VIDEO: Troy Dendy Interview
ROCK HILL, S.C. – Carson-Newman running back Troy Dendy (Laurens, S.C.) was named the conference's offensive freshman of the year, and 10 more Eagles received all-conference from the league office, the SAC announced Tuesday morning.
Dendy becomes the first Eagle to earn a freshman of the year honor from the conference since Jarvaris Neal was named defensive freshman of the year in 2012. Dendy is Carson-Newman's first offensive player of the year since quarterback Alex Rouse earned in the honor in 2005.
Meanwhile, six Eagles earned first team All-SAC honors, while five more received recognition on the second team.
Running back Antonio Wimbush (Kingsland, Ga.), wide receiver Braxton Westfield (Simpsonville, S.C.), offensive lineman Phillip McDowell (Boiling Springs, S.C.) and longsnapper Dawson Campbell (Travelers Rest, S.C.) all earned first team offensive honors. Linebacker Rondrow Peebles (Knoxville, Tenn.) and defensive back Desmond Fairell (Miami, Fla.) were placed on the first team defense.
Quarterback Derrick Evans (Macon, Ga.) tight end, Trevor Makarov (Ann Arbor, Mich.) and offensive lineman Jordan Seal (Morristown, Tenn.) represented C-N on the second team offense, while defensive tackle Montel Presley (Bushnell, Fla.) and kicker Nate Craft (Salem, Va.) were second team defensive picks.
Dendy exploded onto the scene in his first season as an Eagle. The Laurens, S.C., native has rushed for 611 yards on 66 carries, accounting for six touchdowns. He has powered his way to a trio of 100-yard performances, including a 23-carry, 200-yard performance en route to South Atlantic Conference Player of the Week honors The 200-yard day against Limestone registered as the 37th all-time 200-yard rushing performance in Carson-Newman football history, and the first by a freshman.
He also had a seven-carry, 149-yard, two-touchdown day against UNC Pembroke. Dendy broke the 100-yard barrier against Mars Hill on Nov. 2 with 110 yards on 12 carries.
Wimbush has pushed his name up the Carson-Newman football record books in earning All-SAC first team honors for a third year. Wimbush leads Carson-Newman in rushing with 889 yards on 120 carries. He's found the end zone 10 times, including eight times in the last four weeks of the season.
The senior's top outing came in the regular season finale against Tusculum when he had 148 yards on 14 carries and a score. Wimbush has a trio of 100-yard performances this season, cresting triple digits against the Pioneers, UNC Pembroke and Mars Hill.
Wimbush has moved his way up the record books as a result. Wimbush became the fourth member of Carson-Newman's 3,500-yard rushing club against Mars Hill. He is third all-time in rushing yards with 3,769. Wimbush is 273 yards away from second and Kennth Tyson, and 387 yards away from first and Robert Thomas. Wimbush's next 100-yard peformance would give him 17 for his career, tying him with Brandon Baker and Kenneth Tyson for the second most all-time. Wimbush is the sixth player in program history with 40 career rushing touchdowns. He needs three more rushing TDs to catch De'Andre Thomas for fourth on the all-time list.
Westfield becomes Carson-Newman's first first-team wideout in a decade and the first since Reggie Hubbard earned a spot on the first team in 2009.
Westfield has been a big-play threat for Carson-Newman all year. In his second career game as a Carson-Newman football player, Braxton Westfield put his name in the record books. In a week two loss to Wingate, Westfield grabbed three passes, all for touchdowns, for a whopping 169 yards receiving. His scores traversed 81, 53 and 35 yards. The 81-yard catch is the seventh longest reception in school history. His 169 yards are the 10th highest single-game total in school history and the third most of the option era. Additionally, his 56.3 yards per catch are the most of any wide out with three catches or more in a single game and the fourth most among players with two or more receptions. His three touchdown catches are also tied a school record.
For the year, Westfield has 24 catches for 466 yards. He set an option-era record for receptions with a nine-catch, 99-yard day against Lenoir-Rhyne. Westfield has found the end zone eight times this season, the most receiving touchdowns by an Eagle since Hubbard's nine in 2009. The eight receiving TDs are tied for the fifth most in a single season in school history.
McDowell has helped clear the way for an offense that ranks fourth in the country in rushing with 316.9 yards per game, 18th in scoring in 40.4 points per game and 36th in total offense at 433.3 yards per game.
McDowell extended his school-record for knockdowns by an offensive lineman with another 37 knockdowns this year. He has a whopping 94 for his career, more than double Robby Ignagni, the previous record holder.
This marks the third straight year McDowell has represented Carson-Newman on the All-SAC first team.
Campbell moves up to the first team for his senior year after earning second team honors as a junior. Carson-Newman has been perfect on extra-points thanks to his snapping duties. The Eagles haven't had a kick blocked all year due to a bad snap.
Peebles has earned a pair of SAC Defensive Player of the Week awards this year. He is Carson-Newman's leading tackler with 77 stops. Peebles also has 13.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks. He tallied a game-changing interception against Limestone. Peebles was named national player of the week following his 12-tackle, 3.5-tackle for loss, 1.5-sack performance on opening night against West Florida. The 12 tackles are one of four double-digit tackle efforts on the year. He had 11 stops against Catawba, Newberry and Limestone.
Fairell has put his name in the record books on Carson-Newman's all-time interceptions list. Desmond Fairell's next interception will be his 20th in his career. He needs five more picks to catch Mike Schlecter and Chuck Proffitt for the all-time record. The seven interceptions Fairell has this year are tied for the third most for a single-season in school history. Fairell leads the South Atlantic Conference in interceptions, he is eighth nationally. Al Canty holds the single season record with 11 set in 1972. Fairell has also broken up 11 passes this year and is fifth nationally in passes defensed.
Evans finishes up his Carson-Newman career with all-conference accolades for a third straight year.
He is Carson-Newman's second leading rusher. Evans has 646 yards rushing and eight scores this year. Evans has topped the century mark in three games, going for 133 yards on 18 carries against West Florida in the opener. He ripped Catawba for 154 yards on just eight carries on Oct. 12.
The signalcaller tallied his first career 200-yard passing game against Wingate with a 6-for-10 day through the air for 265 yards and a school-record tying four touchdown day.
On the year, he is 46-for-83 for 810 yards passing.
Makarov makes his first All-SAC appearance after a five-catch, 102-yard season. He had a 79-yard TD reception against Wingate, the longest TD reception by a C-N tight end in school history.
Seal appears on the all-SAC second team for a third consecutive year. He has 19 knockdowns on his year and 56 for his career, second all-time to McDowell. Seal has graded out in all but two games this year for Carson-Newman.
Presley also earns All-SAC honors for a third straight year. Presley has led Carson-Newman's defensive line with 46 stops. He had eight against Lenoir-Rhyne before following it up with a season-high nine at Limestone. Presley has been instrumental in giving Carson-Newman a defense that ranks 19th in the nation in total defense.
Finally, Craft is Carson-Newman's leading scorer for 2019. The freshman kicker has hit 9-of-14 field goals and all 51 of his extra points. A two-time SAC Special Teams Player of the Week, Craft becomes the first special teamer to be honored twice in one season with player of the week honors since kicker Carson Wise was lauded three times during the 2015.
Against Mars Hill, Craft started the scoring by launching a 50-yard field goal through the uprights into a breeze on the Eagles' opening possession. The 50-yard field goal was the first by a Carson-Newman kicker since Curt Duncan's school-record 54-yarder against Tusculum in 2012. It registers as the ninth 50-yard field goal in Carson-Newman football history.
Craft also became the first Carson-Newman kicker to knock through a pair of 40-yard kicks in one game (Craft's second field goal was true from 42) since Duncan as well. Duncan hit from 43 and 50 en route to scoring a school-record 17 points as a kicker in a win over Lenoir-Rhyne in week three of 2012.