2019 All-MIAC Awards: MN Prep Highlight Edition (Special Teams)

<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">This fifth edition of <em>Northstar Football News'</em> feature series "2019 All-MIAC Awards: MN Prep Highlight Edition" will examine and review the prep and college careers of the Minnesota boys selected to the 2019 All-MIAC  awards list regarding the Special Teams awards. In this article we will take a look at the First and Second Team All-MIAC honorees for kickers, punters, and returners. A decorated and talented group, the three Minnesotan First Team selections and three Minnesotan Second Team selections are all excellent representations of the state of Minnesota as well as the underrated football talent within our Gopher state. From as far North as Moorhead and as far South as Northfield, these athletes deserve their hard work to be highlighted and celebrated by <em>Northstar's</em> readers. I hope you enjoy! </span> <span style="text-decoration: underline; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">First Team</span></span> <span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">K: <strong>Tyler Knutson</strong> (5'10, 180 lbs.) Senior. University of St. Thomas. Maple Grove, Minn. <em>Maple Grove High School.</em></span> <span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;"><strong>Knutson</strong> is a stud of a DIII kicker who was a First Team All-MIAC pick in 2018 and repeats as a First Team honoree this year in 2019. He is the most accomplished kicker in <em>Maple Grove High School</em> history after three varsity seasons in which he was an All-Conference selection, the highest scoring kicker in <em>Crimson</em> history (147 points on 105 PATs and 14 FG's), and a top-five kicker in state history for made PATs. He kept the success going after becoming a Tommie, and in 2018 he made 43-48 PAT kicks and was 4-5 on FGs with a long of 45. This year in '19 he was 53-56 on PATs and 1-5 on field goals. He finished his career at UST as the most decorated kicker in the conference while he was in college. Congrats, <strong>Tyler</strong>! Hudl: http://www.hudl.com/video/3/4548016/5721d4eb9a91677e74a73194</span> <span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">P: <strong>Alex Berg</strong> (6'0, 210 lbs.) Senior. Concordia College-Moorhead. Moorhead, Minn. <em>Fargo Shanley High School</em>.</span> <span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">I was unsure of adding <strong>Berg</strong> to the list as the Moorhead native played his prep ball in North Dakota even though he as born in our great state, but I figured his Moorhead roots and career accomplishments were worth noting. <strong>Berg</strong> is a 3x First Team All-MIAC selection at his primary position of LB, but he somehow outdid himself this year as the Cobbers punter. He was without a doubt the best punter in all of DIII in 2019, leading the division in punting with an average of 45.0 yards per punt in 10 games this season. He also recorded the longest punt in the MIAC at 75 yards, and had the most punts downed inside the 20-yard line amongst MIAC punters with 15. For his success in special teams he was named an AFCA First Team All-American in '19, as well as an All-West Region First Team pick as a punter and a All-West Region Third Team selection at LB. In his linebacking career at Concordia he totaled 279 total tackles, 26.5 TFLs, 10 sacks, 10 PBUs, three interceptions, and two FF's. In high school at <em>Fargo Shanley</em> he was a 2x First Team All-State selection in football and participated in track and field. Congrats, Alex! </span> <span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">Return: <strong>Tom Loeffler</strong> (5'9, 199 lbs.) Junior. University of St. Thomas. Victoria, Minn. <em>Chanhassen High School.</em></span> <span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">Also a First Team All-MIAC pick as a returner in 2018, <strong>Loeffler</strong> has had a versatile and impactful career for the Tommies since his freshman season in 2017. As a prep for the <em>Chanhassen Storm</em> he was a 2x All-Conference selection in football and played on <em>Chan's</em> conference title team. He was also a state qualifier in shot put as a prep. An all-purpose athlete that plays RB for UST as well as being the teams #1 kick and punt returner, <strong>Loeffler</strong> returned nine kicks for 195 yards (21.7 average) with a long of 29, nine punts for 119 yards (13.2 average) with a long of 36, and recorded 487 rushing yards (9.2 a carry) with five touchdowns in 2019. In his career he's scored 14 times, and has posted 1,331 all-purpose yards on 167 touches. He'll be a dangerous senior for the Tommies in 2020.  Hudl: <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/2832588/582144d4688ec22b5029917a">https://www.hudl.com/video/3/2832588/582144d4688ec22b5029917a</a></span> <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Second Team</span></span> <span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">K: <strong>Ethan March</strong> (6'5, 210 lbs.) Sophomore. St. Olaf College. Woodbury, Minn. <em>East Ridge High School</em>. </span> <span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">My old teammates first All-MIAC selection, <strong>March</strong> has a boot that can send a football about as far as I've seen in person. He played three years of soccer in high school and was the captain of the squad his sophomore and junior seasons. He also ran track for three years as a Raptor. His one year of football experience as a prep helped him immensely as the Woodbury native was 14-19 on PATs and was 0-1 on FGs as a freshman in 2018. <strong>March</strong> also had a 40-yard punt downed inside the 20 and totaled 2,447 yards on 44 kickoffs (55.6 average) with nine touchbacks. Improving on his 2018 totals, <strong>March</strong> was 7-11 on FGs in 2019 with a long of 35 and totaled 2,626 kickoff yards on 46 attempts with 14 touchbacks. He was also 25-27 on PATs for the Oles. Congrats, <strong>Ethan</strong>! Hudl: http://www.hudl.com/v/2BqT2q</span> <span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">P: <strong>Noah Johnson</strong> (6'3, 190 lbs.) Sophomore. St. Olaf College. Northfield, Minn. <em>Northfield High School</em>.</span> <span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">Another former teammate of mine,<strong> Johnson</strong> transferred back to his hometown of Northfield and the Northfield Community College (as the Carleton students call Olaf) from SJU where he did not play football. A former captain of the <em>Northfield Raiders</em> football team, the sophomore is receiving his first MIAC distinction in 2019. <strong>Johnson</strong> also doubles as a WR for the Oles, and his punting statistics are nothing short of impressive. Last year he was honored as a MIAC Special Teams Player of the Week (Oct. 1) and punted 52 times for 1,718 yards (33 average) with a long of 60 yards. He also had five punts downed inside the 20. <strong>Johnson</strong> also caught 13 passes for 158 yards in 2018. This year he built on his freshman campaign by punting 42 times for 1,516 yards (36.1 average) with a long of 65 yards. He had nine punts downed inside the 20 and had seven punts of 50+ yards. He also had three receptions for 28 yards. <strong>Johnson</strong> will be the heir apparent to Alex Berg's MIAC punting throne. Hudl: <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/28hJPQ">http://www.hudl.com/v/28hJPQ</a></span> <span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">Return: <strong>Le'Andre Benion</strong> (5'6, 165 lbs.) Senior. Augsburg University. Roseville, Minn. <em>Roseville High School.</em> </span> <span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;"><strong>Benion's</strong> path to Minneapolis' Augsburg University was atypical as the <em>Roseville</em> native and graduate attended Upper Iowa of the NSIC, then transferred to Itasca Community College where he was an All-American junior college corner in 2015 and a team captain. Attending Augsburg for his senior year, he was a true utility player for the Auggies and lined up at RB/WR/DB/and of course kick and punt returner. A dangerous runner with the ball in his hands, <strong>Benion</strong> was honored by the MIAC after returning 23 kicks for 479 yards and a TD in 2019. His touchdown came on a beautiful 99-yard return on October 5th against St. John's. He had eight returns for 212 yards and that TD on the day. <strong>Benion</strong> also recorded 92 rushing yards, 312 receiving yards with two receiving TDs, six tackles, a forced fumble, and a blocked kick for Augsburg. Most of these plays can be seen on his senior year college Hudl, which is a fun one to watch. Hudl: <a href="http://www.hudl.com/video/3/4205580/5dcf3b2619a5310c6858c65d">http://www.hudl.com/video/3/4205580/5dcf3b2619a5310c6858c65d</a></span> <span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;">I hope you enjoyed this "Special Teams" edition of Northstar Football News' "2019 All-MIAC Awards: MN Prep Highlight" series. Stay tuned for the final two features where we'll cover the MN boys selected for the offensive and defensive Honorable Mention awards of 2019. Happy Holidays!</span>