By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
WACO, Texas – Fort Hays State senior kicker Dante Brown added more postseason accolades to his resume on Tuesday (Dec. 3) when he was named a second team All-America selection by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). This honor comes on the heels of earning MIAA Special Teams Player of the Year for a second-straight season.
This is the first All-America honor for Brown from the AFCA. He was a first-team All-America selection last year by the Don Hansen Football Committee and D2CCA, and second-team selection by D2Football.com. He was also dubbed the National Special Teams Player of the Year by the Don Hansen Committee in 2018. He was a finalist for the 2018 Fred Mitchell Outstanding Placekicker Award.
Brown is now a two-time All-America selection as both a kicker and punter. In 2018, he served as both kicker and punter for FHSU, earning All-America honors at each position. He served only as FHSU’s punter in 2017 and earned All-America honors that year as well. He has received at least one All-America honor three straight years now.
Brown had another great season in 2019, helping the Tigers to an overall record of 8-3. He finished the year 19-of-23 on field goal attempts, making his final 10 attempts of the season. He converted field goals in eight of 11 games and FHSU won all three games in which he did not produce a field goal. He had 22 of his 52 PATs for the season in the three games without a field goal. His signature strike of the ball in 2019, a 56-yard bomb, forced overtime in a battle with MIAA Co-Champion Northwest Missouri State on November 9 in Hays. The Tigers unfortunately fell in double overtime, but that career-long make for Brown was the last field goal attempt of his Tiger career, ending on a tremendous note. It was his second conversion from over 50 yards on the season. Brown was solid on kickoffs in 2019, producing an average of 58.8 yards on 83 attempts with 41 touchbacks.
Brown generated 109 points in 2019, adding 52 successful PAT tries to his 19 field goals. In just two years, Brown racked up 232 points, which ranks second on the all-time scoring list at FHSU. He produced an FHSU record 123 points in 2018. He made an FHSU record 47 field goals over two seasons, which included an NCAA Division II-leading 28 in 2018. Though he did not serve as the team’s punter in 2019, Brown finished with a two-year (2017 and 2018) punting average of 42.4 yards per attempt with 35 of his 84 punts going 50 or more yards, and 39 resulting in drives starting inside the 20.
Below is the AFCA Division II All-America Team for 2019.
2019 AFCA Division II Coaches’ All-America – First Team
Offense
| Pos | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Cl. | School | Coach | Hometown (High School) |
| QB | Rogan Wells | 6-3 | 210 | R-Jr. | Valdosta St. (Ga.) | Gary Goff | Fort Mill, S.C. (Fort Mill) |
| RB | *Jaleel McLaughlin | 5-9 | 175 | So. | Notre Dame (Ohio) | Mike Jacobs | Marshville, N.C. (Forest Hills) |
| RB | Nate Gunn | 6-2 | 220 | Sr. | Minnesota St. | Todd Hoffner | Minooka, Ill. (Minooka) |
| WR | *Craig Rucker | 5-7 | 175 | Sr. | Mars Hill (N.C.) | Tim Clifton | Orlando, Fla. (Edgewater) |
| WR | Zimari Manning | 6-2 | 200 | Sr. | Tarleton St. (Texas) | Todd Whitten | Long Beach, Calif. (LB Wilson) |
| TE | Zach Davidson | 6-7 | 245 | R-Jr. | Central Missouri | Jim Svoboda | Webb City, Mo. (Webb City) |
| OL | Tanner Owen | 6-5 | 290 | Jr. | Northwest Missouri St. | Rich Wright | Kearney, Mo. (Kearney) |
| OL | Grant Stewart | 6-2 | 305 | R-Sr. | Colorado School of Mines | Gregg Brandon | Southlake, Texas (Southlake Carroll) |
| OL | Jake Lacina | 6-4 | 300 | Sr. | Augustana (S.D.) | Jerry Olszewski | St. Paul, Minn. (Cretin-Derham Hall) |
| OL | Quentin Hall | 6-6 | 300 | Sr. | Assumption (Mass.) | Andy McKenzie | Plymouth, Mass. (Thayer/Milford Academy) |
| OL | Phillip McDowell | 6-5 | 315 | Sr. | Carson-Newman (Tenn.) | Mike Turner | Inman, S.C. (Boiling Springs) |
Defense
| Pos | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Cl. | School | Coach | Hometown (High School) |
| DL | Jackson Wibbels | 6-1 | 243 | Sr. | Colorado St.-Pueblo | John Wristen | Colorado Springs, Colo. (Pine Creek) |
| DL | Ch’aim Smith | 6-4 | 255 | Gr. | West Chester (Pa.) | Bill Zwaan | York, Pa. (York Suburban) |
| DL | Demetrice Lofton | 6-4 | 245 | So. | Morehouse (Ga.) | Rich Freeman | Fairburn, Ga. (Creekside) |
| DL | Austin Edwards | 6-5 | 280 | Sr. | Ferris St. (Mich.) | Tony Annese | Lansing, Mich. (Waverly) |
| LB | Drew Seers | 6-1 | 227 | Jr. | Lindenwood (Mo.) | Jed Stugart | St. Louis, Mo. (Parkway West) |
| LB | Vada King | 6-1 | 225 | Sr. | Delta St. (Miss.) | Todd Cooley | Smith, Ala. (Smith Station) |
| LB | CJ Miller | 6-1 | 215 | Sr. | St. Anselm (N.H.) | Joe Adam | Clinton, Md. (Gwynn Park) |
| DB | Demetri Morsell | 5-11 | 170 | So. | Bowie St. (Md.) | Damon Wilson | Upper Marlboro, Md. (Wise) |
| DB | Brandon Anderson | 6-1 | 200 | R-Sr. | Edinboro (Pa.) | Wayne Bradford | Willingboro, N.J. (Holy Cross) |
| DB | Nick Ciccio | 6-0 | 190 | R-So. | Colorado Mesa | Russ Martin | Castle Pines, Colo. (Lutheran) |
| DB | Michael Junker | 5-10 | 180 | Sr. | Bemidji St. (Minn.) | Brent Bolte | Hastings, Minn. (Hastings) |
Specialists
| Pos | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Cl. | School | Coach | Hometown (High School) |
| PK | Jordan Walters | 6-2 | 200 | Sr. | East Stroudsburg (Pa.) | Jimmy Terwilliger | Sciota, Pa. (Pleasant Valley) |
| P | JoseLuis Moreno | 6-0 | 180 | Sr. | Minot St. (N.D.) | Mike Aldrich | San Lorenzo, Calif. (Bishop O’Dowd) |
| AP | Tobias Harris | 5-9 | 180 | So. | West Texas A&M | Hunter Hughes | Pflugerville, Texas (Hendrickson) |
*-2018 AFCA All-American
2019 AFCA Division II
Coaches’ All-America – Second Team
Offense
| Pos | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Cl. | School | Coach | Hometown (High School) |
| QB | Brook Bolles | 6-3 | 205 | R-Sr. | Central Missouri | Jim Svoboda | Lincoln, Neb. (North Star) |
| RB | Justin Felder | 5-8 | 175 | So. | Stonehill (Mass.) | Eli Gardner | Springfield Gardens, N.Y. (Holy Cross) |
| RB | JaQuan Hardy | 5-10 | 225 | R-Jr. | Tiffin (Ohio) | Cris Reisert | Westlake, Ohio (Westlake) |
| WR | Tariq Bitson | 6-2 | 200 | R-Jr. | Adams St. (Colo.) | Josh Blankenship | Tulsa, Okla. (???) |
| WR | *Shane Zylstra | 6-5 | 215 | Sr. | Minnesota St. | Todd Hoffner | Spicer, Minn. (New London-Spicer) |
| WR | Mike Strachan | 6-5 | 225 | R-Jr. | Charleston (W.Va.) | Pat Kirkland | Freeport, Bahamas (Liberty Christian) |
| OL | Tyler Allison | 6-3 | 315 | Sr. | Ferris St. (Mich.) | Tony Annese | Clinton Township, Mich. (Chippewa Valley) |
| OL | Adonis Sealey | 6-2 | 283 | Sr. | Valdosta St. (Ga.) | Gary Goff | Hamer, S.C. (Dillon) |
| OL | Andrew Strickland | 6-4 | 290 | Sr. | Wingate (N.C.) | Joe Reich | Raleigh, N.C. (Millbrook) |
| OL | Kyle Hinton | 6-3 | 310 | Sr. | Washburn (Kan.) | Craig Schurig | Peoria, Ariz. (Liberty) |
| OL | Joseph Gonzales | 6-6 | 315 | Sr. | Western Oregon | Arne Ferguson | Springfield, Ore. (Thurston) |
Defense
| Pos | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Cl. | School | Coach | Hometown (High School) |
| DL | *Chris Garrett | 6-4 | 230 | Jr. | Concordia-St. Paul (Minn.) | Shannon Currier | Milwaukee, Wis. (Wisconsin Lutheran) |
| DL | Antonio Washington | 6-1 | 274 | R-Jr. | Southern Arkansas | Bill Keopple | Marshall, Texas (Marshall) |
| DL | Jaquan Artis | 6-2 | 245 | Sr. | Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.) | Drew Cronic | Kinston, N.C. (Kinston) |
| DL | Chauncy Haney | 6-5 | 245 | Sr. | North Greenville (S.C.) | Jeff Farrington | Irmo, S.C. (Keenan) |
| LB | Leon Eggleston | 5-11 | 224 | R-Sr. | Wayne St. (Mich.) | Paul Winters | Sylvania, Ohio (Southview) |
| LB | Clay Shreve | 6-1 | 233 | Sr. | Ashland (Ohio) | Lee Owens | Mogadore, Ohio (Lake) |
| LB | Chris Hoad | 6-0 | 228 | Sr. | Texas-Permian Basin | Justin Carrigan | Leander, Texas (Rouse) |
| DB | Junior Faulk | 6-1 | 200 | Jr. | Delta St. (Miss.) | Todd Cooley | Jayess, Miss. (Salem) |
| DB | Desmond Fairell | 6-0 | 185 | Sr. | Carson-Newman (Tenn.) | Mike Turner | Miami, Fla. (Miami Senior) |
| DB | Kyle Dugger | 6-2 | 220 | Sr. | Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.) | Drew Cronic | Decatur, Ga. (Whitewater) |
| DB | Mercardo Anderson | 5-10 | 195 | R-Sr. | Henderson St. (Ark.) | Scott Maxfield | Ashdown, Ark. (Ashdown) |
Specialists
| Pos | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Cl. | School | Coach | Hometown (High School) |
| PK | Dante Brown | 5-10 | 185 | Sr. | Fort Hays St. (Kan.) | Chris Brown | Mississauga, Ontario (Canada Prep) |
| P | Zach Gaines | 6-1 | 218 | Sr. | West Alabama | Brett Gilliland | Calera, Ala. (Calera) |
| AP | Trey Vaval | 6-0 | 165 | Fr. | Missouri Western St. | Matt Williamson | Blue Springs, Mo. (Blue Springs South) |
*-2018 AFCA All-American
Team Background:
The five teams now chosen for each AFCAdivision evolved from a single 11-player
squad in 1945. From 1945 until 1967, only one team was chosen. From 1967
through 1971, two teams – University Division and College Division – were
selected. In 1972, the College Division was split into College I and College
II. In 1979, the University Division was split into two teams – FBS and FCS. In
1996, the College I and College II teams were renamed Division IIand Division
III,respectively. In 2006, the AFCA started selecting an NAIA-only team.
From 1965-81, a 22-player (11 offensive, 11 defensive) team was chosen. In
1982, a punter and placekicker were added to the team. In 1997, a return specialist
was added, giving us the current 25-player team. The return specialist position
was replaced by an all-purpose player in 2006. In 2016, the AFCA added a second
team All-America.