Contact: Drew Sauer, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324

2019 D3football.com All-America Teams

Dec. 21, 2019 – Fresh off their national title win, the North Central College football teams continues to stack up the awards as head coach Jeff Thorne was named Coach of the Year by D3football.com and Broc Rutter received Offensive Player of the Year honors, while a program-record tying five Cardinals were named to the All-America teams.

In his fifth year as head coach, Thorne led the Cardinals to the first national championship in a 41-14 thwarting of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in the 47^th annual Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl on Friday.  Thorne has led North Central to a 52-9 record, including a single-season high 14 wins this season.

Rutter, the 2019 Gagliardi Trophy winner, adds yet another Player of the Year award and All-America selection, named the First Team quarterback.  Rutter also earned D3football.com North Region and College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Offensive Player of the Year honors this season and became NCAA Division III's all-time leading passer, as his final pass in a Cardinal uniform found his favorite target in Andrew Kamienski for a 28-yard touchdown pass, passing Alex Tanney (2007-11) of Monmouth College (Illinois) with 14,265 career passing yards. Rutter also holds the North Central single-season records for pass completions (309), passing yards (4,591) and passing touchdowns (56).

Junior wide receiver Kamienski and junior offensive lineman Sharmore Clarke were also named to the First Team, while sophomore running back Ethan Greenfield received Second Team honors and junior cornerback Jake Beesley added a Third Team honor to his resume.

The five total selections are the most the Cardinals have ever had on a single All-America Team, as all five players were also named to the Associated Press All-American Team announced on Thursday, while North Central's 2013 team placed five honorees on the D3football.com All-America Teams.

Kamienski is the Division III national leader in receptions (133) and became just the second player in division III history to eclipse 2000 receiving yards, leading the nation with 2,016 yards receiving, doing so on his final touchdown reception from Rutter.  His 31 touchdown receptions this season stand as a new Division III single-season record. Kamienski has also surpassed the Cardinals' career records for receptions (262), receiving yards (3,754) and touchdown receptions (46). A First Team All-CCIW and All-North Region selection for the third straight year in 2019, Kamienski was also named a First Team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and the Associated Press (AP), and ranks second among all active Division III players in receptions and yards.

Clarke, the Cardinals' starting left guard for the third straight year, earned First Team All-CCIW and CCIW Offensive Lineman of the Year honors for the second straight season in 2019 and has been the Cardinals' highest-graded lineman all season long.  Clarke has earned First Team All-America honors for the second straight season by the AP, while receiving Second Team honors by the AFCA.

Beesley earned First Team All-CCIW and All-North Region honors in 2019 and is the Cardinals' leader in interceptions (4) and pass breakups (11), and his 15 total passes defended matches the seventh-highest single-season total in the program's history. Beesley recovered a fumble and made a game-clinching interception in the end zone to seal North Central's 59-52 second-round win over the University of Mount Union.  He adds the Third Team award to his First Team honor by the AP.

Greenfield, also a First Team All-CCIW and All-North Region selection for the first time this season, currently is the Division III national leader in rushing yards (2,183), all-purpose yards (2,580) and rushing touchdowns (29). All three totals are new North Central single-season records. He established a new single-game school record with 301 rushing yards in the Cardinals' 51-15 first-round playoff victory over Wabash College.  Greenfield was also named a First Team All-American by the AP.

North Central received a total of 13 All-America awards this season, the most in a single-season in the history of the program.

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