Football

MIAC announces 2022 Football awards

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – The 2022 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) football regular season concluded earlier this month and on Monday, the conference recognized the top performers from another outstanding campaign with the announcement of the 2022 MIAC Football Awards.

Bethel senior quarterback Jaran Roste was selected as the MIAC Offensive Player of the Year while Saint John’s senior defensive lineman Michael Wozniak was named MIAC Defensive Player of the Year. Gustavus senior defensive lineman Zachary Jakes received the Mike Stam Award, presented to the top lineman in the conference, and Bethel first-year defensive back Devin Williams was named the inaugural MIAC Football Rookie of the Year. Saint John's head coach Gary Fasching was honored by his peers with the John Gagliardi Coach of the Year Award.

Roste (Sr. | Alexandria, Minn.) was named the MIAC Offensive Player of the Year after averaging 291.75 yards of total offense against conference opponents in 2022. He completed a MIAC-best 69.7 percent of his passes for 2,018 yards and 16 scores in addition to rushing for 316 yards and four touchdowns. He is the seventh Bethel player to earn individual MIAC Player of the Year honors and the first since Erik Peterson in 2013.

Wozniak (Sr. | New Hope, Minn. | Alexandria) became the MIAC’s inaugural Defensive Player of the Year after leading the conference with five sacks and logging six quarterback hurries in league play. Prior to 2022, the MIAC awarded a singular Player of the Year honor. Wozniak is the third Johnnie in the last four conference seasons to receive an individual MIAC Player of the Year award and the first defensive player recognized with individual honors since Bethel linebacker Kirby Carr was named MIAC Most Valuable Player in 2006.

Jakes (Sr. | Mankato, Minn. | West) became the MIAC’s first-ever two-time recipient of the Mike Stam Award, earning the distinction of being recognized as the conference’s top lineman for the second consecutive season. Jakes posted 50 tackles, including eleven behind the line of scrimmage, for the Gusties in 2022. He is the second Gustavus lineman ever to receive the Mike Stam Award, joining 1998 recipient Brent Staples. The Mike Stam Award was created in 1990 in memory of the former Carleton All-MIAC defensive lineman who passed away in a snowmobiling accident after his junior season.

Williams (Fy. | Fridley, Minn.) was selected as the inaugural recipient of the MIAC Football Rookie of the Year award. The Bethel cornerback logged 29 tackles, broke up seven passes, and forced a fumble in his debut season. He also returned an interception 100 yards for a two-point conversion to clinch a berth in the MIAC championship game.

Fasching received his fifth consecutive John Gagliardi Coach of the Year honor and the sixth of his career after guiding the Johnnies to the program’s 36th MIAC title and eighth straight trip to the NCAA Playoffs. A former MIAC student-athlete himself, Fasching was a three-year starter at linebacker for Gagliardi's Johnnies before spending 17 years as an assistant on the legendary coach's SJU staff. The MIAC Coach of the Year Award was renamed in honor of Gagliardi - college football's all-time wins leader - in 2013.

In addition to individual honors, the MIAC also announced All-Conference and honorable mention selections. Sixty-four players received All-MIAC accolades with another 21 receiving honorable mention distinctions. Thirty-two of the 64 All-MIAC honorees were also All-Conference selections a season ago.

Bethel quarterback Jaran Roste became the eleventh player in recorded MIAC history to be named to four All-MIAC squads (2018, 2019, 2021, 2022). Gustavus defensive lineman Zachary Jakes became the 111th player in recorded conference history to be named to at least three All-MIAC squads (2019, 2021, 2022).

All MIAC awards were nominated by and voted on by MIAC head football coaches. Any nominated player who was not selected All-Conference but still received votes from at least three coaches was named honorable mention.
2022 MIAC Football Awards
2022 MIAC Football Offensive Player of the Year
Position Name Institution Class Hometown | High School Previous Selections
QB Jaran Roste Bethel Sr. Alexandria, Minn. --
2022 MIAC Football Defensive Player of the Year
Position Name Institution Class Hometown | High School Previous Selections
DL Michael Wozniak Saint John’s Sr. New Hope, Minn. | Robbinsdale Armstrong --
2022 MIAC Football Mike Stam Award for Lineman of the Year
Position Name Institution Class Hometown | High School Previous Selections
DL Zachary Jakes Gustavus Sr. North Mankato, Minn. | West 2021
2022 MIAC Football Rookie of the Year
Position Name Institution Class Hometown | High School
DB Devin Williams Bethel Fy. Fridley, Minn.
2022 MIAC Football Coach of the Year
Name Institution Previous Selections
Gary Fasching Saint John’s 2014 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2021
2022 MIAC Football All-Conference Offense
Position Name Institution Class Hometown | High School Previous Selections
QB Michael Nadeau Macalester Jr. Garden Grove, Calif. | La Quinta 2021 (2T)
QB Jaran Roste Bethel Sr. Alexandria, Minn. 2018 (2T) | 2019 (2T) | 2021 (1T)
QB Cade Sheehan Augsburg So. Rochester, Minn. | Mayo 2021 (2T)
QB Aaron Syverson Saint John’s Jr. Minnetonka, Minn. --
RB Jordan Embry St. Olaf Sr. Birmingham, Ala. | Ramsay 2021 (1T)
RB Rohee Konde Gustavus Jr. Hopkins, Minn. --
RB D.J. Monroe Augsburg So. Shakopee, Minn. --
RB Peyton Mortenson Concordia Sr. Marietta, Minn. | Lac qui Parle Valley 2021 (2T)
RB Henry Trost Saint John’s Sr. Lindstrom, Minn. | Chisago Lakes 2021 (1T)
WR Jake Breitbach Gustavus Jr. Golden Valley, Minn. | Armstrong 2021 (2T)
WR Jimmy Buck Saint John’s Jr. Orono, Minn. 2021 (2T)
WR Rex Desso Macalester Sr. Evergreen, Colo. | Lakewood 2021 (1T)
WR Joey Kidder Bethel So. New Richmond, Wis. 2021 (1T)
WR Micah Niewald Bethel So. Fridley, Minn. 2021 (HM)
WR Dalton Thelen Gustavus Sr. Cold Spring, Minn. | ROCORI 2021 (1T)
WR Braden Tretter Augsburg So. Sauk Rapids, Minn. | Sauk Rapids-Rice 2021 (2T)
WR Charlie Wilson Hamline Jr. Woodbury, Minn. 2021 (HM)
TE Derek Hansen St. Olaf Jr. Eagan, Minn. --
TE Alex Larson Saint John’s Sr. Woodbury, Minn. | East Ridge 2021 (1T)
OL Mitchell Borchardt Gustavus Sr. Le Sueur, Minn. | Le Sueur-Henderson 2021 (1T)
OL T.J. Duerr Saint John’s Sr. Buffalo, Minn. | St. Michael-Albertville 2021 (2T)
OL Collin Fleisch Concordia Sr. Fall City, Wash. | Mount Si 2021 (1T)
OL Evan Ginter Bethel Jr. Chisago Lakes, Minn. 2021 (2T)
OL Joe Jaeger Saint John’s Sr. Lakeville, Minn. | North --
OL Jason Miller Bethel Sr. Lakeville, Minn. | Academy of Holy Angels --
OL Cameron Murphy Saint John’s Sr. Willmar, Minn. --
OL Ben Pham Carleton Sr. Lombard, Ill. | Glenbard East 2021 (HM)
OL Travis Sinclair Bethel Sr. Rogers, Minn. 2021 (1T)
OL Sam Stafsholt Gustavus Sr. Andover, Minn. --
2022 MIAC Football All-Conference Defense
Position Name Institution Class Hometown | High School Previous Selections
DL Chase Dockter Concordia Sr. Bismarck, N.D. 2021 (2T)
DL Metoriah Faoliu Saint John’s Sr. Wildomar, Calif. | Vista Murrieta 2021 (1T)
DL Javier Gratacos Gustavus Jr. Orlando, Fla. | Lake Nona --
DL Zachary Jakes Gustavus Sr. North Mankato, Minn. | West 2019 (1T) | 2021 (1T)
DL Preston Johnson Concordia Fy. Glyndon, Minn. | Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton --
DL Skyler Kessenich Carleton Sr. Baltimore, Md. | Friends School of Baltimore --
DL Aidan Thomas Bethel Jr. Sioux Falls, S.D. | O’Gorman 2021 (2T)
DL Collin Thompson Concordia Jr. Thatcher, Ariz. --
DL Anthony Vo St. Scholastica So. St. Paul, Minn. | Roseville 2021 (HM)
DL Michael Wozniak Saint John’s Sr. New Hope, Minn. | Robbinsdale Armstrong 2021 (1T)
DL Shaquille Young Augsburg Jr. St. Paul, Minn. | Tartan 2019 (HM) | 2021 (HM)
LB David Brandt Bethel Sr. Littleton, Colo. | Dakota Ridge --
LB Eric Bjork Saint John’s Sr. Mahtomedi, Minn. 2021 (1T)
LB Collin Curtis Bethel Sr. Woodville, Wis. | Baldwin-Woodville --
LB Carson Dekam Gustavus Jr. Owatonna, Minn. 2021 (1T)
LB William Hawkins Gustavus So. New Orleans, La. | Jesuit --
LB Jacob Holmen Bethel So. Spicer, Minn. | New London-Spicer 2021 (2T)
LB Noah Jenson Concordia Sr. Broomfield, Colo. 2021 (HM)
LB Isaak Knutson Gustavus Sr. Dodge Center, Minn. | Triton --
LB Isaac Simons Carleton Sr. Oconomowoc, Wis. | Lake Country Lutheran 2021 (1T)
LB Cooper Yaggie Saint John’s So. Breckenridge, Minn. --
DB Isaiah Chambers Gustavus Jr. Houston, Texas | Legacy School of Sciences --
DB Nate Farm Bethel So. Arden Hills, Minn. | Mounds View 2021 (1T)
DB Matt Feldick Bethel Sr. St. Michael, Minn. | St. Michael-Albertville 2019 (HM) | 2021 (1T)
DB John Kohler Saint John’s Sr. Birchwood, Wis. | Rice Lake --
DB Ryan McGregor Carleton Sr. Ellsworth, Wis. 2021 (2T)
DB Ethan Stark Saint John’s Sr. Sartell, Minn. | Sartell-St. Stephen 2021 (2T)
DB Ezekiel Sundberg Gustavus Sr. Lakewood, Colo. 2021 (1T)
DB Mark Thrower St. Olaf Jr. Aurora, Colo. | Overland --
2022 MIAC Football All-Conference Special Teams
Position Name Institution Class Hometown | High School Previous Selections
K Hugo Cifuentes Bethel So. Balaton, Minn. | Marshall --
K Conor Murphy Saint John’s So. Sioux Falls, S.D. | O’Gorman 2021 (HM)
P Will Eliason Bethel So. Ann Arbor, Mich. | Skyline --
P Spencer Ell Saint John’s Jr. Morristown, Minn. | Bethlehem Academy --
RET Nic Jones Bethel Sr. Fort Worth, Texas | Calvary Christian Academy --
RET River Wood Gustavus Jr. St. Petersburg, Fla. | Dixie-Hollins --
2022 MIAC Football Honorable Mention
Position Name Institution Class Hometown | High School Previous Selections
QB Jonathan Singleton Carleton Sr. San Martin, Calif. | Live Oak 2021 (2T)
RB Bryce Kunkle Bethel Jr. Yuba City, Calif. 2021 (HM)
WR Owen Miller Concordia So. Aitkin, Minn. --
WR Dominic Smith Augsburg So. White Bear Lake, Minn. 2021 (1T)
WR Nick VanErp Saint John’s Sr. Battle Lake, Minn. | Ottertail Central --
TE Ntense Obono Carleton So. Lawrence, Kan. --
OL Paul Lemke Augsburg Sr. Glencoe, Minn. | Glencoe-Silver Lake 2021 (HM)
OL Andrew Mollison St. Olaf Sr. Edina, Minn. | Minnehaha Academy --
OL Brant Newman Macalester Sr. Indiana, Pa. --
OL Abel Perry Concordia Sr. New Effington, S.D. | Rosholt 2021 (HM)
DL Michael Carey Carleton Jr. Haddonfield, N.J. | Memorial 2021 (2T)
DL Reese Pantila Bethel So. Woodbury, Minn. | East Ridge --
DL Tate Sauerwein St. Olaf So. Holcombe, Wis. | Lake Holcombe --
LB Noah Bresson Macalester Jr. Homosassa, Fla. | Crystal River 2021 (HM)
LB Ty Moser Concordia Sr. Perham, Minn. 2021 (HM)
LB Luke Stanga St. Olaf Jr. Northfield, Minn. --
LB Thomas Wurdemann Bethel Jr. North Branch, Minn. 2021 (2T)
DB Jackson Cleveland Carleton Sr. River Falls, Wis. 2021 (HM)
DB Cameron Latvis Macalester So. West St. Paul, Minn. | Two Rivers --
DB Noble Scott Concordia Sr. Laplace, La. | De La Salle --
DB Devin Williams Bethel Fy. Fridley, Minn. --