SIAC Football All-Conference awards announced

By HBCU Gameday Newswire

Posted on November 21, 2019

Courtesy: The SIAC

ATLANTA, Ga. (November 21, 2019) – Quarterback Slade Jarman of Fort Valley State headlines the 2019 All-Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Football All-Conference team earning this year’s Overall Player of the Year (MVP) and Offensive Player of the Year award. The team, which features 26 student-athletes covering eleven positions, was voted on by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors.

Fort Valley State’s Defensive Lineman Demetrius Harris was named Defensive Player of the Year alongside Savannah State’s punt returner, Einaj Carter, who earned Freshman of the Year. 
 
Defensive End, Demetrice Lofton of Morehouse was tabbed Newcomer of the Year. 

Reginald Ruffin of Miles was named the 2019 SIAC Coach of the Year.
 
Fort Valley State’s Jarman was named this year’s Overall Player of the Year (MVP) and Offensive Player of the Year award and is the second Wildcat to win each award in almost a decade. The Florida native leads the conference in passing average (262.4 yards per game) and total offense collecting a total of 2,207 yards on the season allowing only five interceptions. Jarman was named BOXTOROW National Player of the Week and SIAC Offensive Player of the Week for three consecutive weeks this season. Prior to his season-ending leg injury, the senior quarterback set personal bests going 174-of-281 for 2,099 yards and 18 touchdowns for a 61.9% pass efficiency rating.
 
Demetrius Harris (Fort Valley State) has returned as a top contender in the conference and has been named this year’s Defensive Player of the Year after leading the conference in sacks (1.35 per game) and finishing second in the conference in tackles for loss collecting 1.95 tackles per game for a loss of 106 total yards. The Decatur, Ga. native led Division II in sacks and ranked at No. 8 in tackles for loss. Harris also led the conference in forced fumbles (0.60 per game) which is good for second in Division II.

 
In his freshman season, Einaj Carter served as a leader for the Savannah State Tigers as they recorded the programs’ first winning season since. The New York native finished the season with 131 rushing yards on 32 carries. He had six catches for 96 passing yards and two touchdowns. Carter had 15 kick returns for 269 yards, averaging 17.9 a carry. 
 
Morehouse’s sophomore defensive end, Demetrice Lofton, earned this year’s Newcomer of the Year award after leading the conference in tackles for loss collecting 17 solo tackles and eight assisted tackles for a loss of 109 total yards this season. The Georgia native averaged 2.10 tackles this season and ranked No. 4 in all Division II. Lofton is also ranked second in the conference for sacks averaging 1.15 sack per game, good for fourth in Division II.
 
Reginald Ruffin, Head Football Coach at Miles College, was tabbed SIAC Coach of the Year after leading the Golden Bears to back-to-back conference titles in a 21-6 win over Albany State. In his eighth season leading the Golden Bears, Ruffin steered the Golden Bears to the NCAA Division II Football Championship for the second time in school history. Under Ruffin’s helm, the Golden Bears set a school record for victories in a single season, going 8-2 in the regular season and will make their first NCAA Playoff appearance since 2012. Miles led the league in total offense and was second in total defense. The Golden Bears’ rushing defense leads the conference and ranks 11th in the country.
  
Savannah State and Fort Valley State paced the all-conference teams with nine selections each. Central State, Miles, and Morehouse followed up with six selections respectively ahead of Kentucky State and Albany State who had four all-conference selections. Clark Atlanta and Lane placed three on this year’s all-conference teams preceding Benedict and Tuskegee rounded out the 2019 SIAC Football All-Conference team with one selection each.

2019 SIAC Football All-Conference Team

 First Team 

Position	Name	School	Classification	Hometown
Offensive Lineman	Roger Womack	Miles	Senior	Birmingham, Ala.
Offensive Lineman	Aaron Scroggins	Miles	Junior	Bessemer, Ala.
Offensive Lineman	Darius Thomas	Central State	Senior	Cincinnati, OH
Offensive Lineman	Emmanuel Boone	Fort Valley State	Sophomore	Macon, Ga.
Offensive Lineman	Jean Cyriaque	Morehouse	Senior	Durham, N.C.
Tight End	Jontae Baker	Savannah State	Junior	Valdosta, Ga.
Wide Receiver	Dalane Brown II	Central State	Junior	Youngstown, OH
Wide Receiver	Anthony Evelyn	Lane	Sophomore	Atlantic Beach, Fla.
Running Back	Terraris Saffold	Central State	Senior	Hayneville, Ala.
Running Back	Brett Sylve	Kentucky State	Redshirt Junior	Hammond, La.
Quarterback	Slade Jarman	Fort Valley State	Senior	Pensacola, Fla.
Defensive Lineman	Demetrice Lofton	Morehouse	Sophomore	Fairburn, Ga.
Defensive Lineman	Demetrius Harris	Fort Valley State	Redshirt Junior	Decatur, Ga.
Defensive Lineman	Jahseari Patterson	Fort Valley State	Junior	Cairo, Ga.
Defensive Lineman	Jaylun Thomas	Miles	Redshirt Junior	Sylacauga, Ala.
Linebacker	Jonathan Mathis	Morehouse	Senior	Stone Mountain, Ga.
Linebacker	Kailen Abrams	Central State	Junior	Detroit, MI
Linebacker	Majeste Hansberry	Fort Valley State	Sophomore	Atlanta, Ga.
Defensive Back	Robert Cummings	Benedict	Senior	Macon, Ga.
Defensive Back	Zach Anderson	Fort Valley State	Junior	Cairo, Ga.
Defensive Back	Terrance Harris	Clark Atlanta	Junior	Atlanta, Ga.
Defensive Back	Tyler Scott	Albany State	Junior	Wimauma, Fla.
Kicker	Gabriel Ballinas	Albany State	Junior	Guadalupe, Mexico
Punter	Giovanni Lugo	Savannah State	Senior	Belle Glade, Fla.
Punt Returner	Einaj Carter	Savannah State	Freshman	Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
Kick Returner	Anthony Evelyn	Lane	Sophomore	Atlantic Beach, Fla.

 
Second Team
 

Position	Name	School	Classification	Hometown
Offensive Lineman	Anthony Geter	Kentucky State	Redshirt Sophomore	Memphis, Tenn.
Offensive Lineman	Lee Humphrey	Morehouse	Senior	Plano, Ill.
Offensive Lineman	Tajavious Jackson	Savannah State	Senior	Cocoa, Fla.
Offensive Lineman	Miquail Harvey	Albany State	Junior	Columbus, Ga.
Offensive Lineman	Darrius Hicks	Fort Valley State	Junior	Camilla, Ga.
Tight End	Montavious Tinch	Miles	Redshirt Junior	Elberton, Ga.
Wide Receiver	Qa Walker	Fort Valley State	Senior	Macon, Ga.
Wide Receiver	Shemar Bridges	Fort Valley State	Junior	Jacksonville, Fla.
Running Back	Kingston Davis	Lane	Junior	Montgomery, Ala.
Running Back	Santo Dunn	Morehouse	Junior	Miami, Fla.
Quarterback	Charles Stafford	Clark Atlanta	Senior	Miami, Fla.
Defensive Lineman	Cam Brown	Savannah State	Sophomore	Monroe, Ga.
Defensive Lineman	Derik Davis	Albany State	Redshirt Sophomore	Leesburg, Ga.
Defensive Lineman	Donta Marshall	Central State	Junior	Toledo, OH
Defensive Lineman	Chris Roberts	Kentucky State	Redshirt Senior	Frankfort, Ky.
Linebacker	Mitchell Smiley	Miles	Sophomore	Huntsville, Ala.
Linebacker	N’Ktavious Floyd	Miles	Junior	Phenix City, Ala.
Linebacker	Walter Yates	Savannah State	Sophomore	Gulf Breeze, Fla.
Defensive Back	Ny’em Bozeman	Savannah State	Sophomore	Jacksonville, Fla.
Defensive Back	Brandon Roberts	Tuskegee	Freshman
Defensive Back	Dedrick Vanover	Morehouse	Junior	Gainesville, Fla.
Defensive Back	John Wilson	Savannah State	Senior	Americus, Ga.
Kicker	Giovanni Lugo	Savannah State	Senior	Belle Glade, Fla.
Punter	Ty Woods	Clark Atlanta	Senior	Montgomery, Ala.
Punt Returner	Brett Sylve	Kentucky State	Redshirt Junior	Hammond, La.
Kick Returner	Derell Williams	Central State	Freshman	Cincinnati, OH

 
Overall Player of the Year (MVP): Slade Jarman, Fort Valley State
Offensive Player of the Year: Slade Jarman, Fort Valley State
Defensive Player of the Year: Demetrius Harris, Fort Valley State
Freshman of the Year: Einaj Carter, Savannah State
Newcomer of the Year: Demetrice Lofton, Morehouse
Coach of the Year: Reginald Ruffin, Miles

SIAC Football All-Conference awards announced