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Bluffton's Isaac Zickafoose HCAC defensive player of the year

One of 9 Beavers recognized in post-season

Senior Isaac Zickafoose (Middlebury, Ind./Northridge) headlined the 2018 All-Heartland Conference football team that was announced on Wednesday, Nov. 14.

The HCAC Defensive Player of the Year was one of nine Beavers to be recognized when the post-season hardware was handed out. Bluffton had five players land on the Second Team and three more earned Honorable Mention recognition.

The Second HCAC Defensive Player of the Year award for Zickafoose also marked the fourth time in five years that a Beaver has taken home the top HCAC honor on the defensive side of the ball.

Ryan Aelker was honored as the top HCAC defensive player in 2014 and 2015. Zickafoose led the conference with 11.5 sacks (3rd all-time at Bluffton) and his 17.0 TFL's were second in the HCAC and fifth all-time for a season at Bluffton.

His 80 football recovery yards topped the HCAC and set a new school mark, while his eight breakups were tied for sixth in the HCAC and fifth all-time at Bluffton. He was second on the team with 63 tackles and his 49 solo stops led the Beavers.

Zickafoose, a four-time First Team All-Heartland Conference selection, used his four TFL's and two sacks in Saturday's 34-7 win over Defiance to take over the top spot on Bluffton's career lists with 60.5 TFL's and 35.5 sacks.

He also stands at the top of Bluffton career charts with 308 TFL yards, 228 sack yards, 85 fumble recovery yards and 15 quarterback hurries. The 2016 All-Region honoree wrapped up his record-setting career with five forced fumbles (tied for 5th all-time) and 193 tackles (11th all-time).

For the second straight season, senior Ollie Moorer (Warrensville Heights) has been named Second Team All-Heartland Conference. Moorer was second to Zickafoose with 7.5 TFL's for 37 yards and 4.5 sacks for 32 yards. He wrapped up 35 tackles and forced a fumble in his final campaign as a Beaver.

Moorer's 18.5 career sacks are 4th all-time, while his 28 TFL's are 8th at Bluffton. He forced six fumbles (4th all-time) and finished with five quarterback hurries (tied for 4th all-time). Moorer tallied 91 career tackles, including 60 solo stops.

After leading the Beavers in tackles for the second straight season, junior Dylan Shaffer (Shelby) notched his second consecutive All-HCAC Second Team honor. His 72 tackles were tied for 12th in the conference, while his 48 solos were 6th in the HCAC. He has career numbers of 160 tackles, 9 TFL's, three breakups, an interception and three fumble recoveries.

Senior Doniven Clark (Toledo Bowsher) saved his best for last, picking off seven passes this season which tied him for third in NCAA Division III and third all-time at Bluffton en route to Second Team All-HCAC honors. He also tied Pat Craun's school record with three interceptions in Bluffton's 13-0 shutout of Anderson. Clark tallied 38 tackles this year, giving him 72 stops for his career. His four TFL's pushed his career total to five and he finished his four years at Bluffton with seven breakups, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

Adam Duncan earned his first Heartland Conference recognition when he was named Second Team All-HCAC. The do-everything junior caught 32 balls for a team-high 481 yards, including five touchdowns. Duncan led the Beavers with 73 points thanks to six touchdowns (one rushing), 22-of-25 on PAT's and five field goals. He added 14 kickoffs for 706 yards (50.4 average) and boomed 52 punts for 1,922 yards (37.0 average). Duncan placed 12 punts inside the 20 and went over 50 yards five times, including a long of 61 yards.

A two-time HCAC Special Teams Player of the Week, Duncan had an all-time historic day for the Beavers against rival Defiance. He finished with three touchdowns (receiving, passing and rushing). The junior also added three extra points and punted two times with a 45.5 average per kick that included a 50-yarder which backed the Jackets up to their own 16 late in the third quarter.

Senior Ian O'Donnell (Tiffin Columbian) earned his second All-HCAC post-season honor after missing 2017 with a season-ending injury. He was named Second Team All-Heartland Conference after taking home first team honors as a sophomore. O'Donnell helped the Beavers put up 290.9 yards per game, 6th in the conference, including 174.5 yards per game through the air.

Tight end Kais Chiles (Wapakoneta) was named Honorable Mention All-Heartland Conference following his sophomore campaign. Chiles was third on the Beavers with 17 catches for 113 yards. He gave Bluffton an imposing target over the middle as well as another tough blocker for the run game.

Sophomore Brian Coleman Jr. (Toledo St. Francis) picked up his first piece of HCAC hardware when the defensive back was named Honorable Mention All-Conference. He was fourth on the team with 51 tackles, including 43 solos. Coleman finished with two pickoffs, five breakups and three TFL's out of the Bluffton secondary.

Making it three Bluffton defensive backs to earn All-HCAC recognition, Stephan Kosakowski (Cleveland Benedictine) checked in with 46 tackles en route to honorable mention All-Heartland Conference. He was tied for fourth in the HCAC with four interceptions and he added six breakups and two TFL's for a Beaver defense that that was 2nd in the conference with 303.2 yards allowed per game. Bluffton was also second in the HCAC with just 124.9 rushing yards allowed per game with the 20.6 points per game allowed third in the HCAC.

In conjunction with the All-HCAC selections, the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference also announced the All-HCAC Sportsmanship Team for the fall of 2018. Senior Ethan Williams (Van Wert) was selected to the All-Sportsmanship Team from Bluffton. This award has been developed as part of a conference-wide sportsmanship initiative. Members of the All-HCAC Sportsmanship team are selected by the coaches and their teammates as individuals who demonstrate the ideals of positive sportsmanship both on and off the field/court of competition.

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