A Feast Of All-MIAC Award Winners
MOORHEAD, Minn. (11/22/16)—Concordia was rewarded for another Top 3 finish in the MIAC as they had 16 players earn conference postseason honors.
Concordia has now had 89 players earn MIAC postseason honors in the past five years. That number is among the Top 3 of any team in the MIAC.
The Cobbers put up six All-MIAC First Team selections, six All-MIAC Second Team honorees and four All-MIAC Honorable Mention award winners.
Alex Berg, Josh Berg, Eddie Clifton, Michael Herzog, Chad Johnson and Hank Van Liew earned MIAC All-Conference First Team honors while Matt Ahrndt, Jon Asprey, Cody Fox, Gunnar Kollman, Jason Montonye and Dallas Raftevold were placed on the All-Conference Second Team. Ethan Feil, Joshua Kolar, Landon Moline and Noah Welsh all received All-Conference Honorable mention honors.
Cody Fox was also the team's selection to the All-MIAC Sportsmanship Team.
The group of players helped Concordia post its fifth consecutive Top 3 finish in the MIAC. The Cobbers went 7-3 overall and 6-2 in league play. The six MIAC wins marks the fourth time in the last five years Concordia has recorded a 6-2 record against conference opponents.
Alex Berg had a breakout year as a sophomore linebacker for the Cobber "Black Shirt" defense. He led the MIAC in total tackles in conference games. The younger Berg finished with 80 tackles in the team's eight league games. He also led the league in total tackles in all games with 94.
Berg earns his third straight All-Conference First Team award. He was the anchor of the Cobber offensive line from his left tackle position. The older Berg helped the Cobbers lead the league in the MIAC in rushing offense in conference games. Concordia averaged a walloping 271.3 rushing yards per game in the MIAC this season. The CC line also only allowed seven sacks the entire season.
Clifton earns his second straight All-MIAC First Team honor. Clifton led the MIAC in punting by posting an average of 37.3 yards per kick. He also had 14 punts downed inside the 20. In addition to his punting duties Clifton also took over the field goal duties for the Cobbers in 2016. He went 2-for-2 in field goal attempts and 29-for-33 on extra point tries.
Herzog, who earned All-MIAC Honorable Mention honors last year, was a dual threat for the Cobber offense which led the MIAC in rushing. The team's starting quarterback, Herzog finished fifth in the league in rushing yard per game. He averaged 64.5 yards on the ground and scored six touchdowns. Herzog also threw for six TDs and only threw two interceptions which was tops among starting QBs.
Johnson earns his second consecutive MIAC postseason award. He was named to the All-Conference Second Team last year. He was the team's main offensive weapon for the 2016 season. He led the MIAC in total rushing yards and was second in rushing yards per game in league games. Johnson rushed for 737 yards in the eight conference games. He also had a conference-best 11 rushing touchdowns and rushed for over 100 yards in four of the eight games.
Van Liew was the second member of the Cobber defense to garner first team honors. He was the senior leader for the Black Shirts from his inside linebacker position. Van Liew finished third in the MIAC in total tackles in league games. He had 89 total tackles for the Cobbers which included 39 solo tackles and 50 assisted tackles. He was also seventh in the MIAC in tackles for a loss.
Concordia 2016 All-MIAC Award Winners
All-MIAC First Team
Offense
Josh Berg (OL), Michael Herzog (QB), Chad Johnson (RB)
Defense
Alex Berg (LB), Hank Van Liew (LB)
Special Teams
Eddie Clifton (P/K)
All-MIAC Second Team
Offense
Jon Asprey (OL), Jason Montonye (RB)
Defense
Matt Ahrndt (S), Cody Fox (LB), Gunnar Kollman (DL), Dallas Raftevold (S)
All-MIAC Honorable Mention
Offense
Ethan Feil
Defense
Josh Kolar (DL), Landon Moline (DB), Noah Welsh (DL)