Knights receive football honors from WVFCA

Northview senior Corey Crowder (No. 20) in a familiar spot, making another tackle for the Knights against Franklin in the opening game.

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Times Sports Editor

Though the 2008 season wasn't overly successful in terms of wins and losses for the Northview Knights, the team had several players honored by the Wabash Valley Coaches Association recently.

The WVCA placed five Knights on its annual All-Wabash Valley high school team.

Senior linebacker Corey Crowder was Northview's lone First Team player to be recognized. The 5'9 linebacker was joined by Linton's Stefan Sparks, North Putnam's Grifffen Dahlstrom and Paris, Ill. linebacker Jake Keys. All four players are seniors.

Crowder did a little bit of everything for the Knights, including catching a touchdown pass and returning a kickoff and recovering a fumble.

Earning Second Team honors for the Knights were Tony Fabbri at his offensive line position. He also received Honorable Mention status on the defensive side of the ball.

On the First Team offensive line is Linton's J.D. Fish, West Vigo's Jeff Jones, Rockville's James Kent, North Putnam's Josh Keyt, who will play for IU next year as a long snapper, and Dru Sappington of Terre Haute North.

Fabbri, who is 6'0, 220-pounds, had a fumble recovery this season for the Knights and was also a valuable commodity protecting his quarterback as well as opening running lanes.

Joining Fabbri on the Second Team defense is defensive lineman Jordan Keller, who was also an Honorable Mention on the offensive side of the ball.

The 6'0, 240-pound lineman also recovered a fumble for the Knights this year and was a disrupting force on the line all season.

First Team defensive linemen are Cumberland, Ill. senior John Breese and Red Hill's Shawn Curry. South Putnam junior Adam Masters and North Putnam's Seth Vondersaar.

In the defensive backfield, Kade Baker was also a Second Team player as Terre Haute South's Elias Brown, Linton's Keith Cunningham, West Vigo's Lucas Mackey and Evan Magni of Linton are First Teamers.

Baker, a 6'1, 190-pound senior, had three interceptions for the Knights and recovered a fumble. He also played offense were he ran the ball 46 times for 207 yards and caught six passes for 54 yards.

Kyle McCoy, who unfortunately missed the second part of the season due to a broken leg suffered against Vincennes Lincoln, was still named an Honorable Mention defensive back.

The 5'10, 165-pound senior had an interception for the Knights and seemingly was always around the ball when he was on the field. His spot on the All-Star team despite missing nearly five full games is a testament to his defensive value to the Knights.

Rockville had three First Team players with quarterback Matt King, 6'5 wide receiver, Aaron Bridge and lineman, Kent.

Linton had three as well with Cunningham, fullback Mickey Tosti and Fish at his offensive line spot.

First Team running backs included South Putnam's Drew Cash and Paris, Ill. Levi Eslinger.

Joining Bridge at wide receiver is North Central's Dylan Walker and Frank Willis of Terre Haute North as Billy Sisson, also of the Patriots, at tight end.

The kicker is Greencastle's Buzz Deer with at-large picks, Landon Keith of West Vigo and Terre Haute South's Bryan Schwartz.

On defense, Greencastle's Kyle Nobles is the First Team punter with teammate, Jacob Wright an at-large pick along with Riverton Parke's Jarrid McLaughlin.

The fifth edition of the WVFCA's all-star game will be in June this year and many of this team's seniors are expected to play in the contest.

All-Wabash Valley offense



First team



QB -- Matt King, 6-4, 175, Sr., Rockville


RB -- Drew Cash, 6-0, 175, Jr., South Putnam



RB -- Levi Eslinger, 6-1, 180, Jr., Paris



RB -- Mickey Tosti, 5-9, 195, Sr., Linton



WR -- Aaron Bridge, 6-5, 205, Sr., Rockville



WR -- Dylan Walker, 6-3, 175, Sr., North Central



WR -- Frank Willis, 6-3, 190, Sr., Terre Haute North



TE -- Billy Sisson, 6-1, 210, Sr., Terre Haute North



OL -- J.D. Fish, 5-11, 275, Sr., Linton



OL -- Jeff Jones, 5-8, 225, Sr., West Vigo



OL -- James Kent, 6-0, 250, Jr., Rockville



OL -- Josh Keyt, 6-3, 230, Sr., North Putnam



OL -- Dru Sappington, 6-2, 285, Sr., Terre Haute North



K -- Buzz Deer, 6-0, 185, Sr., Greencastle



At-Large -- Landon Keith, 5-11, 175, Sr., West Vigo



At-Large -- Bryn Schwartz, 6-0, 170, Jr., Terre Haute South


Second team



QB -- Keith Cunningham, Linton



RB -- Gene Bradford, Sullivan; Ryan Buchhaas, North Vermillion; Kameron Silcock, West Vigo



WR -- Kaleb Johnson, Marshall; Tim Johnson, Riverton Parke; Ashton Marshall, Greencastle



TE -- Jordan Tharp, Linton



OL -- Josh Bridwell, TH South; Ethan Buske, TH South; Shawn Curry, Red Hill; Tony Fabbri, Northview; Jordon Keys, Paris



K -- Wade Bush, Terre Haute North



Honorable mention


QB -- Taylor Duncan, Marshall; Jordan Hickam, Greencastle; Scott Hunt, N. Putnam; Brett Lewis, N. Central; Andy Walsh, S. Vermillion



RB -- Nick Alfke, S. Vermillion; Daniel Gabbard, TH North; Josh Hawkins, Red Hill; Ben King, TH North; Cody McKinney, Lawrenceville



WR -- Chase Brinkley, Paris; Robert Clevenger, Rockville; Dalton Hiatt, Sullivan; Aaron Welch, West Vigo



TE -- Michael Mardis, Terre Haute South; Thad Thompson, Sullivan



OL -- Payton Baker, Cumberland; Tyler Bishop, Marshall; Jessie Earls, W. Vigo; Brandon Heaton, TH North; Grant Hill, S. Vermillion; Caleb Justice, N. Central; Jordan Keller, Northview; Adam Masters, S. Putnam; Justin Shoulders, Lawrenceville; Cody Stout, Rockville; Jacob Wright, Greencastle



K -- Robert Morris, Paris





All-Wabash Valley defense



First team



DL -- John Breese, 5-11, 250, Sr., Cumberland



DL -- Shawn Curry, 6-1, 190, Sr., Red Hill



DL -- Adam Masters, 6-4, 235, Jr., South Putnam



DL -- Seth Vondersaar, 6-2, 230, Sr., North Putnam



LB -- Corey Crowder, 5-9, 175, Sr., Northview



LB -- Griffen Dahlstrom, 6-3, 215, Sr., North Putnam



LB -- Jake Keys, 5-10, 185, Sr., Paris



LB -- Stefan Sparks, 5-11, 225, Jr., Linton



DB -- Elias Brown, 5-11, 161, Sr., Terre Haute South



DB -- Keith Cunningham, 5-9, 142, Sr., Linton



DB -- Lucas Mackey, 6-0, 180, Sr., West Vigo



DB -- Evan Magni, 5-9, 151, Jr., Linton



P -- Kyle Nobles, 6-3, 230, Sr., Greencastle



At-Large -- Jarrid McLaughlin, 6-3, 190, Sr., Riverton Parke



At-Large -- Jacob Wright, 6-2, 195, Sr., Greencastle



Second team



DL -- Kyle Buchanan, Greencastle; Jordan Keller, Northview; Josh Meurer, Linton; Cody Stout, Rockville



LB -- Hank Goodman, South Putnam; Jake Hoalt, Marshall; Sam Spinks, Cloverdale; Tony Theriac, Red Hill



DB -- Kade Baker, Northview; Kendal Butler, Cumberland; Zach Jumps, North Vermillion; David Woodason, Terre Haute North



P -- Scott Weatherford, Terre Haute North



Honorable mention



DL -- Jacob Collins, W. Vigo; Tony Fabbri, Northview; Blane Grimes, Paris; Colby Judy, S. Putnam; Kyle Krockenberger, TH South; Cory Porter, TH North; Dalton Sanders, Marshall; Nick Wheeler, Rockville



LB -- Jacob Allen, N. Vermillion; Eli Bean, TH North; Gene Bradford, Sullivan; Cameron Coleman, Linton; Derrik Enstrom, North Central; Ashdon Frazier, S. Vermillion; Jeremy Melton, Lawrenceville; Patrick Richardson, Greencastle; Tophel Secuskie, Rockville; Justin Shoulders, Lawrenceville



DB -- Austin Humphrey, West Vigo; Nick Keefer, Cloverdale; Logan Laswell, South Vermillion; Kyle McCoy, Northview; Cody Mumaw, South Vermillion; Gage Tucker, Red Hill; Zach Walls, Paris



P -- Ashdon Frazier, S. Vermillion; Caleb McMullen, Rockville; Derek Thomas, TH South