Seven football players earn All-MIAA honors, Monroe receives Pete Schmidt award

FREELAND, Mich. – Seven Olivet College football players have been named to the 2018 All-Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Teams. Sophomore defensive back John Adams III and senior offensive lineman Trenton Monroe are All-MIAA First Team selections. In addition, Adams III has earned All-MIAA Second Team honors at return specialist. Monroe is also the recipient of the Pete Schmidt Scholar-Athlete of the Year award.

Joining Adams III on the All-MIAA MIAA Second Team are senior linebacker Chase Cavric, sophomore running back Matthew Ellis, senior wide receiver Jacob Jodway, senior quarterback Lane Porter and senior tight end Chris Talbott. All-MIAA honors are based on the player's statistics during the seven-game league schedule.

Adams III finished conference play with 22 tackles, including 15 solo stops. He also broke-up six passes.  Adams III averaged 20.9 yards on 13 kickoff returns, and had two punt returns for 34 yards. His longest kickoff return was 53 yards.  For the season, Adams III had 29 tackles to go along with four interceptions and nine pass break-ups. He earned the same honors last year during his rookie season at Olivet.

Monroe started all seven games on the offensive line. He blocked for an offense that averaged 444.1 yards per game, including 243.0 on the ground. 

Cavric recorded 26 total tackles. Eleven of the tackles were solo stops and two were for negative 10 yards. For the season, Cavric led the team with 57 total tackles.

Ellis had 104 carries for 680 yards and eight touchdowns. He also caught 15 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns. The 60 points were fourth in the MIAA. Ellis finished the year with a team-leading 1,075 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns on 160 carries, and caught 17 passes for 228 yards. His 84 total points are tied for the second-highest total in school history for a season.

In six league games, Jodway hauled in 33 passes for 518 yards and three touchdowns. The 33 catches ranked first in the MIAA, 86.3 yards per game was second-best and 15.7 yards per catch was third-best. For the season, Jodway had 40 receptions for 721 yards and four touchdowns. He is a repeat selection to the All-MIAA Second Team.

Porter completed 110-of-162 passes for 1,320 yards and 12 touchdowns, with only two interceptions. Both of his interceptions were in the final game of the year and his 67.9 completion percentage ranked first in the MIAA. For the entire season, Porter threw for 1,912 yards and 17 touchdowns on 156-of-223 passing.

Talbott snared 17 passes for 241 yards. His longest reception was 35 yards. Talbott ended the year with 23 catches for 292 yards and three touchdowns.

Since 2001, the Pete Schmidt Award has been given to a senior football player, who has excelled on both the football field and in the classroom. Monroe is the third Olivet player to receive the award. The others were Travis Sleight in 2005 and Anthony Edwards in 2013.