Johnson Named MIAC MVP
MOORHEAD, Minn. (11/20/17)---Concordia senior Chad Johnson was named the MIAC Most Valuable Player and was one of 13 Cobber players to earn conference postseason honors.
The 13 postseason award winners helped Concordia to another eight-win season. The Cobbers finished with an 8-2 overall mark and a 6-2 record in the MIAC. The eight wins marks the fourth time in the past six years that Concordia has eight victories in a single season. It is also the fifth time during that six-year stretch that CC has won six league games. The Cobbers are now 46-14 in all games in the last six seasons and 35-13 in conference games. Concordia finished in third place in the final league standings and has now posted a Top 3 MIAC finish in six straight seasons.
Concordia has now had 102 players earn MIAC postseason honors in the past six years. That number is among the Top 3 of any team in the MIAC.
Johnson was named to the MIAC All-Conference First Team for his MVP season as the league's top running back. Joining Johnson as first team selections are offensive lineman Brandon Bundgaard, defensive lineman Kirby Siewert and linebackers Alex Berg and Andrew Thompson.
Running back Jason Montonye and offensive lineman Brandon Knisley earned All-Conference Second Team honors on offense. Second Team selections on defense included linebacker Cody Fox and defensive backs Ethan Eagerton and Dallas Raftevold.
Defensive lineman Gunnar Kollman, kicker Tony Kostelecky and quarterback Blake Kragnes were all named to the MIAC All-Conference Honorable Mention Team.
Dane Ringquist was the coaches' selection to represent the Cobbers on the All-MIAC Sportsmanship Team.
Johnson earns the Jim Christopherson Award as the league's Most Valuable Player – an honor that is named for the former Concordia Hall of Fame coach. Johnson becomes only the second Cobber player to earn MIAC MVP honors since 2005. Brett Baune was the recipient of the Jim Christopherson award in 2012. Johnson is only the third Concordia athlete to earn the honor since 1990 and third since the award was named after coach Christopherson starting in 2002. Brian Schumacher was named the MIAC MVP in 2005.
Johnson, who earned his third straight MIAC All-Conference award and second straight first team selection, led the MIAC in rushing yards, rushing yards per game, touchdowns and points. Johnson rushed for 982 yards in the team's eight league games which averaged out to 122.8 yards per game. He ran for over 400 more yards than the next player in the MIAC.
Johnson rushed for over 100 yards in six of the eight MIAC games and ran for over 150 yards in four games. His career-high rushing total came against Carleton when he finished with 203 yards on 15 carries.
Johnson scored 13 touchdowns against conference opponents and racked up 78 points in league play. He scored at least two touchdowns in five MIAC games and had three scores against Bethel and Hamline. Johnson had 17 touchdowns in 2017 which was two shy of the school's single-season record.
Johnson finished his career as a Cobber with 2,699 rushing yards and 42 touchdowns. His rushing total is second on the school's all-time list and his touchdown total is a Concordia record.
Bundgaard earns his first-ever conference postseason honor. He anchored the Cobber offensive line from his center position and helped Concordia lead the league in rushing yards.
Siewert also earns his first conference postseason honor. He finished with a career-high 33.0 total tackles for the year. He had 10 solo tackles and 23 assisted tackles in the team's 10 games. Siewert also had 4.0 tackles for a loss, 1.0 sacks and 4.0 quarterback hurries. He had a season-high 6.0 total tackles against Augsburg.
Berg earns his second straight MIAC All-Conference First team honor. He led the team in solo tackles, tackles for a loss and quarterback hurries and was tied for the team lead in total tackles with Thompson. Berg finished the Cobbers' 10 overall games with 36 solo tackles and 39 assisted tackles for 75 total tackles. He also had 6.0 tackles for a loss, 5.0 quarterback hurries and 2.0 sacks.
Berg now has 169 tackles in his last two seasons combined.
Thompson cracks the MIAC All-Conference award list for the first time in his career. He led the team in assisted tackles with 46 and was tied with Berg in total tackles at 75. He also had a team-high 3.5 sacks and 4.0 tackles for a loss.
Concordia 2017 All-MIAC Award Winners
All-MIAC First Team
Offense
Chad Johnson (RB), Brandon Bundgaard (OL)
Defense
Alex Berg (LB), Kirby Siewert (DL), Andrew Thompson (LB)
All-MIAC Second Team
Offense
Jason Montonye (RB), Brandon Knisley (OL)
Defense
Ethan Eagerton (DB), Cody Fox (LB), Dallas Raftevold (DB)
All-MIAC Honorable Mention
Gunnar Kollman (DL), Tony Kostelecky (K), Blake Kragnes (QB)