Post-season awards continue to be announced for the 2006 football season, and five members of the Wabash team have received All-Region honors.
Juniors Mike Russell and Adrian Pynenberg were named to the D3football.com All-North Region First Team on Friday. The two were joined by senior tackle Patrick Millikan as a Second Team selection. Seniors Will Certain and Dustin Huff were Third Team picks.
Russell led all wide receivers in the North Coast Athletic Conference with 60 catches for 1,052 yards and tied for the top mark in TD receptions with 13 to earn First Team All-NCAC honors. His receptions and yardage totals also placed him among the top players in nation --- he finished the year ranked sixth in receiving yards per game (105.2) and 28th in receptions per game (6.0). Russell’s 13 touchdown catches tied him for the second-most in a season in Wabash and NCAC history. He also became only the fourth Little Giant receiver to eclipse the 1,000-receiving yards mark.
Pynenberg, a linebacker, led the Little Giants in tackles for the third consecutive season, recording 101 stops in 10 games. He was fourth in the conference in total tackles, tied for second in tackles for losses (14), and third in sacks (7.5). A preseason First Team All-American selection by both D3football.com and Lindy’s College Football Annual, Pynenberg was also named to the ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District V Second Team. He recorded a career-best 20 tackles in the Little Giants’ victory over Millikin, one of five games he reached double figures in total tackles. Pynenberg has started every game of his career and was named one of four co-captains for the 2006 season. He is currently second in school history in career tackles for losses with 47, fourth in total tackles (283), and eighth in quarterback sacks (18.5). He was named the 2006 North Coast Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year and was a First Team All-Conference selection.
Millikan and Certain both started on the right side of an offensive line that helped Wabash to the third-best passing offense in the nation with an average of 301.2 yards per game. Their offensive unit also ranked 13th in scoring (35.6 points per game) and 12th in total offense (423.1 yards per game). Certain, a guard, and Millikan, a tackle, were both also named ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District V First Team selections. Millikan earned All-NCAC honors for the third time in 2006 after being named to the conference Second Team in 2004 and First Team in 2005. Certain was an All-NCAC First Team selection this season and a Second Team member in 2005.
Huff led the NCAC and was third in the nation in total offense with 3,287 yards as a quarterback. He topped the conference with 2,961 passing yards and 29 TDs, and led the conference and was fifth in the nation in passing efficiency with a rating of 170.9. He threw for over 300 yards five times and tossed three or more touchdown passes in six different games. Huff also ran for 326 yards and four scores.
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