BOILING SPRINGS – Gardner-Webb placed 11 men on the 2009 All-Big South Conference football team Tuesday, paced by Scholar-Athlete of the Year Mario Brown and Freshman of the Year Matt Goods.

The Runnin’ Bulldogs (6-5, 3-3 Big South) ranked second among the six league schools with their number of selections.

Brown (Greenville, S.C. / J.L. Mann HS) finished the season with 84 total tackles (45 solo), 7.0 tackles for loss, an interception, 14 quarterback pressures and five pass break ups in a solid final campaign with the ‘Dogs. The 6-foot-2, 240-pounder finished his career with 312 total hits and carries a 3.61 cumulative GPA in his major of political science.

Brown, who plays on attending law school upon graduation from Gardner-Webb, was named ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District III earlier this fall, and was named first-team All-Big South at linebacker for the third time in his career in 2009.

Goods (East Orange, N.J. / Milford Academy) was a major force for the Runnin’ Bulldogs up front in his first season, leading the league in tackles for a defensive lineman among freshmen with 40 hits – despite playing in a deep rotation as a reserve in all 11 games.

The 6-foot-2, 285-pound standout registered 10.5 tackles for loss, 4.0 sacks and seven quarterback pressures on the season, and was named Big South Conference Freshman of the Week three times. Goods had his best game in a win at VMI, recording six hits and forcing a fumble near midfield in the fourth quarter that led to Gardner-Webb’s game-winning score. He had a blocked extra point early in the action at Buffalo as well, and batted down one pass on the season.

Goods was also named first-team All-Big South at defensive tackle.

Gardner-Webb placed three players on the first-team offense, led by quarterback Stan Doolittle (Ninety Six, S.C. / Ninety Six HS), receiver James Perry III (Greensboro, N.C. / Dudley HS) and guard Corey O’Daniel (Louisville, Ky. / St. Xavier HS).

Doolittle became the first GWU quarterback to earn first-team All-Conference honors since Nick Roberts in 2003. The 6-foot-3, 224-pounder led the league in total offense (234.3 ypg) and posted career-best numbers in several categories in 2009. He passed for 2,268 yards and 11 touchdowns, completing 215-of-347 passes (62.0 percent) and throwing just five interceptions.

Doolittle also finished second on the team in rushing with 309 yards and three scores – and engineered three fourth-quarter scoring drives that delivered Gardner-Webb wins against Division I FCS foes in September and October. He finished second in voting for the Big South’s Offensive Player of the Year award.

Doolittle finished his career ranked seventh in GWU history with 5,190 yards and 28 touchdowns 506-of-821 passing. He accounted for 32 total touchdowns in his four years with the program.

Perry led the league in receptions as a redshirt sophomore, hauling in 61 passes for 749 yards and three touchdowns – all career-high numbers for the 6-0, 184-pound dynamo. He has registered 116 catches for 1,410 yards and five scores in just 21 career games to date, averaging 5.5 receptions per game.

Perry had a pair of 100-yard games this season – at VMI (10/3) and at Presbyterian (11/21) – and now has four such games to his credit in two seasons. He is the third GWU receiver to pace the league in receiving, joining William Andrews, Jr. (2002) and Dobson Collins (2008). Perry was a second-team All-Big South choice in 2008, and is the only player in Gardner-Webb history to catch at least 50 passes in both his freshman and sophomore seasons.

O’Daniel was the team’s top blocker for much of the season, helping Gardner-Webb rank second in the league in total offense at 375.7 yards per game and in scoring at 27.7 points per game. The 6-foot-7, 315-pound guard helped clear a path for 23 rushing touchdowns on the season – and played every offensive snap in all but two games in 2009. O’Daniel is a two-time All-Big South choice.

Running back Patrick Hall (Gastonia, N.C. / Ashbrook HS) and tackle Kyle Webber (Jupiter, Fla. / Jupiter Christian) earned second-team All-Big South Conference accolades Tuesday.

Hall, a 5-foot-11, 220-pound junior, led the league with 12 rushing touchdowns – including 10 in Big South play. Webber, a 6-foot-5, 284-pound senior, was a vital part of the team’s offensive success and – like O’Daniel – played every offensive snap in all but two games in 2009.

Joining Brown and Goods on the first-team All-Big South defense was linebacker Marty Patterson (Mt. Airy, Ga. / Habersham Central HS) – who was also the runner up for the league’s Defensive Player of the Year award.

Patterson, who led the league with a career-high 110 tackles and 14.0 tackles for loss, finished just two points shy of the league’s top defensive honor in 2009. He averaged a league-best 11.0 hits per game in six Big South starts, and was at his best in a season that saw his linebacker corps decimated by a rash of injuries to key players – including preseason All-America choice Jeffery Williams.

Second-team All-Big South defensive honors went to lineman Quinnon Isom (Toccoa, Ga. / Stephens County HS) – who was an anchor for the Runnin’ Bulldogs all season at tackle. The 6-foot-1, 285-pound redshirt senior finished with 36 hits, 2.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and six quarterback pressures on the season in 11 starts.

Kickoff return man David Montgomery (Sugar Hill, Ga. / North Gwinnett HS) was named first-team All-Big South on special teams, after leading the league with 22.7 yards per return in 2009. The 5-foot-7, 169-pound speedster returned one of those kickoffs 100 yards for a score vs. No. 16 Liberty – tying the longest return in league and school history in the process.

Montgomery’s 100-yard touchdown marked the first time in 138 games that a Gardner-Webb player had done so on a kickoff return. Kareem Jordan was the last man to go the distance, returning an 89-yarder for a score on September 20, 1997 vs. West Virginia State.

Kicker Ryan Gates (Newnan, Ga. / East Coweta HS) earned second-team All-Conference honors in 2009, establishing a new career-high scoring total with 77 points. Gates boomed home all 38 of his extra point attempts to lead the league in conversion percentage – and made 13-of-16 field goals.

Already a two-time All-Big South selection, the sophomore has connected on 29 career field goals and has 152 career points.

Gardner-Webb posted its first winning season since 2006, and finished at .500 or better in the league for the seventh time in eight seasons. Six of the team's 11 All-Conference players return for next season.


OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Mike Brown, R-Soph., WR/QB, Liberty

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Tyler Santucci, Sr., LB, Stony Brook

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Matt Goods, DL, Gardner-Webb

COACH OF THE YEAR
Chuck Priore, Stony Brook

SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Mario Brown, R-Sr., LB, Gardner-Webb

FIRST-TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
OFFENSE
QB Stan Doolittle, Sr., Gardner-Webb
RB Edwin Gowins, Soph., Stony Brook
RB Conte Cuttino, Sr., Stony Brook
WR Mike Brown, R-Soph., Liberty
WR Gerald Stevenson, Jr., Charleston Southern
WR James Perry III, R-Soph., Gardner-Webb
TE David Duran, R-So., Coastal Carolina
OL Bryan Mosier, R-Sr., Liberty
OL Paul Fenaroli, Jr., Stony Brook
OL Corey O’Daniel, Jr., Gardner-Webb
OL George Handler, R-Sr., VMI
OL Josh Weaver, R-Sr., Liberty

DEFENSE
DL Trey Jacobs, Sr., Liberty
DL Phillip Oboh, Sr., Coastal Carolina
DL Matt Goods, Fr., Gardner-Webb
DL Joel Walton, Jr., Charleston Southern
LB Tyler Santucci, Sr., Stony Brook
LB Marty Patterson, Jr., Gardner-Webb
LB Mario Brown, R-Sr., Gardner-Webb
LB Andrew McKain, R-Sr., Charleston Southern
DB Josh Norman, Soph., Coastal Carolina
DB Arin West, Jr., Stony Brook
DB KaJuan Lee, R-Soph., Liberty
DB Chris Kuzdale, Soph., Charleston Southern

SPECIAL TEAMS
PK Matt Bevins, Soph., Liberty
P Marc Ray, R-Fr., VMI
LS Andrew McKain, R-Sr., Charleston Southern
KR David Montgomery, Sr., Gardner-Webb
PR Tim Maypray, Sr., VMI

SECOND-TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
OFFENSE
QB Tommy Beecher, R-Sr., Liberty
RB Howard Abegesah, Sr., VMI
RB Patrick Hall, Jr., Gardner-Webb
WR Chris Summers, R-Soph., Liberty
WR Patrick McKoy, Soph., Presbyterian College
WR Kwame Krakue, R-Jr., Charleston Southern
TE Will Quarles, R-Sr., Liberty
OL Ryan Boehm, R-Sr., Coastal Carolina
OL Kyle Webber, Sr., Gardner-Webb
OL J.W. Myers, R-Sr., Charleston Southern
OL Mario Cosby, R-Sr., Liberty
OL Alex Stadler, R-Jr., Liberty

DEFENSE
DL Josh Wine, Jr., VMI
DL Quinnon Isom, R-Sr., Gardner-Webb
DL Asa Chapman, Soph, Liberty
DL Chris Perri, Sr., Stony Brook
LB Doncel Bolt, Jr., Liberty
LB Wes Cheek, Sr., Liberty
LB Emilio Calvin, R-Soph., VMI
LB Desmond Steward, R-Soph., Coastal Carolina
DB Byron Allen, R-Soph., VMI
DB Chris Rocco, Sr., Liberty
DB Justin Bethel, Soph., Presbyterian College
DB Chris Richards, Sr., Stony Brook

SPECIAL TEAMS
PK John Paglia, Jr., Charleston Southern (tie)
PK Ryan Gates, Soph., Gardner-Webb (tie)
P Mike Larsson, Soph., Liberty
LS Matt Quinn, Sr., Presbyterian College
KR Aaron Hewlett, R-Sr., Liberty
PR Antwan Ivey, Soph., Charleston Southern

ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM
Andrew McKain, R-Sr., LB, Charleston Southern
Justin Durham, R-Jr., K, Coastal Carolina
Mario Brown, R-Sr., LB, Gardner-Webb
Chris Rocco, Sr., DB, Liberty
Matt Freeman, Sr., DL, Presbyterian College
Jeff Santos, Sr., OL, Stony Brook
George Handler, R-Sr., OL, VMI