Felus First Eagle to be Named to All-Centennial First-Team
Junior Brandon Felus was joined by three other Eagles on the all-conference list.
HUNTINGDON, Pa. – The Juniata football team saw four Eagles placed on Centennial All-Conference teams, the most since joining the league in 2007. After a breakout 2012 season, junior Brandon Felus (Columbia, Pa./Columbia) became the first Eagle in program history to be named First-Team All-Centennial Conference. The 6-3, 240 defensive lineman led the team and league with 16.5 tackles for a loss of over 100 yards.
"It shows what we say to our kids about focusing on the performance and not the outcome," said Juniata Head Coach Tim Launtz. "Brandon just had an outstanding season. When you look at Brandon, he was dominant the whole year. People could not block him. Brandon is a great example of hard work, preparation and effort. He puts a lot of time and a lot of effort in everything that he does and it paid off for him."
Felus also led the team in sacks (11.5), averaging 1.15 per game. He ended his year ranked 11th nationally in the category and now has 17.5 for his career with 101 tackles, 32 for a loss of 146 yards.
Earning second-team honors for the second-straight year was junior Kevin Gorman (Waverly, N.Y./Waverly Central). The 6-0 linebacker led the team with 73 tackles and finished the season tied for ninth in the league. Joining him on the second-team was fellow junior Jared Shope (Altoona, Pa./Altoona Area) who finished fourth in the league in sacks (7.5), second on the team.
"People had a hard time running the football on us and it was because of that front seven," started Launtz. "Jared, to play opposite Brandon, gave us two of the best defensive lineman in the league. And Kevin Gorman, I say this time and time again, he is just a hard-nosed good old-fashioned football player. Jared and Kevin are so deserving of the honor."
Sophomore Josh Gongloff (Tyrone, Pa./Bellwood-Antis) was the lone representative of the Eagles offense. The lineman was named honorable mention all-conference after appearing in all but one game this season.
"Zach Gongloff was a young man who worked very hard last spring and came in and just played very well for us," said Launtz. "Zach was a very integral part of that offensive line."
Juniata closed 2012 with its first three win season in nearly a decade, including its first win streak since 2002. The Eagles have made great strides under Launtz and he is looking to continue the path.
"We are not where we want to be, but we are not where we were," he said. "We just have to continue to focus on the process and work harder than we did this past offseason. I think what the kids can be able to see is where we went from last year to this year and the work we put in to achieve this. We have to put in twice as much work as we did last year. And that's what it's all about. And this group, I really do believe they see that and want to obtain that."
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