors Tyler Berling and Kenyon O'Brien were the defensive representatives on the first team. Ben Wagner, the team's kicker, was named to the All-MIAC First Team as part of the special teams unit.
Neal set the school record for passing yards in a single season. He finished the year with 2,158 passing yards in the team's 10 games. He led the conference in completion percentage and was third in TD passes in conference games. Zylstra, who was the team's other impact transfer, led the team in receiving. He caught seven touchdown passes on the season and was second in the conference in yards per catch in MIAC contests. Tamm was a part of an offensive line that helped the Cobbers finish second in points per game and third in rushing touchdowns.
Berling has been the anchor of the Cobber linebacking corps for two seasons. He had 50 total tackles in the team's eight league games. O'Brien earned his first-team selection by leading the conference in interceptions in all games. His had five INT's in the team's 10 games and three against MIAC opponents.
Wagner, the team's starting kicker for the past two seasons, was nearly perfect in 2013. He went 41-for-42 in extra point attempts and 7-for-9 in field goal tries. Wagner led the MIAC in both field goal and extra point percentage in conference games and was tied for the lead in points among kickers in all games.
Defense and special teams ruled the second team award winners for the Cobbers. Seniors Mark Wychor and Pedro Peterson as well as sophomore linebacker Levi Hintermeister were all named to the MIAC All-Conference Second Team. Cobber punter Brett Harmelink and return specialist Bryce Hentges also came away with second team honors.
Jon Baune, Tyler Johnson, Matt Peterson, Carl Nelson and Mark Whiting received All-MIAC Honorable Mention honors. Whiting was also the team's representative on the All-MIAC Sportsmanship Team.
Concordia 2013 All-MIAC Award Winners
All-MIAC 1st Team
Offense
Griffin Neal (QB), Brandon Zylstra (WR), Ben Tamm (OL)
Defense
Nate Adams (DL), Tyler Berling (LB), Kenyon O'Brien (DB)
Special Teams
Ben Wagner (K)
All-MIAC 2nd Team
Defense
Mark Wychor (DL), Levi Hintermeister (LB), Pedro Peterson (DB)
Special Teams
Brett Harmelink (P), Bryce Hentges (Ret)
All-MIAC Honorable Mention
Offense
Matt Peterson (RB), Jon Baune (WR), Mark Whiting (WR), Tyler Johnson (OL)
Defense
Carl Nelson (DL)
Complete List of 2013 All-MIAC Awards