2024 UMAC Football Awards

11/21/2024 1:00:00 PM

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) announced the recipients of their 2024 football awards on Thursday. The awards are nominated and voted on by the UMAC football head coaches. Only conference statistics are taken into consideration for the awards.
 
Sivert Klefsaas of the University of Northwestern Eagles was named the Offensive Player of the Year. The junior running back led the UMAC in rushing yards (1,126), rushing yards per game (160.9), rushing touchdowns (12), and total touchdowns (14) in seven conference games. Throughout all of NCAA Division III, Klefsaas finished the regular season ranked eighth in rushing yards (1,271), ninth in rushing yards per game (127.1), and tied for 21st in rushing touchdowns (13).
 
Andrew Esmay of the Martin Luther College Knights was named the Defensive Player of the Year. The junior defensive end led the UMAC in sacks (11.5), solo tackles for loss (11), forced fumbles (7), and fumbles recovered (5) in seven conference games. Throughout all of NCAA DIII, Esmay finished with the most sacks (16.5) and forced fumbles (8) in the nation.
 
Luke Malamisuro of the Northwestern Eagles and Luke Miller of the Greenville University Panthers were both named Co-Special Teams Players of the Year. Malamisuro led the UMAC in punt return yards (131) and punt return average (13.1) in conference games while finishing tied for third in NCAA DIII with two punt return touchdowns on the year. Miller led the UMAC in punting by placing 10 of his 18 punts inside the 20-yard line with zero touchbacks in addition to having the longest punt (65 yards) and the second-best average punt distance (38.7) in conference games.
 
Trevor Stewart of the Greenville Panthers was named the Lineman of the Year. The senior nose tackle was a force on the interior of the Panthers defensive line who constantly impacted the game in ways that didn’t always show up on the stat sheet. Even so, Stewart still recorded 30 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and eight tackles for loss during conference play.
 
Northwestern head coach Matt Moore was named the Coach of the Year. In his eighth season, Moore led UNW to an undefeated 7-0 record in conference play to win the UMAC Championship for the second time in three years.
 
The Martin Luther Knights won the team sportsmanship award, an accolade that is selected by the UMAC coaches and awarded to the team that best represents sportsmanship throughout the entire season.
 
72 student-athletes earned All-Conference honors. Each team also had one representative earn All-Sportsmanship honors.
 
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
RB Sivert Klefsaas Northwestern Jr. Motley, Minn. / Staples-Motley

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
DL Andrew Esmay Martin Luther Jr. Temple, Texas / Luther Prep

CO-SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
PR Luke Malamisuro Northwestern Sr. Cambridge Isanti, Minn. / Cambridge Isanti
P Luke Miller Greenville Sr. Dayton, Tenn. / Rhea County

LINEMAN OF THE YEAR
DL Trevor Stewart  Greenville Sr. Carterville, Ill. / Carterville

COACH OF THE YEAR
Matt Moore Northwestern
 
TEAM SPORTSMANSHIP
FIRST TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE OFFENSE
Pos. Name Institution Yr. Hometown / High School
QB Caden Cantrell Northwestern Jr. Snowflake, Ariz. / Snowflake
RB Izayah Boss Minnesota Morris Sr. Bothell, Wash. / North Creek
RB Adrian Hinton Greenville Sr. Peoria, Ill. / Quest Charter
RB Sivert Klefsaas Northwestern Jr. Motley, Minn. / Staples-Motley
WR Terrance Brown Greenville Sr. Pine Bluff, Ark. / Dollarway
WR Beau Burk Northwestern Sr. Ogilvie, Minn. / Ogilvie
WR Aden Campbell Westminster Jr. Slater, Mo. / Slater
WR Thomas Koelpin Martin Luther Jr. Folsom, Calif. / Luther Prep
WR Ethan Tang Minnesota Morris Sr. Watertown, Minn. /  Watertown-Mayer
TE Kaiden Cervantes Greenville Sr. Elko, Nev. / Elko
TE Jude Pederson Martin Luther So. Andover, Minn. / Luther Prep
OL Luke Ainsley Northwestern Jr. Palm Bay, Fla. / Heritage
OL Christian Diederich Minnesota Morris Sr. Murdock, Minn. / KMS
OL Thomas Dowell Greenville Sr. Cahokia, Ill. / Cahokia
OL Dustin Konvalinka Greenville Sr. Live Oak, Fla. / Suwannee
OL Keevon McCullough Northwestern So. Palm Bay, Fla. / Heritage

FIRST TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE DEFENSE
Pos. Name Institution Yr. Hometown / High School
DL Andrew Esmay Martin Luther Jr. Temple, Texas / Luther Prep
DL Thomas Linnear Greenville Sr. Romeoville, Ill. / Plainfield East
DL Jeffrey Markvicka II Northwestern Sr. Brooklyn Center, Minn. / Fridley
DL Carter Maurice Minnesota Morris Sr. Boissevain, Man. / Boissevain Collegiate
DL Millicent Grear Crown Jr. Pflugerville, Texas / Connally
DL Trevor Stewart Greenville Sr. Carterville, Ill. / Carterville
LB Gabe Banks Crown Sr. League City, Texas / Clear Springs
LB Alex Emmrich Minnesota Morris Sr. Rogers, Minn. / Rogers
LB Jayden Goodwin Northwestern Jr. New Richmond, Wis. / Saint Croix Central
LB Elias Velasquez Greenville Jr. Orange City, Fla. / University
DB Joey Ehlke Martin Luther Sr. Cedarburg, Wis. / Kettle Moraine Lutheran
DB Naketa Ellington Northwestern So. Richland, Ga. / Chattahoochee County
DB Kourtland Harris Greenville Jr. St. Louis, Mo. / Hazelwood Central
DB Luke Malamisuro Northwestern Sr. Cambridge Isanti, Minn. / Cambridge Isanti

FIRST TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE SPECIAL TEAMS
Pos. Name Institution Yr. Hometown / High School
K Micah Koschnitzke Martin Luther Jr. Waukesha, Wis. / Wisconsin Lutheran
LS Alex Emmrich Minnesota Morris Sr. Rogers, Minn. / Rogers
KR Jacob Miranda Minnesota Morris Jr. Albuquerque, N.M. / Sandia
P Luke Miller Greenville Sr. Dayton, Tenn. / Rhea County
PR Luke Malamisuro Northwestern Sr. Cambridge Isanti, Minn. / Cambridge Isanti

SECOND TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE OFFENSE
Pos. Name Institution Yr. Hometown / High School
QB Max Lynch Greenville Fr. Pana, Ill. / Pana
QB Brady Turriff Martin Luther Fr. Matthews, N.C. / Sun Valley
RB Rees Roecker Martin Luther Sr. Menomonee Falls, Wis. / Luther Prep
RB Donovan Soloman Crown Fr. Frostproof, Fla. / Frostproof
WR Delrey Crowder Greenville Sr. Danville, Ill. / Danville
WR Seth Medina Crown Jr. Round Rock, Texas / McNeil
WR Trey Ulmer Northwestern Fr. West Melbourne, Fla. / Heritage
TE Gideon Cruver Northwestern So. Fayetteville, Ga. / Landmark Christian
TE Cole Mitchell Minnesota Morris Jr. Albuquerque, N.M. / Sandia
OL Mitchell Foss Minnesota Morris Sr. Foley, Minn. / Foley
OL Victor Lopez Minnesota Morris Sr. Houston, Texas / Westbury Senior
OL R.J. Perry Martin Luther So. Bruce, S.D. / Great Plains Lutheran
OL Donovan Quinzy Crown So. Orlando, Fla. / Lake Nona High
OL Jack Roberge Northwestern So. Randolph, Minn. / Randolph
OL Emerson Ruiz  Westminster Fr. Houston, Texas / Alief Taylor

SECOND TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE DEFENSE
Pos. Name Institution Yr. Hometown / High School
DL Jeremiah Belizaire Westminster Fr. Miami Gardens, Fla. / North Miami Beach
DL Daniel Biermann Martin Luther So. West Bend, Wis. / Kettle Moraine Lutheran
DL Garrett Burger Westminster Sr. California, Mo. / Carifornia R-1
DL Nate Jennings Northwestern Fr. Palm Bay, Fla. / Heritage
DL Chayce Meyer Minnesota Morris Jr. Osakis, Minn. / Osakis
DL Greg Reese Greenville Jr. Hume, Ill. / Shiloh
LB David Baumann Martin Luther Sr. Belle Plaine, Minn. / Luther Prep
LB Jaden Apple-Gibbs Greenville Sr. Carthage, Tenn. / Smith County
LB Alex Goly Westminster Jr. Sullivan, Mo. / Sullivan
LB Sam Schlabach Northwestern Jr. Keystone, S.D. / Rapid City Christian
LB Elijah Simmons Northwestern Jr. Kissimmee, Fla. / Gateway
LB Gregory Ohman Minnesota Morris Jr. Lake Nebagamon, Wis. / Northwestern
DB Thomas Balge Martin Luther Jr. New Ulm, Minn. / Luther Prep
DB Juan "JT" Garza III Minnesota Morris So. Rupert, Idaho / Minico
DB Tayven Penninger Minnesota Morris Sr. Billings, Mont. / Skyview
DB Jeremiah Stanton Martin Luther Jr. Milwaukee, Wis. / Luther Prep
DB Daronne Wright  Westminster Fr. St. Louis, Mo. / Hazelwood Central

SECOND TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE SPECIAL TEAMS
Pos. Name Institution Yr. Hometown / High School
K Dominic Borges Northwestern Jr. Tualatin, Ore. / Tualatin
LS Garrett Burger Westminster Sr. California, Mo. / Carifornia R-1
KR Luke Malamisuro Northwestern Sr. Cambridge Isanti, Minn. / Cambridge Isanti
P Will Schleicher Northwestern So. Victoria, Minn. / Chanhassen
PR Seth Medina Crown Jr. Round Rock, Texas / McNeil

ALL-SPORTSMANSHIP
Name Institution Yr. Hometown / High School
Cal Johnson Northwestern Sr. Lino Lakes, Minn. / Concordia Academy
Tayven Penninger Minnesota Morris Sr. Billings, Mont. / Skyview
Greg Reese Greenville Jr. Hume, Ill. / Shiloh
Dominic Tii Crown Sr. Round Rock, Texas / Stony Point
Corey Tipton Martin Luther Sr. Wauwatosa, Wis. / Wisconsin Lutheran
Keegan Zdybel Westminster Jr. Slater, Mo. / Slater
 

The UMAC is an NCAA Division III member comprised of eight full-time member schools from Minnesota and Wisconsin: Bethany Lutheran College, Crown College, Martin Luther College, North Central University, Northland College, University of Minnesota Morris, University of Northwestern, and University of Wisconsin-Superior.