Sixteen players from the St. Thomas football team were recognized on the 2022 All-Pioneer Football League team, gaining five first-team selections.
The honors come less than two weeks after the team won its first Division I conference league championship title, taking down Butler 27-13 on Nov. 19 to secure the title outright.
Now holding a No. 19 FCS national ranking, coach Glenn Caruso was announced as Pioneer Coach of the Year Monday.
The 2022 St Thomas Football the honorees are:
First-Team
Sophomore wide receiver Andrew McElroy was the PFLs lone unanimous selection among 30 first-team picks. He finished with 36 catches for 574 yards and six touchdowns in eight conference games.
Senior center Matt Weimann is one of two conference players to repeat as a first-team honoree. He assisted to produce an 11-game total of 3,004 offensive yards, averaging 375 yards per game. In addition, he was nominated for Pioneer Offensive Player of the Year.
Senior fullback Joshua Komis had two rushing scores and 100-plus yards of receiving and rushing in the 8-0 Pioneer run. He is part of the 2022 Academic All-District Team as well.
Sophomore linebacker Jonathan Bunce had tied for second in Pioneer play with 6.5 sacks over eight games. He obtained 50 tackles and 10.5 tackles for loss while also gaining six QB hurries.
Senior defensive back Luke Glenna tied for third in interceptions with four and finished his career with 15 takeaways (13 interceptions, two fumble recoveries). He also had 52 tackles in league play this season and was a co-National Defensive Player of the Week.
Second-Team
Senior quarterback Cade Sexauer led all Pioneer quarterbacks with 17 total touchdowns (12 passing, seven rushing) over the eight league games. He averaged 204 yards of total offense and is also a part of the 2022 Academic All-District team.
Sophomore running back Shawn Shipman started his season as a backup but took over when starting sophomore running back Hope Adebayo was injured. Shipman averaged 79 yards per game with five touchdowns.
Sophomore offensive tackle Alec Rasmussen assisted the offensive line that helped to produce an 11-game total of 3,004 offensive yards, averaging 375 yards per game.
Sophomore defensive back Yusef Leak finished the season with 35 tackles and two pickoffs. His performance in the Tommies’ game against Butler also earned him a PFL Co-Special Teams Player of the Week award on Sunday, Nov. 20.
He received his first career honor when after junior linebacker Kam In blocked a 49-yard field goal try, allowing Leak to charge 66 yards downfield for a touchdown.
Leak also had a third-quarter interception and three tackles in the game against Butler.
Honorable mentions include: sophomore offensive guard Shea Albrecht, sophomore linebacker Luke Herzog, sophomore offensive lineman Jason Laliberte, graduate linebacker Trent Meyer, senior defensive back Brent Robley, junior defensive back Grif Wurtz (Academic all-district) and senior tight end Max Zimmerman.
Annabelle Wiskus can be reached at wisk9881@stthomas.edu.