LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference released the members of the 2022 PSAC All-Conference teams Wednesday.
Indiana University of Pennsylvania took two awards as Duane Brown and Paul Tortorella were selected as offensive athlete and coach of the year, respectively, while Seton Hill University’s Jaylen McDuffie was voted as the defensive athlete of the year, and Gannon University’s Donnell Mason as freshman of the year.
A trio of District 9 and District 10 alums were honored as well, as Slippery Rock wide receiver Kyle Sheets (Conneaut), Clarion kicker Jarrett Esposito (Brockway) and IUP defensive back Jaheim Howard (Cathedral Prep) all got second-team nods.
Esposito came into his own as the Golden Eagles’ kicker and punter in 2022, with the senior specialist ranking as one of the more consistent players in the PSAC all season long. Entering the final weekend of play, Esposito was one of only two kickers in the conference to still be perfect in field goal and extra point attempts and finished the season 6-of-8 (.750) on field goals and 20-of-20 (1.000) on extra points. Esposito is the first Golden Eagles specialist to earn all-conference honors since punter Scott Ayers in 2016, and the first kicker to do so since his older brother, Phil Esposito, was named all-conference in 2015.
The highlight of Esposito’s season came on Oct. 15, when he booted a game-winning field against Mercyhurst as time expired to lift the Golden Eagles to a 23-21 victory over the Lakers. For that, he was named the PSAC West Special Teams Player of the Week two days later.
Sheets earns his first career All-PSAC honor after stepping into the No. 1 receiver role at SRU this year following the departure of the best trio of receivers in the country in Henry Litwin, Jermaine Wynn Jr., and Cinque Sweeting. In 10 games, Sheets pulled down 51 passes for 828 yards and eight touchdowns, averaging 16.2 yards per catch and 82.8 yards per game.
Slippery Rock’s Kyle Sheets. Photo Slippery Rock athletics.
Howard, meanwhile, was a staple in the IUP secondary. He finished the regular season with 31 tackles and three interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown in a 44-21 win over Shippensburg on Sept. 17.
The all-conference teams and major awards were selected by a vote of the league’s head coaches.
IUP’s Jaheim Howard. Photo IUP athletics.
For Duane Brown, he receives the Offensive Athlete of the Year award after assisting IUP in a 9-1 season and a shared PSAC Western Division title. This season, the Crimson Hawks had the second-ranked scoring offense in the league, with Brown taking part as the PSAC’s No. 1 receiver. Brown’s 116.1 receiving yards per game placed fifth nationally, and his 16 receiving touchdowns ranked third in all of Division II. Brown surpassed the 200-yard mark for the first time in his career in a win against East Stroudsburg, and posted 100+ receiving yards on five separate occasions this year.
IUP’s other award goes to Paul Tortorella who wins PSAC West Coach of the Year for the third time, after previously receiving the honor in 2017 and 2019. This year, Tortorella led the Crimson Hawks to their 19th PSAC championship to tie for the most football titles in conference history. The championship also led to IUP’s selection as the No. 1 seed in Super Region 1 for the NCAA Division II Football Playoffs. With Tortorella at the helm, 12 Crimson Hawks made the 2022 all-conference team.
The West’s Defensive Athlete of the Year is Seton Hill’s Jaylen McDuffie, who led the league in multiple defensive categories. McDuffie recorded 20.5 total tackles for an average loss of 1.86 yards per game to rank first in the league and 12th nationally. The linebacker’s 11 total sacks also led the PSAC and cracked the Top 15 in all of Division II. McDuffie additionally contributed 116 total tackles (second-most in the PSAC), two forced fumbles, eight quarterback hurries, and a pass breakup to claim the defensive award.
Gannon’s Donell Mason drew the final major honor as the Freshman of the Year. In his first season, Mason became a leading receiver for his team by accumulating 332 total receiving yards and one touchdown on 26 receptions. His 40.5 yards per game would rank third among all Golden Knights and Top 20 within the conference.
Of all West teams, Slippery Rock had the most all-conference selections with 14, while their PSAC West Co-Champions IUP ended up with 12 and Gannon with 11.
The full all-conference teams are listed below:
2022 PSAC Football Western Division All-Conference and Major Awards
Offensive Athlete of the Year: Duane Brown, IUP
Defensive Athlete of the Year: Jaylen McDuffie, Seton Hill
Freshman of the Year: Donell Mason, Gannon
Coach of the Year: Paul Tortorella, IUP
PSAC FOOTBALL WESTERN DIVISION ALL-CONFERENCE OFFENSIVE FIRST TEAM
Pos. Player School Cl. Hometown / Previous School
QB Kory Curtis Gannon R-Jr. Cape Coral, Fla. / Bryant
RB Melvin Blanks* Gannon Sr. Pittsburgh, Pa. / North Hills
RB Chris D’Or Slippery Rock So. Greenacres, Fla. / Cardinal Newman
RB Dayjure Stewart IUP R-So. York, Pa. / York
OT Noel Brouse ! California (Pa.) Sr. Slatington, Pa. / Parkland
OT Darrell Davis *! IUP Gr. Union, N.J. / Union
OT Daniel Morales ! Seton Hill Sr. Alpharetta, Ga. / Milford Academy
OG Jacob Petit Gannon Jr. Uniontown, Ohio / Archbishop Hoban
OG John Robinson^ IUP Gr. Pittsburg, Pa. / Woodland Hills
C Bryce Perkins *! California (Pa.) Sr. Gettysburg, Pa. / Delone Catholic
C Collin Pietropola ^! IUP R-Jr. Wellsboro, Pa. / Wellsboro
TE Max Maciejewski Slippery Rock R-Jr. Monongahela, Pa. / Ringgold
WR Ke’John Batiste Gannon R-Jr. Covington, La. / Butler CC
WR Duane Brown** IUP R-Sr. Spring Church, Pa. / Apollo-Ridge
WR JaQuae Jackson California (Pa.) Jr. Pittsburgh, Pa. /Serra Catholic
RS Jawon Hall Slippery Rock So. Monaca, Pa. / Lackawanna
PK Anthony Beitko California (Pa.) So. White Oak, Pa. / McKeesport
PSAC FOOTBALL WESTERN DIVISION ALL-CONFERENCE DEFENSIVE FIRST TEAM
DL DJ Adediwura Slippery Rock Sr. Columbia, Md. / Fairmont State
DL Jeff Marx** Slippery Rock R-Sr. Youngstown, Ohio / Ursuline
DL Gregory Moore II IUP Gr. Brandon, Fla. / Stetson
DL Malachi Woody Gannon R-Jr. Lynchburg, Va. / Liberty Christian Academy
DL Nick White* Gannon R-Jr. Randallstown, Md. / Milford Mill Academy
LB Noah Dillow* California (Pa.) Jr. Alum Bank, Pa. / Chestnut Ridge
LB Drew DiNunzio-Biss IUP R-So. Vandergrift, Pa. / Kiski Area
LB Jake Holl Mercyhurst Gr. Cranberry Twp, Pa. / Seneca Valley
LB Jaylen McDuffie* Seton Hill R-Sr. Waldorf, Md. / McDonough
DB Darius Bruce^ IUP So. Pittsburgh, Pa. / Westinghouse
DB Chris Farnsworth Gannon R-Jr. Bristol, Pa. / Milton Hershey
DB Jalen Dangerfield Slippery Rock R-So. Abington, Md. / Harford
DB Kavon Morman California (Pa.) Sr. Pittsburgh, Pa. / Obama Academy
P Reed Martin^ Edinboro So. Plum, Pa. / Plum Senior High
PSAC FOOTBALL WESTERN DIVISION ALL-CONFERENCE OFFENSIVE SECOND TEAM
QB Noah Grover Slippery Rock R-Sr. Phoenix, Ariz. / North Dakota
RB Eric McKan III California (Pa.) So. Washington, D.C. / Bullis (Md.)
RB Khalil Owens Clarion Jr. Germantown, Md. / Northwest
RB Dustin Shoaf Mercyhurst R-Jr. West Newton, Pa. / Yough
OT Yuriy Hryckowian Slippery Rock Jr. Chalfont, Pa. / Central Bucks-South
OT Gabriel Huslander Edinboro So. Delta, Pa. / Kennard-Dale
OG Montana Nietert Gannon R-Jr. Aurora, Ohio / Aurora
OG Colton Rossi Slippery Rock Jr. New Wilmington, Pa. / Wilmington
C Jeff Burkhart Slippery Rock Jr. Watsontown, Pa. / Lock Haven
TE Grant Smith IUP R-Sr. Harrisburg, Pa. / Central Dauphin
TE Alex Whittaker Gannon R-Sr. Medina, Ohio / Saginaw Valley State
WR Hilton Ridley IUP R-So. Lancaster, Pa. / Manheim Twp.
WR Thaddeus Stanfield Edinboro So. Bowie, Md. / Annapolis Area Christian
WR Kyle Sheets Slippery Rock Jr. Springboro, Pa. / Conneaut Area
RS Thaddeus Stanfield Edinboro So. Bowie, Md. / Annapolis Area Christian
PK Jarrett Esposito Clarion Gr. Brockway, Pa. / Brockway
PSAC FOOTBALL WESTERN DIVISION ALL-CONFERENCE DEFENSIVE SECOND TEAM
DL Gerald Brown California (Pa.) Sr. Duquesne, Pa. / West Mifflin
DL MaLik Bridgeman Gannon Sr. Washington, D.C. / Gonzaga College HS
DL Dioh Desuah Seton Hill Sr. Newark, N.J. / North Star Academic Charter
DL Raunya Mitchell IUP R-Sr. Harrisburg, Pa. / Susquehanna Twp.
DL Derick Korboi California (Pa.) Sr. Upper Darby, Pa. / Upper Darby
LB Clay Cunningham Edinboro R-So. Mayfield, Ohio / Mayfield
LB Keith Thompson Gannon R-Sr. Woodbridge, Va. / Woodbridge
LB Matt Tobey California (Pa.) Jr. Chalfont, Pa. / Central Bucks South
LB Brandon Tuck-Hayden Slippery Rock Sr. Akron, Ohio / Wayne State (Mich.)
DB Na’Sir Douglas Seton Hill So. Harlem, N.Y. / Cardinal Hayes
DB Jaheim Howard^ IUP R-So. Erie, Pa. / Erie Cathedral
DB Allen Stritzinger Edinboro Gr. Detroit, Mich. / De La Salle
DB Jacob Williams Slippery Rock R-Sr. Fairlawn, Ohio / Ashland
P Kyle Butts Slippery Rock R-Sr. Clarksville, Md. / Monmouth
P Clayton Rosensteel ! California (Pa.) Fr. Donora, Pa. / Ringgold
