Mount Union's Braxton Plunk, Wayne Ruby, Rossy Moore and Geoff Dartt lead All-OAC football
Mount Union seniors Braxton Plunk and Wayne Ruby Jr., sophomore Rossy Moore and coach Geoff Dartt earned high honors on the All-Ohio Athletic Conference football team announced Monday.
Plunk, the Purple Raiders’ quarterback from Plant City, Fla., received the Bob Packard Most Outstanding Offensive Back award for the third time. In nine OAC games, Plunk led the league in completions (222), attempts (301), completion percentage (73.8%), yards (2,906), yards per game (322.9), touchdowns (34) and pass efficiency rating (189.5).
Ruby Jr., from Pembroke Pines, Fla., received the Ed Sherman Award as the conference’s top receiver for the second time. Ruby had 18 touchdown receptions and 133.9 yards per game. He broke the school record for receiving touchdowns in a season last week in the Purple Raiders’ first-round playoff win over Salisbury (Md.).
Moore, from Lima Central Catholic, received the Mount Union Gene Slaughter Most Outstanding Linebacker award. Moore closed conference play averaging 5.2 tackles per game, with eight sacks and 5.2 tackles for a loss.
Dartt, who led the Purple Raiders to a 10-0 regular-season finish and the program’s 33rd conference championship, shared the Larry Kehres Coach of the Year award with John Carroll’s Drew Nystrom.
Mount Union had 17 players selected to the all-conference team, including nine on the first team.
The other first-teamers were senior receiver Jaden Manley, senior offensive lineman Carson Barrett, senior running back DeAndre Parker, senior defensive lineman Duke Hill, junior linebacker Mason McMillen and senior defensive backs Derrick Bradley and Jesse Vail.
The Purple Raiders’ second-team selections were senior tight end Chase Lawson, sophomore offensive lineman Jarrett Burress, junior offensive lineman Ben Lilly, senior defensive lineman Matt Lilja, senior linebacker Kaleb Dettellem and senior defensive back Josh Jones.
Senior offensive lineman David Ward and sophomore defensive lineman Von Factor were selected honorable mention.
Other major award winners were Wally Kalinowski of Heidelberg and Jack Faron of John Carroll, co-recipients of the Ken Wable Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman award; Zach Blackiston of Heidelberg was named the Paul Hoernermann Most Outstanding Defensive Lineman Award, and Anthony Kendall of Baldwin Wallace was selected for the Lee J. Tressel Most Outstanding Defensive Back award.
Mount Union plays host to Utica (N.Y.) in an NCAA second-round playoff game at noon Saturday at Kehres Stadium.
2022 All-Ohio Athletic Conference Football Team
First Team Offense
Position Player, School Yr. Hometown/High School
Receivers: Jaden Manley, Mount Union, Sr. Columbus (Bishop Hartley); Zuri Edmonson, Muskingum, Sr., Cincinnati (Roger Bacon); Wayne Ruby Jr., Mount Union, Sr., Pembroke Pines, Fla. (Charles W. Flanagan); Brennan Fugh, John Carroll, Sr. Pittsburgh (Shaler Area).
Tight End: Tadas Tatarunas, John Carroll, Jr., Mentor.
Center: Matt Wrather, John Carroll, Soph., Powell (Olentangy Liberty).
Offensive Line: Carson Barrett, Mount Union, Sr., Roswell, Ga.; Wally Kalinowski, Heidelberg, Sr., Canal Winchester; Jimmy Sweat, Heidelberg, Sr., Lucas; Jack Faron, John Carroll, Sr. Lemont, Ill.; Luke Gibbons, John Carroll, Jr., Broadview Hts (Brecksville-Broadview Hts.).
Quarterbacks: Braxton Plunk, Mount Union, Sr., Plant City, Fla.; Jordan Garrett, Muskingum, Sr., Indianapolis, Ind. (Pike).
Running Backs: Tay Yearby, Heidelberg, Sr., Port St. Lucie, Fla.; DeAndre Parker, Mount Union, Sr., Crystal River, Fla.; Bryce Agnew, Marietta, Sr., Cleveland (Berea-Midpark).
Kicker: Branden Steckel, Heidelberg, Sr., Cardington (Cardington Lincoln).
First Team Defense
Defensive Line: Drake Neuberger, Marietta, Sr., Norwalk; Josh Bever, Ohio Northern, Sr., Ashland; Zach Blackiston, Heidelberg, Sr. Massillon (Perry); Duke Hill, Mount Union, Sr. Memphis, Tenn. (Germantown); Tyler Turek, Heidelberg, Sr. Bloomville (Seneca East); Bricker Thiel, John Carroll, Sr., London; Chance Knight, Marietta, Jr. Bridgeport (Linsly School).
Linebackers: Jahiem Peake, John Carroll, Jr. Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary); Easton St. Clair, Heidelberg, Jr., Canton, Mich. (Detroit Central Catholic); Mason McMillen, Mount Union, Jr., Wadsworth; Rossy Moore, Mount Union, Soph.,Lima (Lima Central Catholic).
Defensive Backs: Derrick Bradley, Mount Union, Sr., Parrish, Fla. (Palmetto); Griffin Pendry, Heidelberg, Sr., Perrysburg; Jesse Vail, Mount Union, Sr. Estero, Fla.; Anthony Kendall, Baldwin Wallace, Sr., Port Richey, Fla. (River Ridge).
Punter: Parker Smith, Heidelberg, Sr., West Salem (Northwestern).
Special Teams: Grant Gonya, John Carroll, Sr., Hudson.
Second Team Offense
Receivers: Dimitri Penick, Heidelberg, Sr., Palm Beach, Fla. (Dwyer); Brandon Reed, Heidelberg, Sr., Mansfield (Northwestern); Itika Wynn, Wilmington, Sr., Columbus (Mifflin); Ace Taylor, Wilmington, Sr., Cincinnati (Purcell Marian); Dawson Snyder, Marietta, Soph., Pittsburgh (Moon Area).
Tight End: Chase Lawson, Mount Union, Sr., Plant City, Fla. (Lakeland Christian).
Center: Zack Martin, Otterbein, Sr., Galena (Olentangy).
Offensive Line: Jarrett Burress, Mount Union, Soph., Robertsville (Minerva); Ben Lilly, Mount Union, Jr., Wadsworth; Braden Donges, Heidelberg, Sr., Delaware, Ohio (Hayes); George Newcomb, Baldwin Wallace, Sr., West Seneca, N.Y.; Joe Rutherford, Marietta, Sr., Newark (Granville); David Busch, Marietta, Jr., Strongsville (Lutheran West).
Quarterback: Joe Collins, John Carroll, Sr., Grand Rapids, Mich. (Catholic Central).
Running Backs: Jon Murray, Baldwin Wallace, Sr., Cincinnati (Withrow); Evan McVay, John Carroll, Soph., Aurora.
Kicker: Yanni Volas, John Carroll, Soph., North Canton (Hoover).
Second Team Defense
Defensive Line: Kedarius Woodfork, Ohio Northern, Sr., Brownsville, Tenn. (Haywood); Brandon Lemley, Wilmington, Sr. Columbus (Hamilton Township); Matt Lilja, Mount Union, Sr., Ashtabula (Edgewood); Jordan Smith, Baldwin Wallace, Jr., Painesville (Riverside); Nick Costanzo, John Carroll, Sr., Buffalo, N.Y. ( Maryvale).
Linebackers: Kaleb Dettellem, Mount Union, Sr., Batavia; Austin Willforth, Muskingum, Soph., Warren (Champion); Mason Levasseur, Baldwin Wallace, Jr., Panama City, Fla. (South Walton); Kyler Folkert, Marietta, Sr., West Lafayette (Dover).
Defensive Backs: Josh Jones, Mount Union, Sr., Twinsburg (Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary); Malik Grier, Marietta, Sr., Huntington, W.Va.; Joe Norris, Heidelberg, Jr., Lorain (Clearview); Dalton Tjong, Ohio Northern, Soph., Cumming, Ga. (West Forsyth); Tramon Wiley, Heidelberg, Sr., Eastpointe, Mich.; Kiefer Askew, John Carroll, Sr., Warner Robins, Ga. (Houston County).
Special Teams: Ja'Lin Goodman, Muskingum, Sr., Columbus (Marion Franklin).
Honorable Mention
Elijah Arnett, Baldwin Wallace, WR, Jr. Akron (Woodridge); Dillon O’Donoghue, Baldwin Wallace, LB, Sr., Canonsburg, Pa. (Cannon-McMillian); Nick Fisanick, Capital, LB, Sr., Upper Arlington; Cain Gonzalez, Capital, OL, Fr., Springfield (Shawnee); Jared Evans, Heidelberg, DL, Sr., Lima (Shawnee); Jarin Curtis, Heidelberg, RB, Sr., Massillon (Perry); Joe Torok, John Carroll, WR, Sr., Kirtland; JonMarcus Roland, John Carroll, DB, Soph. Detroit, Mich. (University of Detroit Jesuit); Derek Witsberger, Marietta, TE, Jr., St. Clairsville; Jaelon Quiero-Gordon, Marietta, DB, Jr., Westerville (Westerville South); Davis Ward, Mount Union, OL, Sr., Hendersonville, Tenn. (Beech); Von Factor, Mount Union, DL, Soph., Fair Haven, N.J. (Rumson-Fair Haven); Kamari Hill, Muskingum, OL, Jr., Dayton (Chaminade Julienne); Antwan Murphy, Muskingum, DB, Fr., Jacksonville, Fla. (Mandarin); Ed Manning, Ohio Northern, DB, Jr., Sanford, Fla. (Seminole); Nichal Johnson, Ohio Northern, DL, Sr. College Park, Ga. (Northgate); Siraj Muhammad, Otterbein, RB, Sr., Whitehall (Whitehall-Yearling); Justin Bartlett, Otterbein, LB, Soph., Cambridge; Jarod Lee, Wilmington, DB, Soph., Eaton; Zac Schmidt, Wilmington, DB, Jr., Eaton.
This article originally appeared on The Alliance Review: Mount Union players selected for All-Ohio Athletic Conference football
