MOUNT PLEASANT – Lawrence Moore (Sr.-Country Club Hills, Ill.) has been named a First Team All-Mid-States Football Association Midwest League selection, highlighting the list of Tigers receiving postseason awards as the MSFA released its all-league teams Friday.
Moore was named First Team All-MSFA Midwest as a wide receiver and was one of four IWC players to receive first or second team recognition in the vote of league coaches. Mike Tupai (Jr.-San Francisco, Calif.), Darious Watson (Sr.-Bellwood, Ill.) and Leondre Washington (Fr.-St. Louis, Mo.) also received second team honors, and ten other Tigers were named honorable mention all-league.
Moore capped a terrific four years at Iowa Wesleyan by being named first team all-league for the second time in his career. This year he finished with 79 receptions for 646 yards and five touchdowns, leading the MSFA Midwest and ranking third nationally in the NAIA in receptions. He also is second in the league and fifth in the country with 7.2 receptions per game.
The senior will go down as one of the top receivers in IWC school history after setting a new school record with 228 receptions in his career. Moore also finished second all-time at Wesleyan with 2,183 receiving yards, finishing 13 yards shy of the school record of 2,196 yards held by Marcus Washington (1989-91).
Moore’s 79 catches this year also are the third-most in a season in school history, and he finishes his career with the third- and fourth-most receptions in a season ever. He also had 76 catches for 1,001 yards in 2008, a year in which he became just the third receiver in school history to post more than 1,000 yards receiving in a career and a year when he was also named First Team All-MSFA Midwest.
Tupai, Watson and Washington all received second team all-league honors, with Tupai and Watson both recognized on defense and Washington honored as a return specialist. Tupai, a linebacker, received the award in his first season with the Tigers after transferring from City College in San Francisco. He finished second on the team with 79 tackles, 55 solo, and added 6 1/2 tackles for loss, with all three totals placing him second on the team. Tupai also finished the season with two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and an interception.
Watson received all-league recognition as a safety for the third time in his Wesleyan career but was named to the second team for the first time after twice being honorable mention. This year the senior made 69 tackles, 43 solo, including four tackles for loss. He also added one interception and one fumble recovery, and compiled his statistics despite playing injured for much of the year, missing one game and seeing limited action in several others due to injury.
Washington received his award as a return man after being one of the top kick return threats in the league. The freshman returned 26 kickoffs for 539 yards, averaging 20.7 yards per return. Washington also was honored as an honorable mention all-league pick as a wide receiver, after making 30 catches for 365 yards and four touchdowns this year.
A total of ten other players were named to the honorable mention team, including six offensive players and four defensive players. Making honorable mention on offense were quarterback Kevin McConnell (So.-Kansas City, Mo.), wide receiver Greg Fields (Sr.-St. Louis, Mo.), and linemen Tim Chavez (Sr.-Champaign, Ill.), Eric Davis (Jr.-Clemons, Iowa), Alexander Llewellyn (So.-Alton, Ill.) and Tyler Stewart (Jr.-Merritt Island, Fla.). Defensive players receiving recognition were linemen Tarvis Gordon (So.-Sanford, Fla.) and Richard Silva (So.-Kirkland, Wash.), linebacker Chris Owens (Sr.-Greer, S.C.) and defensive back Kerry Hartley (Fr.-Lithonia, Ga.).
McConnell had a breakout sophomore season, passing for 2,251 yards, leading the Midwest League and posting the eighth-highest single season total in school history. He also threw for 16 touchdowns and was named Midwest League Offensive Player of the Week twice. Fields finished the season with 52 receptions, a total among the Midwest League leaders, and concluded his career with 136 receptions, seventh-most in IWC school history.
Chavez, Davis, Llewellyn and Stewart all were part of an experienced offensive line that helped McConnell have a big season. Davis and Stewart both received honorable mention for the second straight season, and the four of them combined to make 43 of 44 possible starts this year.
Gordon and Silva both received honorable mention for the first time as anchors on the defensive line. Gordon finished with 39 tackles and was third on the team with 4 1/2 tackles for loss, while Silva added 29 tackles and was third on the team with two sacks.
Owens just missed out on being named to the all-league first or second team after leading the Tigers in tackles, tackles for loss and sacks. His 94 tackles and 11 1/2 tackles for loss also ranked among the MSFA leaders in those categories. Hartley led the Tiger defense with three interceptions as a freshman, and also had a team high seven pass break-ups.
Iowa Wesleyan finished the season with a 3-8 overall record and a 3-4 mark tying for fifth place in the MSFA Midwest League in Head Coach Kent Anderson’s first season. The league record was IWC’s best since the Tigers finished 3-3 in the Midwest League in their first season of play in the MSFA in 1996.
All-MSFA Midwest League Teams
