December 6, 2016
BLUFFTON, Ohio - For the second straight season, the Bluffton University football team has two all-region selections in junior Micah Roberson (Ada) and sophomore Isaac Zickafoose (Middlebury, Ind./Northridge). Roberson is the second two-time D3football.com All-North Region honoree in the past two seasons following 2015 First Team selection Ryan Aelker. It also marks the third straight year that a Bluffton defensive lineman has been named All-North Region. Roberson was named Second Team All-North Region, while Zickafoose was a Third Team honoree.
The teams, selected in balloting by North Region sports information directors and D3football.com staff, were chosen from 211 nominations by Division III member schools. A total of 76 players were chosen. Players nominated for All-Region are eligible to be considered for D3football.com All-America honors, which will be announced the evening of Dec. 16, in D3football.com’s pregame coverage for Stagg Bowl XLIV.
Junior Micah Roberson, a two-time First Team All-Heartland Conference selection and a Third Team All-North Region honoree in 2015, proved his record-shattering 100 receptions in 2015 was hardly a fluke as the wide receiver added 98 catches this season. His 98 receptions were 34 more than anyone else in the conference and they also placed him 3rd in the country for receptions per game. Roberson also led the HCAC with 103 yards per game and his 12 touchdowns were fourth in the conference. He surpassed the school record of 10 TD catches only to have sophomore Raphael Dell haul in a newly-minted mark of 15 touchdown receptions. Roberson was just two games into his junior year when he surpassed the school mark of 163 career receptions, held my Eric Metz. He is currently at 253 catches and his 25 touchdown receptions are five more than previous record-holder Andy Nowlin. His 121 yards in the season finale left Roberson only 10 yards shy of the career receiving yards mark (2,677 by Eric Metz). The 1,030 receiving yards racked up by Roberson are third on Bluffton's single-season list behind his school-mark 1,096 from last season and the 1,063 yards put up by Metz in 1999. He tops all Bluffton receivers with 12 games of at least 100 receiving yards.
Zickafoose, the 2016 HCAC Defensive MVP who was recently nominated for the Cliff Harris Award, instilled fear in opposing quarterbacks en route to his second straight First Team All-Heartland Conference award. A menace in the backfield, Zickafoose topped the Heartland Conference with 20 tackles for loss (10th in the country) and 11.5 sacks (10th in the country). Those numbers place the defensive tackle third on Bluffton's single season list for both categories, behind just Ryan Aelker's historic 2014 and 2015 campaigns. Zickafoose was named the HCAC Player of the Week after he stuffed the Manchester offense with 11 tackles, including 10 solos, on a day when he equaled Mitch Agner's (2008) school record with five tackles-for-loss. He blitzed the Spartans with three sacks, a forced fumble and a recovery in the Beaver victory. His 19 sacks are already third on Bluffton's career list while his 31.5 sacks are fifth all-time at Bluffton. Zickafoose finished the season with 46 tackles, including 33 solos.
Bluffton wrapped up its season at 7-3 (5-3 HCAC), improving to 19-11 during the three years since Head Coach Denny Dorrel came on the scene! The 23 victories put up by the senior class were the most since the 2001 seniors went 24-16. Bluffton's third straight winning season under Coach Dorrel marked the first time the Beavers have accomplished that feat since 1985-88!
-BEAVERS-
