Twelve Olivet College football players land on All-MIAA teams

FREELAND, Mich. -- Twelve Olivet College football players have landed spots on the 2015 All-Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) teams. Seven players -- sophomore punter Ryan Anderson, senior defensive back Curtis French, senior linebacker Trevor Garbow, senior tight end Dominik Givens, junior defensive lineman Justin Madar, and senior offensive linemen Jacob Cramer and Ty Rozema are first-team selections.

Junior quarterback Braden Black, senior wide receiver Kyle Bryson, senior offensive lineman Jaxon DeHaven, senior defensive lineman Andrew Pabst and freshman defensive back Jaquan Short earned second-team honors. All-conference honors are based on the player's statistics in the six-game league schedule.

Under the leadership of head coach Dan Pifer, the Comets shared the 2015 MIAA Championship with a 5-1 record. Olivet had a 9-1 overall record, with the nine wins being the most in school history for a season.

In MIAA play, Anderson did not have a punt blocked, while averaging a league-best 40.7 yards on 25 punts. His longest punt covered 69 yards and eight landed inside the opponent's 20-yard line. French started every game for the Comets and led the team with 42 total tackles. Garbow had 13 tackles. Givens played a key role in blocking for the Comets' offense, while catching five passes for 73 yards, including a nine-yard touchdown against Kalamazoo.

Madar finished the conference season with 27 total tackles, including five and one-half stops for loss yardage. Cramer, DeHaven and Rozema paved the way for a Comet offense, which ranked among the league leaders in total offense (470.7 ypg), rushing offense (262.7 ypg) and scoring offense (39.7 ppg).

Black completed 99-of-146 passes for 1,248 yards, 12 touchdowns and 161.3 passing efficiency, as well as 74 carries for 288 yards and four touchdowns. Bryson hauled in 17 passes for 164 yards and four touchdowns. Pabst started every game on the defensive line and recorded 19 total tackles. Short finished the MIAA season with 22 tackles to go along with three interceptions.

For the entire 10-game schedule, Anderson ranks among the NCAA DIII leaders with a 41.8 average on 32 punts. Five of the punts went more than 50 yards. French led Olivet in total tackles (65) and solo tackles (48). Madar registered 35 tackles, including a team-high 10.5 for negative yards. Pabst had 27 tackles and blocked two kicks. Garbow and Short finished the year with 23 and 26 tackles, respectively.

Black threw for 2,151 yards on 174-of-254 passing, and broke the single-season school record with 23 touchdowns. He had 109 rushes for 474 yards and seven touchdowns. Bryson, now a three-time All-MIAA pick, had 29 receptions for 297 yards and six touchdowns. Givens caught 15 passes for 253 yards and three touchdowns. Behind blocking by Cramer, DeHaven and Rozema, Olivet totaled 4,778 yards of offfense and scored 454 points. The point total was four points shy of tying the single-season school record.

NOTES: The 12 All-MIAA selections are the most by one school in 2015. In addition, it is the third-most All-conference selections in school history for one year, as the 1991 had 14 honorees and the 2007 team had 13.