Lions Place Five On 2016 Don Hansen All Super-Region Two Team
BROOKFIELD, ILL. – The Mars Hill Lion Football Team placed five players on the prestigious Don Hansen All Super-Region Two Team for the 2016 season.
BROOKFIELD, ILL. – The Mars Hill Lion Football Team placed five players on the prestigious Don Hansen All Super-Region Two Team for the 2016 season. Jamel Harbison led the honorees with his first-team offensive selection, while Jamel Hall found his name on the second-team offense. Craig Rucker and Joe Hillin garnered third-team offense selections and Carl Mattox was the lone defensive player for the Blue and Gold to make the list, collecting third-team defense.
Harbison, a senior running back from Charlotte, N.C., ended the season as the South Atlantic Conference's statistical champion in rushing yards (109.5) as well as all-purpose yards (123.5) per game. Harbsion adds this recognition with his First Team All-SAC selection. During a game against Newberry on October 8 he rushed for a season high 206 yards on 41 attempts.
Hall, a junior from Greeneville, Tenn., did not light up the boards with high-profile stats, but he did all the little things that don't show up in a post-game box score. Hall was the lead blocker for a rushing attack that averaged 212 yards per game and 29 points.
Rucker, a freshman from Leesburg, Fla., turned in one of the most prolific rookie campaigns in Mars Hill history. Rucker recorded 846 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns for the Lions this season. He recorded seven games with at least one score, including three contests with multiple touchdown receptions. He posted three games with 100-yards receiving to finish the 2016 season with an average of 77 receiving yards per game. Rucker also carried the ball nine times on the year for 88 yards and one score. Rucker was also named the South Atlantic Conference Offensive Freshman-of-the-Year.
Joe Hillin, a senior Atlanta, Ga., ends his MHU career as one of the best lineman to wear the Blue and Gold. He has been the starting center at Mars Hill for three years. This year he was named team captain and MHU's leader on the offensive line. Hillin posted an average grade of 90 percent, including a 95 percent pass protection grade and an 85 percent run blocking grade. He has also given up zero sacks this season to go along with 40 pancake blocks this during the 2016 campaign to average 4.44 per game. These numbers also earned Hillin the Jacobs Blocking Trophy, given to the top lineman in the league.
Mattox, a senior from Athens, Ga., anchored a solid defense for the Lions. On the season Mattox collected 48 tackles to go along with three tackles for loss and five pass breakups. His biggest game of the year came against Division I Samford where he collected six tackles.