Cats, Griz touted by the Big Sky

HELENA (AP) — Six Bobcats and four Grizzlies earned first team All-Big Sky Conference football honors.

Montana State quarterback DeNarius McGhee was named the league's offensive player of the year on Tuesday while linebacker Jody Owens received defensive honors.

Other Bobcats earning first-team honors were: center Shaun Sampson, defensive tackle Zach Minter, defensive end Caleb Schreibeis and safety Joel Fuller.

Montana tight end Greg Hardy, offensive tackle Danny Kistler, defensive end Zach Wagenmann and outside linebacker Jordan Tripp also earned first-team honors.

Montana State had five second-team players: wide receiver Tanner Bleskin, offensive tackle Steven Foster, running back Cody Kirk, defensive end Brad Daly and cornerback Darius Jones. Montana running back Peter Nguyen (win) also earned second-team honors.

The Bobcats led the league with a total of 18 all-conference selections. It was the second straight year in which MSU had the most all-conference picks. The Grizzlies had a total of 17 selections.

All-Big Sky Football

Here are the 2012 all-Big Sky Conference football teams, as selected by the 13 league coaches (Coaches could not vote for their own players):

$ denotes unanimous selection;

* denotes a two-time first-team selection.

OFFENSE

First team

Wide Receivers – $*Brandon Kaufman, Jr., E. Washington; *Rodrick Rumble, Sr., Idaho State; Greg Hardin, Jr., North Dakota

Tackles – Danny Kistler Jr., Montana; Will Post, Sr., Eastern Washington.

Guards – Sean Davies, Sr., UC Davis; Gavin Farr, Jr., Southern Utah

Center – Shaun Sampson, Sr., Montana State.

Tight end – *Greg Hardy, Sr., Montana.

Quarterback – *DeNarius McGhee, Jr., Montana State.

Running backs – Deonte Williams, Sr., Cal Poly; *Zach Bauman, Jr., Northern Arizona.

Fullback – Jake Hess, Sr., Northern Arizona.

Placekicker – Jimmy Pavel, Sr., Eastern Washington

Return Specialist – Dominic Gunn, Sr., Northern Colorado.

Second team

Wide Receivers – Tanner Bleskin, Sr., Montana State; Morris Norrise, Jr., Sacramento State; Fatu Moala, Jr., Southern Utah.

Tackles – Steven Foster, Sr., Montana State; Trey Gilleo, Sr., Northern Arizona.

Guards – Tyler Worthley, Jr., Sacramento State; Steven Forgette, Jr., Eastern Washington.

Center – Dylan Fox, Sr., Southern Utah.

Tight end – Josh Hill, Sr., Idaho State

Quarterback – Brad Sorensen, Sr., Southern Utah.

Running backs – Cody Kirk, Jr., Montana State; Peter Nguyen, Sr., Montana.

Fullback – Lavell Ika, Sr., Southern Utah.

Place kicker – Colton Cook, Jr., Southern Utah.

Return specialist – Austin Shanks, Sr., Northern Arizona.

Honorable mention

Wide Receivers – Willie Tucker, So., Cal Poly; Cole Stanford, Jr., Cal Poly; Greg Herd, Sr., Eastern Washington; Nicholas Edwards, Sr., Eastern Washington; Cam Richmond, Jr., Idaho State; Sam Gratton, Sr., Montana; Ify Umodo, Jr., Northern Arizona; Dominic Gunn, Sr., Northern Colorado; Jace Davis, Jr., Northern Colorado; Justin Monahan, Sr., Portland State; Mitch Jessop, So., Southern Utah; Corey Galindo, So., UC Davis; Xavian Johnson, So., Weber State.

Tackles – Giovanni Sani, Jr., Cal Poly; Emmett Lynch, Sr., North Dakota, Nick Candler, Sr., Northern Colorado; Kyle Ritt, Sr., Portland State; Mitchell Van Dyk, Jr., Portland State; Cody Burgess, Jr., Southern Utah; Shelton Robinson, So., Weber State

Guards – Lefi Letuligasenoa, Jr., Cal Poly; Mark Clampitt, Sr., Idaho State; Jake Hendrickson, Sr., Montana; Quinn Catalano, So., Montana State; Galeb Gillson, Sr., North Dakota; Roy Garcia, So., Northern Arizona; Chris Anderson, Sr., Northern Colorado; Cornelius Edison, So., Portland State.

Centers – Geoff Hyde, Sr., Cal Poly; Ashton Miller, Jr., Eastern Washington; Kjelby Oiland, Jr., Montana; Ian McGurran, Sr., North Dakota; Mitch Gaulke, Jr., Portland State; Ray Wilburn, Sr., UC Davis; Tytan Timoteo, Sr., Weber State.

Tight ends – R.J. Rickert, So., Northern Arizona; Drew Emanuel, Jr., Northern Arizona; TJ. Knowles, Sr., Sacramento State; Henna Brown, Sr., Southern Utah; Taylor Sloat, Jr., UC Davis.

Quarterbacks – Andre Broadous, Sr, Cal Poly; Kevin Yost, Sr., Idaho State; Braden Hanson, Sr., North Dakota; Cary Grossart, Sr., Northern Arizona; Seth Lobato, Jr., Northern Colorado; Garrett Safron, So., Sacramento State

Running Backs – Demitrius Bronson, Jr., Eastern Washington; D.J. Adams, Jr., Portland State; Ezekiel Graham, Jr., Sacramento State; C.J. Tuckett, Sr., Weber State.

Fullback – Tray Robinson, Sr., Montana State; Dalton Turay, So., UC Davis.

Placekicker – Chris Lider, Fr., Montana; Rory Perez, Jr., Montana State; Zeb Miller, Jr., North Dakota; Andy Wilder, Jr., Northern Arizona; Zach Brown, Sr., Portland State.

Return Specialists – Shaquille Hill, Fr., Eastern Washington; Peter Nguyen, Sr., Montana; Shawn Johnson, So., Montana State; Greg Hardin, Jr., North Dakota.

DEFENSE

First team

Tackles – *Zach Minter, Sr., Montana State; Cody Larsen, Sr., Southern Utah.

Ends – Caleb Schreibeis, Sr., Montana State; Zach Wagenmann, So., Montana.

Outside linebackers – Jordan Tripp, Jr., Montana; $*Jody Owens, Sr., Montana State.

Inside linebackers – Kennith Jackson, Sr., Cal Poly; Ronnie Hamlin, Jr., Eastern Washington.

Cornerbacks – *T.J. Lee III, Sr., Eastern Washington; Anders Battle, Jr., Northern Arizona.

Safeties – Lucky Dozier, Jr., Northern Arizona; Joel Fuller, Sr., Montana State.

Punter – Colton Schmidt, Sr., UC Davis.

Second team

Tackles – Sullivan Grosz, Jr., Cal Poly; Tim Wilkinson, Jr., Northern Arizona.

Ends – Jerry Ceja, Sr., Eastern Washington; Brad Daly, Jr., Montana State; Marquis Jackson, Sr., Portland State.

Outside linebackers – Johnny Millard, Jr., Cal Poly; Ian Sluss, Sr., Portland State; Zach Johnson, Sr., Eastern Washington.

Inside linebackers – Jordan Glass, Sr., UC Davis; Anthony Morales, Jr., Weber State.

Cornerbacks – Darius Jones, Sr., Montana State; Osagie Odiase, Jr., Sacramento State.

Safeties – Allen Brown, Jr., Eastern Washington; Marcel Gibbons, Sr., Northern Colorado.

Punter – Andy Wilder, Jr., Northern Arizona.

Honorable mention

Tackles – Andru Pulu, Jr., Eastern Washington; Dylan Zylstra, So., Eastern Washington; Tonga Takai, So., Montana; Alex Bienemann, Montana; Marc Thompson, Jr., Northern Arizona; Dereck Jester, Sr., Portland State Matt Lawrence, Sr., Sacramento State; Andrew Benjamin, Sr., UC Davis.

Ends – Paul Ena, Sr., Eastern Washington; Josh Harris, Sr., Montana; Jay Nelson, Sr., North Dakota; Ross Brenneman, Sr., North Dakota, Jarret Bilbrey, Sr., Northern Arizona; Gavin Miller, Jr., Northern Colorado; Avery White, Sr., Sacramento State; James Cowser, Fr., Southern Utah; Trevor Pletcher, Sr., Weber State.

Outside linebackers – Nick Dzubnar, So., Cal Poly; Grant Williams, Sr., Eastern Washington; Trevor Spence, Jr., Idaho State; John Paul Kanongata'a, Jr., Montana; Mike Dosen, So., Northern Arizona; Ryan Reardon, Jr., Northern Arizona; Jaycob Shoemaker, Jr., Portland State; Byron Gruendl, Sr., UC Davis.

Inside linebackers – Tyler Washburn, Sr., Eastern Washington; Brock Coyle, Jr., Montana; Na'a Moeakiola, Jr., Montana State; Austin Hasquet, So., Northern Arizona; Herve Tonye-Tonye, Sr., Northern Colorado; Khalil Bass, Sr., Portland State; Todd Davis, Jr., Sacramento State; Jeff Badger, Sr., Sacramento State; Zak Browning, Fr., Southern Utah.

Cornerbacks – Nico Molino, Sr., Cal Poly; Vante Smith-Johnson, Jr., Cal Poly; Ronald Baines, Jr., Eastern Washington; Donovan Henley, Sr., Idaho State; Sean Murray, Jr., Montana; Devin Willis, Sr., Northern Arizona; Courtney Hall, So., Northern Colorado; Jonathan Perkins, Jr., UC Davis; David James, Sr., Weber State.

Safeties – Jordan Tonani, Fr., Eastern Washington; Taison Manu, Fr., Idaho State; Matt Hermanson, So., Montana; Steven Bethley, Jr., Montana State; Blair Wishom, Jr., Northern Arizona; Jordan Bible, Sr., Northern Colorado; Joel Sisler, Sr., Portland State; Mike Williams, Sr., Portland State; Ryan McMahon, Sr., Sacramento State; Miles Killebrew, Fr., Southern Utah.

Punters – Bobby Zalud, Jr., Cal Poly; Stephen Shaw, Fr., Montana.

SPECIAL TEAMS

First team

Dominic Gunn, Sr., Northern Colorado

Second team

Taylor Malenfant, Sr., Northern Arizona

Honorable mention

Chris Judge, Jr., Cal Poly; Chase King, Sr., Eastern Washington; Mike Foster, So., Montana State; Nevin Lewis, Sr., Portland State.

AP Photo

Montana State junior quarterback DeNarius McGhee, right, was named Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Year for 2012. McGhee is now a two-time Big Sky MVP.