North Carolina Central University

FOOTBALL

     MONTICELLO, Ark. -- Five North Carolina Central University Eagles have been voted to the 2005 Don Hansen's Football Gazette All-Southeast Region Team. 
     Senior defensive end Ronald Dowdy (Fayetteville, NC) and sophomore kicker Brandon Gilbert (Graham, NC) have received First Team honors, junior running back Greg Pruitt, Jr. (Cleveland, Ohio) was named to the Second Team, and senior receiver Torey Ross (Jackson, Miss.) and junior center Robert Duncan (Winston-Salem, NC) claimed Third Team recognition.
     Dowdy, a 6-4, 285-pound transfer from the University of Florida, led NCCU with 11.0 tackles for loss, five sacks, six quarterback hurries, three recovered fumbles and five forced fumbles, which ranks No. 1 in the conference and third in the nation. Dowdy also recorded 54 total tackles (27 solo). 
     Gilbert, a 5-10, 175 sophomore, topped the conference in field goals made (16-of-21), field goal percentage (76.2), PAT kicking (42-of-43), and scoring by kickers (90 points). He also broke three school records during his sophomore season, including single-season field goals (16), single-season extra-point kicks (42) and single-game extra-point kicks (10 vs. Edward Waters on Aug. 27). Gilbert was also voted as the 2005 CIAA Championship Game Most Valuable Player after making four field goals, including a career-long 47-yard kick and the game-winning boot with three seconds remaining. 
     Pruitt, a 5-10, 200-pound junior, ranked second in CIAA with 1,172 rushing yards for 10 touchdowns on 260 carries. His 1,172 ground yards also ranks second on the school's all-time single-season rushing list, and he is the first running back in NCCU history to post two 1,000-yard seasons during a career. 
     Ross, a 6-4, 190-pound transfer from Jackson State University, topped the CIAA and broke the school's single-season receptions record with 69 catches for 846 yards and eight touchdowns. His 846 receiving yards also ranks sixth on the school's single-season list. In just two years at NCCU, Ross collected 122 receptions for 1,485 yards and 19 touchdowns after leading the conference in catches both seasons. 
     Duncan, a 6-0, 255-pound junior, was selected as the CIAA Offensive Lineman of the Week twice during the 2005 campaign. He snapped every offensive play for the Eagles in the final 11 games, while anchoring the No. 1 scoring offense (30.8 avg.) in the league. 
     As a team, NCCU captured the first CIAA football championship in 25 years, won 10 games for the first time in school history, and finished as the No. 2 ranked team in the Southeast Region. 
     This year marks the fourth year that the Football Gazette has selected NCAA Division II All-Region teams. The national publication has selected Division II All-America teams since 1988.

For Immediate Release
Contact: Paul Smith, Southeast Region Chair
(870)460-1574 or smithp@uamont.edu

HARLON HILL FINALISTS MERRITT, EYSTER HIGHLIGHT 2005 ALL-SOUTHEAST REGION TEAM

MONTICELLO, Ark. --- Harlon Hill Trophy finalists Anthony Merritt of the University of North Alabama
and Scott Eyster of Delta State University were among the the players named to the 2005
All-Southeast Region Team selected by Don Hansen's Football Gazette.

This year marks the fourth year that the Football Gazette has selected NCAA Division II
All-Region teams. The national publication has selected Division II All-America teams since 1988.

The first-team and second-team All-Region selections advance to a national ballot from which the
2005 NCAA Division II Football Gazette All-America team will be selected in early January.

Merritt, a 6-0, 189-pound junior from Columbus, GA, earned first-team honors as a return specialist
and second-team honors as a wideout after making 81 catches for 942 yards and eight touchdowns,
returning 23 kickoffs for 595 yards and one touchdown; as well as 51 punt returns for 546
yards and two touchdowns. The junior set 16 records this season, including the new Division II mark
for most kick returns in a season with 70; en route to over 2,200 all-purpose yards, First Team All-Gulf
South Conference laurels, and a sixth-place finish in the 2005 Harlon Hill Trophy balloting.

Eyster, a 6-3, 195-pound junior from Hammond, LA, earned second-team honors after a banner
2005 campaign, completing 224 of 379 passes for 3,107 yards and 23 touchdowns. For his play this
season, Eyster was a finalist for the Conerly Trophy (awarded annually to the top collegiate player in
the state of Mississippi), an eighth-place finisher for the Harlon Hill Trophy, and was named Gulf
South Conference Offensive Player of the Year.

North Alabama leads all schools with eight all-region selections, while Presbyterian College and
Central Arkansas both place six players on the squads.

FOR MORE INFORMATION contact Football Gazette Southeast Region Chair Paul Smith, Sports
Information Director at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, at 870-460-1574 after January 1. If
you have a question you need answered sooner, email Paul at smithp@uamont.edu. The Football
Gazette website is located at http://www.donhansen.com. The 2005 Don Hansen's Football Gazette
All-America team will also be available at http://www.pittstategorillas.com/footballgazette.

2005 Don Hansen's Football Gazette All-Southeast Region Team
FIRST TEAM OFFENSE
POS NAME HT WT YEAR SCHOOL HOMETOWN / LAST SCHOOL
QB Zach Ellis 6-1 193 Senior Presbyterian Tifton, Ga. / Tift County HS
FB Chris Johnson 5-10 240 Senior Arkansas Tech Russellville, Ark. / Dardanelle HS
RB Kentrel Rogers 5-10 216 Senior Central Arkansas Fordyce, Ark. / Fordyce HS
RB Antwan Andrews 6-0 180 Senior Albany State Brunswick, Ga. /
WR Aaron Fairooz 6-6 216 Junior Central Arkansas Mansfield, Texas / Mansfield HS
WR Kenneth Henderson 5-9 185 Senior Tuskegee Chattanooga, Tenn. / Brainerd HS
TE Chip Long 6-2 222 Senior North Alabama Birmingham, Ala. / Mountain Brook HS
C * Lance Ancar 6-1 280 Senior North Alabama Harvey, La. / Archbishop Shaw HS
OG Marcus Brisbone 6-1 271 Senior Presbyterian Sumter, S.C. / Crestwood HS
OT Brett Mask 6-3 268 Senior North Alabama Huntsville, Ala. / Buckhorn HS
APB Scott Carpino 5-9 180 Junior Arkansas-Monticello Paragould, Ark. / Paragould HS
PK Brandon Gilbert 5-10 175 Soph. North Carolina Central Graham, N.C. / Graham HS

SECOND TEAM OFFENSE
POS NAME HT WT YEAR SCHOOL HOMETOWN / LAST SCHOOL
QB * Scott Eyster 6-3 195 Junior Delta State Hammond, La. / Hammond HS
RB Kory Fisher 5-10 195 Soph. Catawba New Bern, N.C. / New Bern HS
RB Greg Pruitt, Jr. 5-10 200 Junior North Carolina Central Cleveland, Oh. / Shaker Heights HS
WR * Anthony Merritt 6-0 189 Junior North Alabama Box Springs, Ga. / Shaw HS
WR Justin Durant 6-1 185 Soph. Presbyterian Florence, S.C. / South Florence HS
TE * Josh Rogers 6-3 228 Junior Arkansas Tech Russellville, Ark. / Russellville HS
C David Farr 6-1 285 Junior Central Arkansas Star City, Ark. / Star City HS
OG Pat Egan 6-2 279 Senior Carson-Newman Longwood, Fla. / Lake Brantley HS
OT Tee Campbell 6-5 278 Senior Carson-Newman Dandridge, Tenn. / Jefferson County HS
PK Roosevelt Echeverry 5-11 205 Senior Tuskegee Montgomery, Ala. / Coral Park Senior

THIRD TEAM OFFENSE
POS NAME HT WT YEAR SCHOOL HOMETOWN / LAST SCHOOL
QB Kevin Huff 6-2 215 Junior Tuskegee Tampa, Fla. / Jones CC
RB Isaac Redman 6-0 220 Soph. Bowie State Paulsboro, N.J. / Paulsboro HS
RB Martin Hicks 5-9 180 Soph. Winston-Salem State Oxford, N.C. / J.F. Webb HS
WR Torey Ross 6-4 190 Senior North Carolina Central Jackson, Miss. / Provine HS
WR Eddie Montgomery 5-11 175 Senior St. Augustine's Gaffney, S.C. /
TE Johnny Fields 6-1 233 Soph. Southern Arkansas DeSoto, Texas / DeSoto HS
C Robert Duncan 6-0 255 Junior North Carolina Central Winston-Salem, N.C. / Parkland HS
OG Kevin Berneathy 5-11 316 Senior Southern Arkansas Galveston, Texas / Ball HS
OT Richard Collier 6-7 325 Senior Valdosta State Shreveport, La. / Tyler JC
PK Michael Green 6-0 165 Senior Valdosta State Orange Park, Fla. / Catawba
* denotes returning Don Hansen All-Southeast Region Selection

2005 Don Hansen's Football Gazette All-Southeast Region Team
FIRST TEAM DEFENSE
POS NAME HT WT YEAR SCHOOL HOMETOWN / LAST SCHOOL
DL Kenwin Cummings 6-2 220 Soph. Wingate Maxton, N.C. / Purnell Swett HS
DL Tyreve Smith 6-4 280 Senior Bowie State Washington DC / Suitland HS
DE Ronald Dowdy 6-4 285 Senior North Carolina Central Fayetteville, N.C. / Pine Forest HS
DE Jacob Ford 6-1 284 Soph. Central Arkansas Bastrop, La. / Bastrop HS
LB Antwan Thomas 5-10 192 Fr.-RS Presbyterian Hawkinsville, Ga. / Hawkinsville HS
LB Sterling Green 6-3 220 Senior Bowie State Hyattsville, Md. / Georgia Tech
LB Quentin Maxfield 6-0 235 Junior Central Arkansas Conway, Ark. / Conway HS
S * Chad Burgess 5-10 178 Junior Presbyterian Kingstree, S.C. / Kingstree HS
S Cory Cangelosi 6-1 202 Senior Central Arkansas Mandeville, La. / Mandeville HS
CB * Quasi Gary 6-0 181 Senior Presbyterian Kingstree, S.C. / Kingstree HS
CB Marcus Jefferson 5-10 176 Junior Albany State Eatonton, Ga. /
P * Jeff Carpenter 6-0 187 Senior West Georgia Cumming, Ga. / South Forsyth HS
RS * Anthony Merritt 6-0 189 Junior North Alabama Box Springs, Ga. / Shaw HS

SECOND TEAM DEFENSE
POS NAME HT WT YEAR SCHOOL HOMETOWN / LAST SCHOOL
DL Tim Thompson 6-4 250 Senior Valdosta State Sparta, Ga. / Hancock Central HS
DL Chris Herring 6-2 310 Senior Southern Arkansas Batesville, Miss. / Ole Miss
DE Johnny Williams 6-2 290 Senior Tuskegee Macon, Ga. / Southwest HS
DE Maceo Thomas 6-3 285 Senior Elizabeth City State Portsmouth, VA / IC Norcom
LB Torres Mozley 6-0 215 Senior Tuskegee Atlanta, Ga. / Booker T. Washington
LB * Scott Dutile 6-1 225 Senior Harding Plymouth, N.H. / Plymouth Regional HS
LB DeLaurence Walker 5-9 188 Senior Fayetteville State Wilmington, N.C. / Hoggard HS
S * Torrance Daniels 6-4 245 Senior Harding Clarendon, Ark. / Clarendon HS
S Andrew Jackson 5-10 190 Senior Arkansas Tech Greenville, Miss. / Northwest Miss. JC
CB Deonte Bolden 5-11 185 Senior Carson-Newman Tampa, Fla. / Lakewood HS
CB * Blake Farris 6-0 202 Senior North Alabama Jasper, Ala. / Walker HS
P Craig McFarlin 6-0 181 Soph, Ouachita Baptist Daingerfield, Texas / Daingerfield HS
RS Octavious Love 5-11 190 Soph. Tusculum Wellford, S.C. / James F. Byrnes HS

THIRD TEAM DEFENSE
POS NAME HT WT YEAR SCHOOL HOMETOWN / LAST SCHOOL
DL Marcus Jackson 6-3 245 Senior North Alabama Folkston, Ga. / Charlton County HS
DL Justin Currie 5-10 305 Junior Harding Memphis, Tenn. / Briarcrest HS
DE Odell Willis 6-1 250 Junior West Georgia Yantley, Ala. / Choctaw County HS
DE Tim Hunt 6-5 245 Junior North Alabama Mobile, Ala. / Alma-Bryant HS
LB Mike Houston 5-10 210 Senior Arkansas Tech West Memphis, Ark. / West Memphis HS
LB Tyrone Pettaway 6-3 220 Senior St. Augustine's Newport News, Va. /
LB Michael Eubanks 6-2 215 Soph. Delta State Cleveland, Miss. / Cleveland HS
S * DeMathus Ledet 5-10 170 Senior Arkansas-Monticello Lafayette, La. / Northwestern (La.) St.
S Brandon Walden 5-11 187 Junior Carson-Newman Thomasville, Ga. / Thomas County HS
CB Demetrie McCray 6-1 176 Senior Albany State Thomasville, Ga. /
CB Paul Crews 5-11 180 Frosh Elizabeth City State Henderson, N.C. / Hargrave Military Prep
P Anthony Rodriguez 6-0 180 Junior Arkansas-Monticello Franklin, La. / Dodge City CC
RS P.J. Berry 6-1 185 Senior Virginia State Hopewell, Va. /
* denotes returning Don Hansen All-Southeast Region Selection