Eleven Wabash College football players have been named to the 2004 All-North Coast Athletic Conference Football Team.
Seniors Brandon Clifton (Lafayette, IN/McCutcheon) and Dustin Deno (Lafayette, IN/Jefferson), and juniors Josh Foster (Indianapolis, IN/Ben Davis), Tim Parker (Indianapolis, IN/Warren Central) (not pictured) and Tamarco White (Flora, MS/Madison Central) earned First Team All-NCAC honors. Junior Mark Server (Plainfield, IN/Plainfield) and sophomores Darryl Kennon (Tempe, AZ/McClintock) and Pat Millikan (Newburgh, IN/Castle) were Second Team Selections. Charles Jackson (SO/Indianapolis, IN/Perry Meridian), Billy King (SO/Peoria, AZ/Peoria), and Dan Rodriguez (McAllen, TX/McAllen) were named to the Honorable Mention team.
Clifton was second among wide receivers in the NCAC in receptions per game, finishing the year with 56 catches for 780 yards and nine touchdowns. His average of 78.0 receiving yards per game was third-best in the league. Clifton finished his Wabash career with 124 receptions for 1,879 yards and 15 TDs. He tied the Little Giants’ record for TD catches in a game, scoring four times against Wooster. He is tenth in career receptions and receiving yards, and is tied for tenth in touchdown receptions.
Deno earned his first All-NCAC honor after recording 25 tackles, two interceptions, five pass breakups, three blocked kicks, and one safety as a defensive back in 2004. He finished his four-year career at Wabash with 122 tackles. His 16 career interceptions tie him for second on the all-time Wabash list. He also had 11 blocked kicks in his career. Deno also served as a kick returner for the Little Giants, averaging 21.1 yards per return.
Foster, a 2003 First Team selection at linebacker, had 44 tackles, 6-1/2 tackles for losses, three fumble recoveries, a forced fumble, and an interception in 2004. He tied for third on the team in tackles and was third in solo stops with 25. His three fumble recoveries led the team. Foster had a season-best eight tackles against Ohio Wesleyan. His interception came against Earlham College. He had 2-1/2 tackles for losses totaling five yards at Denison.
Parker started nine games for Wabash before missing the final game of the season with a knee injury. He was second on the team in total tackles, finishing with 76. Parker added six sacks, second-best on the team for the season. He recorded 45 solo tackles and had nine tackles for losses totaling 49 yards.
White, a defensive lineman, earned his first All-Conference honor after making 38 tackles, 11-1/2 tackles for losses, and 4-1/2 sacks. His only fumble recovery ended in a 42-yard return for a touchdown, the third TD of his career. He had a season-best eight tackles against DePauw in the 111th Monon Bell Classic. White recorded two sacks for 10 yards at Earlham. He had 2-1/2 tackles for losses in two different games, including losses totaling 14 yards against Washington University.
Kennon was second in the conference and 35th in the nation in sacks, tallying nine sacks for 49 yards. He finished the season with 24 total tackles, including 13-1/2 tackles for losses totaling 57 yards to lead the team in that category. He had a season-high seven tackles against Allegheny, including a season-best three sacks and five tackles for losses, tying the single-game Wabash record for tackles for losses set by B.J. Hammer ’02. He grabbed a tipped pass at Denison to record his first career interception.
Millikin moved into the starting lineup on the offensive line for Wabash, helping the Little Giants to the third-best scoring and passing offense in the NCAC. He started all ten games for the Little Giants to earn Second Team All-Conference honors for the first time.
Server finished the year as the Little Giants’ leading scorer with 58 points, the third-highest single-season scoring total by a kicker in Wabash history. The junior kicker hit 11-of-14 field goals and 25-of-28 extra points. He was 12th in the nation in field goals per game, averaging 1.1 per contest. He was 3-for-3 in field goal attempts against Oberlin College, equaling that mark at Denison four weeks later. His longest field goal of the season was a 38-yarder at Denison.
Jackson played in all ten games for Wabash at defensive back, recording 43 tackles. He had 24 solo stops and had one tackle for a loss of two yards. Jackson had a season-high 10 tackles against Allegheny. He had a fumble recovery against Wittenberg.
King played in all ten games as well as a defensive back. He finished the season with 38 tackles, two interceptions, and two pass breakups. He had 23 solo tackles, including five against Wooster and again against DePauw. He recorded a season-best nine tackles against Allegheny. King also returned kickoffs and punts for Wabash. He averaged 22.4 yards per kickoff return and 9.5 yards per punt return to lead the Little Giants in both categories.
Rodriguez earned All-Conference honors for the third straight year. The offensive lineman was a 2002 and 2003 First Team All-NCAC selection.