Banner Year Continues For Berg Brothers

MOORHEAD, Minn. (12/6/16)--- The banner year for the Berg brothers continued to get better as both Josh Berg and Alex Berg were named to the D3football.com All-West Region Second Team.

The Bergs become only the fourth set of brothers to earn All-Region honors in the same year. They follow Gabe and Matt Boyce from Gustavus who earned the award in 2014, Aramis and Randy Greenwood from John Carroll in 2013 and Derek and Dominic Sulo from North Central in 2008.

Concordia has now had at least one D3football.com All-Region award winner for five straight seasons. The Cobbers have now had 10 All-Region honorees since D3football.com started naming All-Region squads back in 2005.    

The D3football.com All-Region award is selected in balloting by West Region sports information directors and D3football.com staff. The three teams were chosen from 260 nominations by Division III member schools. A total of 77 players were chosen.

The Bergs helped Concordia to another Top 3 finish in the MIAC with a record of 6-2 in league play. The two were also a part of a Cobber team that went 7-3 overall which marked the fifth straight year that Concordia has won at least seven games in a season.

Josh Berg was one of the two senior captains on offense. He led the Cobbers from his left tackled position where he started all 10 games and didn't give up a sack. Berg's ability to deny pass rushers lanes to the quarterback guided Concordia to the seventh fewest sacks allowed in all of Division III.

The elder Berg was part of an offensive line that led the way for the league's top rushing attack. Concordia averaged 264.2 rushing yards per game which was over 50 yards more than the next highest offense in the MIAC.  

Berg was a three-time All-MIAC First Team award winner who was a three-year starter for the Cobbers. He played in 30 games and helped Concordia to a 22-8 record during those three seasons of play.

Sophomore Alex Berg becomes the youngest player in Cobber history to earn D3football.com All-Region honors. He was a mainstay of the Concordia defense from his inside linebacker position.

Berg led the team in total tackles, solo tackles and assisted tackles for the season. He was also tied for the team lead in interceptions and second in sacks.

Berg's defensive success carried over to the MIAC leaderboard where he led the conference in total tackles, tackles per game and was in the Top 20 of the conference in seven different statistical categories.

Alex Berg had at least eight tackles in seven of the Cobbers' 10 games and recorded double-digit tackle totals on four occasions. His top game of the year came against Gustavus where he had 16 total tackles, 2.0 tackles for a loss and 1.5 sacks.

Past Cobber D3football.com All-Region Award Winners (award started in 2005)
2015 - Erik Bye
2014 - Nate Adams
2013 - Nate Adams, Kenyon O'Brien
2012 - Brett Baune, Tom Knowlton
2008 - Travis Aufderheide
2007 - Grant Weller
2005 - Travis Almquist, Mark Halley, Brian Halverson, Josh Linman