Football Receives 20 Spots on the All-UAA Team
(ROCHESTER, N.Y.) – The Carnegie Mellon University football team had 19 players and 20 positions honored when the All-University Athletic Association (UAA) football team was announced Tuesday, November 22 by the league coaches. Of the 20, six of them were honored as first-team members and 10 are making their first appearance on the team.
The offensive side of the ball saw three first-team selections with the potent Cardinal and Gray backfield earning two of the spots. Junior running back Patrick Blanks (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller) and senior fullback Chris Garcia (Albuquerque, N.M./Valley) are joined on the first-team by sophomore offensive guard Nathan Cheek (Lancaster, Ohio). This marks Cheek's second straight year as a first team honoree. For Garcia this is his third appearance as he was honorable mention his freshman year and second team following his sophomore campaign. Last season, Blanks was named second team.
Blanks and Garcia along with junior running back Jake Nardone (Beaver, Pa./Beaver Area), a second-team selection, headed a backfield that led the UAA in rushing for the 14th straight season as the Cardinal and Gray totaled 2,348 yards on the ground. Blanks ended the 2011 season setting a Tartan single-season record of 6.8 yards per carry. The junior also led the UAA with 944 yards rushing and 12 rushing touchdowns. Garcia not only scored eight rushing touchdowns and ran for 502 yards this season; he was the team's second leading receiver coming out of the backfield with 15 receptions for 181 yards. Nardone scored six rushing touchdowns and averaged 5.2 yards per carry as he ranked third in the UAA with 652 rushing yards.
All three backs moved up on the school's all-time rushing list by season's end. Garcia finished his career ranked eighth with 1,635 yards while Nardone and Blanks rank 13th and 15th with 1,476 and 1,403 yards, respectively.
Cheek played a huge factor in blocking for a backfield that averaged 234.8 yards per game on the ground and ranked in the top 25 nationally all season. Helping Cheek upfront were four other Tartan second-team honorees; seniors Zach Gallup (Bronson, Mich.) and Ross Lapkowicz (Beallsville, Pa./Pittsburgh Central Catholic), junior Patrick Robinson (Eldersburg, Md./Liberty) and sophomore Jacob Krause (Waukesha, Wis./Catholic Memorial). Gallup was chosen as tight end, Lapkowicz as center, Robinson as tackle and Krause as a guard. The five also helped block for sophomore signal caller Rob Kalkstein (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway) who was also a second team selection. Kalkstein passed for 1,093 yards and threw for four touchdowns. Robinson and Kalkstein are making their first appearance on the team. Gallup and Krause were honored a year ago while this marks the third straight season Lapkowicz was named All-UAA.
On the defensive side of the ball there were nine member honored. Junior cornerback Sam Thompson (Alcoa, Tenn.) and sophomore defensive lineman Ryan Jok (Novi, Mich.) head the list as first-team selections. Thompson led the UAA with seven interceptions which tied a Tartan single-season record as well as ended the regular season tied for second in Division III. Four of Thompson's picks came in back-to-back UAA contests where he had two each against Washington and Chicago. Against Catholic, he returned an interception 71 yards for a touchdown, marking the first score of his career. He was tied for the UAA lead with 12 passes defended with fellow teammate and honorable mention honoree, senior Dan Miller (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair). Jok ended the season with 31 tackles while six were for-a-loss, ranking second on the team. The sophomore recorded a career-high seven tackles, five solo, against Case.
Junior outside linebacker Nick Karabin (Ruffs Dale, Pa./Greensburg Central Catholic), sophomore inside linebacker Eric Rolfes (Cincinnati, Ohio/Madeira) and sophomore safety Jack Butler (Kennesaw, Ga./North Cobb) all received second-team honors. Karabin was selected a year ago as an honorable mention member.
Karabin led the team and was third in the UAA with 83 tackles. Against Washington he recorded a career-high 12 tackles and tallied a career-high eight solo tackles at Hiram. The junior also led the team and ranked second in the UAA with 11.5 tackles for-a-loss while leading the conference with three forced fumbles. Rolfes tied Miller with 54 tackles, second best on the team. Rolfes was also fourth on the team with 4.5 tackles for-a-loss. Butler recovered two fumbles while ranking fifth on the team with 50 tackles.
Besides Miller, three other Tartan defensemen were named honorable mention, senior defensive lineman Andrew Medenbach (Muskegon, Mich./Mona Shores), senior safety Ray Johnson (Brick, N.J./Brick Twp.) and sophomore defensive lineman Dallas Hartman (New Wilmington, Pa./Wilmington Area).
Miller ended the season with 11 pass breakups and one interception. Medenbach led the team with 4.5 sacks and was fourth in the UAA in that category. The senior also recovered two fumbles and totaled 36 tackles. Johnson recorded 44 tackles, had an interception and recorded a sack. Hartman finished the season with three tackles for-a-loss of 10 yards with one sack.
The Tartans had two that were honored on the special team side of the ball. Senior punter Patrick Garrett (Glenshaw, Pa./Fox Chapel) was selected as a first-team member and Miller earned a spot as honorable mention punt returner. Besides leading the UAA in punting, Garrett ranked nationally all season in punt average. He ended the season ranked fifth nationally with an average of 41.7 yards per punt on 47 punts. He placed 13 punts inside the opponent's 20-yard line and recorded a career-long 60 yarder in his last collegiate game. Miller is making his third appearance as a special team member. He was named honorable mention freshman year and first-team his sophomore season. This year, Miller returned 15 punts with a long of 25 while ranking second in the UAA with an average return of 7.9 yards.