November 20, 2008
Eleven Spires Selected
to All-KCAC Football Team

Eleven USM Spires football players have received All-Conference honors as voted on by the KCAC Head Coaches and the Spires offensive coordinator, Jason Shumaker, was selected as the KCAC Assistant Coach of the Year.

The Spires were lead in All-KCAC players by their offense, which had nine All-Conference honorees after finishing near the top of the KCAC in nearly every offensive category: tight end Tai Murray, wide receiver Glen Wallin, and offensive lineman Nathan Helvey were second team, while quarterback Daniel Robles, offensive linemen Carlos Navarro and Patrick Carlton, and wide receivers Willie Harris, Charles Lee, and Derrick Schulte were named honorable mention All-KCAC. The Spires offense finished the season as the fifth-ranked pass offense in the NAIA with 303.5 yards per game and the 20th ranked offense at 402.8 yards per game. The Spires finished the season ranked in the Top 30in the nation in seven different offensive categories.

Tai Murray, a junior tight end from San Diego, California, led the conference in 2008 with 10 touchdown receptions on the year, and finished ninth in the KCAC in both receptions (41) and receiving yards (538). Glen Wallin, a junior wide receiver from Sparks, Nevada finished second in the KCAC in receptions (15th nationally) with 61 receptions and was fifth in receiving yards with 654. Wallin also had four touchdown receptions on the year. Nathan Helvey, a right tackle, from Greenfield, Missouri was a very valuable contributor on the offensive line for the Spires and allowed only one sack on the season.

Daniel Robles, a sophomore quarterback from West Covina, California, earned honorable mention All-KCAC after a record-setting season in which he lead the KCAC in many offensive categories, including: passing yards per game (300.1), total offense per game (308.2), passing touchdowns (29), and completions (244). Robles was also twice named as the KCAC Offensive Player of the Week in 2008. Robles also finished fifth nationally in passing yards per game and sixth nationally in total offense.

Senior Carlos Navarro from Laredo, Texas was honored with his third consecutive All-KCAC honor and joining him as a first time All- Conference honoree was freshman Patrick Carlton from Bridge City, Texas.

Derrick Schulte a junior wide receiver from Inez, Texas finished the season ranked fourth in the KCAC in receptions (51) and eighth in yards (567), with six touchdowns. Willie Harris, also a junior wide receiver from Houston, Texas, finished eleventh in the KCAC in receptions with 39 and tenth in receiving yards with 534. Charles Lee, a senior wide receiver from Colorado Springs, Colorado, who was only able to play in five games because he suffered a season-ending knee injury versus Tabor, had 26 receptions for 363 yards and two touchdowns. This was Lee’s second consecutive All-KCAC honor.

On the defensive side, the Spires received all-KCAC honors for two of its members- Cortez Young, a junior cornerback from St. Louis, Missouri, who received second team All-KCAC honors for the second consecutive year after finishing the season with four pass breakups and two interceptions, and outside linebacker Sam Ritter, a senior from Woodland, Washington who was named Honorable Mention. Ritter finished the season with 81 tackles, including 13 tackles for loss, one sack, two interceptions, and five pass breakups.

The Spires were also rewarded by having their offensive coordinator, Jason Shumaker, named as the KCAC Assistant Coach of the Year. Shumaker is in his second season at USM and lead the offense to a record-setting season in 2008, where they finished the season ranked fifth in pass offense and 20th in total offense. Over the last two seasons, the Spires offense has improved by more than 18 points per game (averaged 30.4 points in 2008) and over 230 yards per game (average of 402.8 in 2008).

University of Saint Mary quarterback Daniel Robles, a sophomore from West Covina, Calif., has been named KCAC Offense Player-of-the- Week. In a 53-31 win at Tabor College, Robles completed 26 of 31 pass attempts for 357 yards and 4 touchdowns and one interception. He also rushed 8 carries for 40 yards. USM records are now 4-2 overall and 3-2 KCAC Conference. In Saturday’s game, Oct. 18, the USM team scored the most points ever scored by a USM team, and Robles’ 397 total yards offense is his personal greatest output to-date. This is the second time this season Robles has been named KCAC Offense Player-of-the-Week. Robles led the Spires to a 26-20 win over Southwestern College (Winfield, Kan.) on Saturday, Sept. 13. Robles completed 24 of 33 pass attempts for 336 yards and 3 touchdowns with 1 interception (a deflection off his own receiver’s hands), and he also rushed 7 carries for 1 yard. Robles completed a remarkable 73% of his passes.Spires’ homecoming is this Saturday, Oct. 25, at 1:30 p.m. against Kansas Wesleyan.

Monday, October 6, 2008
Our football Spires won our home game against McPherson, 30-28.
That leaves us 2-2 for the season.
Next Saturday, we have a home game against Haskell University for a non-conference game at 1:30 p.m.

Monday, September 29, 2008
Our football Spires lost to Ottawa, 35-14 on Saturday night. That leaves us 1-2 for the season.
Next Saturday, we host McPherson College at 1:30 p.m.

Monday, September 22, 2008
Last Saturday, our Football Spires lost to Bethel College, 29-22.
Our first home game on campus was an emotional day with a large crowd. We honored junior Nate Carry, who was temporarily paralyzed from the waist down in an accident at his summer job when a crate fell on him on June 25. (Nate is taking this semester off as he rehabilitates) His jersey number, 25, was painted on the field. And he joined the captains on field before the game for the coin-flip.
The Bethel Threshers have been ranked 13th in the country in the NAIA poll. So, it was impressive to be leading this team with five minutes left in the game.
On Saturday, our football Spires travel to Ottawa for a 7 p.m. game.