Nov 16, 2012
Concordia Chicago's Jake Koehler has been named the Offensive Player of the Year and Benedictine's Ben Lockton the Defensive Player of the Year as the pair highlighted the Northern Athletics Conference football awards for the 2012 season, as voted on by the league's head coaches. Koehler (Belvidere, Ill.) threw for 2,321 yards with a league-leading 25 touchdowns and 10 interceptions with a 59.3 completion percentage for the NAC Champions. The senior quarterback also rushed for seven scores and 675 yards. Lockton (Grand Rapids, Mich.) led the conference with six sacks, and also tallied 83 tackles -- including 27 solo and 16 for a loss. The senior defensive lineman added two interceptions, three forced fumbles and a fumble recovery for the Eagles (5-5, 3-4 NAC). Aurora's Michael Beasley-Hart was named Freshman of the Year. The rookie wide receiver snagged a team-leading 31 receptions for 466 yards and five touchdowns for the Spartans (5-5, 4-3 NAC). Concordia Chicago's Lonnie Pries was named NAC Coach of the Year, as voted on by his peers. Pries guided the NAC champion Cougars to a perfect 10-0 season -- the program's first since 1937 -- and secured a spot in the NCAA Division III Playoffs. The complete 2012 awards listing is available via http://northernac.org/sports/fball/2012-13/all-conference and is also attached.