Football Standouts Earn State, Regional Postseason Honors

Josh McKee

Adam Kattoua

Eddie Vallery

Ben Zoeller

Keenan Freeman

Alex Burwell

Brad McKinley

Springfield, Ohio — The postseason honors continue to roll in for members of the Wittenberg University football team as four student-athletes have earned All-North Region honors from d3football.com and seven student-athletes have earned All-Ohio honors from OhioCollegeFootball.com. 

Wide receiver Josh McKee, class of 2012 from New Carlisle, Ohio, and defensive tackle Adam Kattoua, class of 2011 from Upper Arlington, Ohio, were both named first-team all-region, while Eddie Vallery, class of 2011 from South Solon, Ohio, earned a spot on the second team. Quarterback Ben Zoeller, class of 2012 from Louisville, Ky., was placed on the third team.

McKee, Vallery and linebacker Brad McKinley, class of 2011 from Hilliard, Ohio, all earned first-team All-Ohio honors, while offensive tackle Alex Burwell, class of 2011 from Sunbury, Ohio, Zoeller, Kattoua and cornerback Keenan Freeman, class of 2011 from Fairborn, Ohio, were named to the second team.

McKee set Wittenberg and North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) records with 1,386 receiving yards in 2010, and his per-game average of 126 yards ranked third in all of NCAA Division III. He also set school records with 67 receptions and 16 receiving touchdowns, in part thanks to a record-breaking performance against Washington University on Sept. 18 — nine catches for 318 yards and five touchdowns, the latter two figures both breaking school and conference marks. McKee, who also broke Wittenberg records for career receiving yards and touchdowns during the 2010 season, led the NCAC in all-purpose yards and scoring as well.

Kattoua ranked fifth on the team with 52 tackles, including 8.5 for loss and 5.5 sacks. He also forced a fumble and recovered a fumble during the 2010 season. A year after earning NCAC, North Region, OhioCollegeFootball.com and NCAA Division III Defensive Player of the Year, Vallery overcame a significant preseason injury to finish third on the team with 76 tackles, including 10.5 for loss and six sacks. He finished his collegiate career ranked in the top five in program history in career tackles for loss and sacks.

McKinley led the Tigers in tackles for a fourth consecutive year, finishing with 108 on the season to go along with a team-high 11.5 stops for loss and five sacks. He became just the third Wittenberg player to top 400 career tackles. Freeman was credited with 38 tackles and a team-high nine passes defended. In addition, he contributed two interceptions and two fumble recoveries.

Rounding things out, Zoeller made the most of his first year as a starter, earning NCAC Offensive Player of the Year honors after throwing for 272.5 yards per game and finishing the season with a passing efficiency rating of 161.6. He threw for 2,997 yards and 25 touchdowns while breaking more than a dozen school records. Clearing the way for him was Burwell, who performed well after returning from a knee injury that cost him half of his 2009 season.

All seven student-athletes earned first-team All-NCAC honors. For Zoeller and Freeman, it was their first all-conference award, while McKee's only previous NCAC award was honorable mention in 2008. Burwell previously had a second-team designation in 2008, while Kattoua earned his second straight all-conference designation. Vallery earned three All-NCAC awards in his career, while McKinley made it all four years of his collegiate career, including three straight first-team honors from 2008 through 2010 after claiming Newcomer of the Year in 2007.

The Tigers went 6-0 in the NCAC to win the program's league-best 10th title in 22 years as a member, and 10-0 in the regular season, the 19th undefeated regular season in program history. The outright title advanced the Tigers to their 14th NCAA Division III Tournament since its inception in 1973, where they suffered a 37-14 road loss to Ohio Northern in the first round.

Written By: Ryan Maurer
Photos By: Erin Pence

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