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OGDEN - Weber State placed 11 student-athletes on the Big Sky All-Conference Football team which was released Tuesday by the conference. One Wildcat earned Second Team honors, two earned Third Team honors and eight Wildcats were named to the Honorable Mention team. The All-Conference team was selected in a vote of the league's 13 head coaches.
Shaydon Kehano earned Second Team honors, Bo Bolen and Dustin Martin earned Third team honors and Cameron Livingston, Joe Hawkins, Alex Land, Bolen, Connor Myers, Emmett Tela, Deon'tae Florence, Josh Burton and Blake O'Neill all earned Honorable Mention honors.
Senior wide receiver Shaydon Kehano was named to the All-Big Sky Second team. Kehano finished fifth in the Big Sky in receiving yards per game at 81.3. He was also fourth in the Big Sky and 10th in the country in receptions per game at 6.8. The Kaneohe, Hawaii native had 82 receptions on the year for 976 yards and eight touchdowns. He also finished second in the conference in punt returns, averaging 9.3 yards per return. Kehano finished his four-year career at Weber State playing in 36 career games. He ranks fifth in Weber State history in career receiving yards with 2,244 yards. He is also sixth in career receptions with 153 and had 20 career touchdowns. This is Kehano's second career All-Conference honor.
Senior Bo Bolen was named to the Third Team All-Conference team at fullback. Bolen finished his WSU career playing in 10 games this season and had 113 rushing attempts for 515 yards and four touchdowns. He rushed for 143 yards and 137 yards in this final two games of the season. Bolen also earned honorable mention All-Big Sky honors as a return specialist. He finished fourth in the Big Sky and 19th in the nation in kickoff returns at 25.8 yards per return. Bolen had 22 returns and returned one kickoff for a 94-yard touchdown. He was also eighth in the league in all-purpose yards.
The Wildcats finished with two victories on the season, over Big Sky foes North Dakota and Northern Colorado.
The Aurora, Colo., native finished his long career at Weber State playing in 45 career games. The former All-American finished his career ranked sixth in Weber State history in career rushing yards with 2,210 yards and 15 career touchdowns. Bolen also finished his career as Weber State's and the Big Sky's career leader in kickoff returns with 107, and kickoff return yards with 2,665. He ranks second in school history in career all-purpose yards.
Senior defensive end Dustin Martin was named to the Third Team All-Defensive team. Martin started in all 12 games for the Wildcats and was third in the conference in tackles for loss and ninth in sacks. He recorded 67 tackles on the season and had 15 tackles for loss. He also recorded five quarterback sacks on the year. The Liberty, Utah native also had three forced fumbles and one blocked kick. He finished his career at Weber State with 23 tackles for loss, six sacks and four forced fumbles. This is Martin's first career All-Conference honor.
Eight Wildcats earned honorable mention honors, including Bolen. On offense sophomore wide receiver Cameron Livingston earned All-Conference honors for the first time in his career. Livingston finished 10th in the Big Sky in receiving, averaging 71.3 yards per game and averaged 4.8 receptions per game, also fourth best in the conference. He had a career-high 175 receiving yards at Sacramento State, one of three games with at least 100 yards receiving. Livingston, a native of Ocala, Fla., started all 12 games for the Wildcats during the season and finished the year with 57 catches for 857 yards and one touchdown.
Junior Joe Hawkins earned All-Conference honors for the first time in his career. Hawkins started in 11 games for the Wildcats during the season on the offensive line. The Vero Beach, Fla., native has played in 33 career games in his three seasons at Weber State.
Senior Alex Land also earned All-Conference honors as a center. Land was one of the Wildcat team captains this season and started all 12 games at center. The Edmond, Okla., native started every game of his final three seasons at Weber State. This is his first All-Conference honor.
The Wildcats had four players earned honorable mention honors on defense with Connor Myers receiving the honor on the defensive line. Myers, a native of Edmond, Okla., finished his WSU career by starting in all 12 game this season. He ended his career starting in every game of his final three seasons. Myers served as a team captain for the second-straight year this season and recorded 50 tackles with four tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. This was the first All-Conference honor of his career.
Freshman linebacker Emmett Tela earned All-Conference honors, despite playing in just eight games for the Wildcats. Tela, a native of Provo, Utah, started the first eight games of the season at linebacker before suffering a season-ending neck injury. In those eight games Tela recorded 79 tackles for an average of 9.9 tackles per game, sixth best in the Big Sky. He also had 10 tackles for loss with 2.5 sacks. Tela was named to the Jerry Rice Award Watch list, an award given to the top freshman in the country.
Senior cornerback Deon'tae Florence earned All-Conference honors for the second-straight season for the Wildcats. Florence, a native of Largo, Fla., finished in a tie for sixth in the Big Sky with three interceptions this season. He also had four pass breakups and had 40 tackles with five tackles for loss. Florence also served as a WSU defensive captain this season.
Another player in the WSU secondary, sophomore Josh Burton, also earned honorable mention All-Conference honor, the first of his career. Burton, a sophomore out of Roseland, La., played in all 12 games for the Wildcats and finished in a tie for sixth in the Big Sky with three interceptions. He was also second on the team in pass breakups with seven.
WSU junior punter Blake O'Neill earned All-Conference honors after joining the Wildcats in the summer from Melbourne, Australia. O'Neill played in all 12 games for the Wildcats and finished fourth in the Big Sky in punting with an average of 44.1 yards per punt. He had 62 punts on the season and had 18 punts of 50 or more yards, with a season-long punt of 74 yards, the ninth longest in WSU history. His season average of 44.1 yards per punt ranks as the fifth best single season average in school history.
Eastern Washington quarterback Vernon Adams was named Big Sky Offensive Player of the Year and Montana defensive end Zack Wagenmann was named Defensive Player of the Year.
