Ferris State Football Garners Two Major Awards & Five All-Region Picks From Don Hansen's Football Gazette

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Big Rapids, Mich. - Following a season in which they advanced to the NCAA Division II National Semifinals, the Ferris State University football squad has continued to receive recognition as the Bulldogs recently claimed two major awards and had five student-athletes chosen to the 2016 Don Hansen's Football Gazette All-Super Region Four Team.

For the second year in a row, Ferris State head coach Tony Annese garnered Football Gazette Super Region Four Coach of the Year honors while standout sopomore defensive end Zach Sieler (Pinckney) received the region's Defensive Player of the Year Award.

The Bulldogs had three first-team All-Region choices on the defensive side in Sieler along with senior linebacker Anthony Darkangelo (Brighton/Detroit Catholic Central) and junior cornerback Tavierre Thomas (Detroit/Allen). Junior center Jake Daugherty (Big Rapids) and sophomore offensive tackle Devon Johnson (Aurora, Ill.) both garnered second-team regional laurels on the offensive side.

As first and second-team All-Region selections, all five Bulldog competitors will advance to the national ballot from which the 2016 Don Hansen Football Gazette All-America Team will be named later this month.

The Don Hansen team carries out the legacy of long-time small college football advocate Don Hansen, who passed away at age 75 on Aug. 29, 2010. Hansen, from Brookfield, Ill., started and published Don Hansen's National Weekly Football Gazette for three decades, selecting NCAA Division II All-America teams for the first time in 1988. Don Hansen's Football Gazette began selecting Division II All-Region squads in 2003.

Annese garnered Super Region Four Coach of the Year honors for a second-straight season. He guided the Bulldogs to a 9-2 regular season before posting three straight postseason victories to reach the national semifinals, where Ferris State fell, 35-20, to eventual national champion Northwest Missouri.

Previously, all five of FSU's recipients also received all-region honors from the Division II Conference Commissioners Association. Sieler has been a consensus All-America choice to date while both Daughtery and Thomas have also earned multiple All-America accolades this year.

This past fall, Sieler set new school records with 29.5 tackles for loss (-164 yards) and 19.5 sacks (-138 yards). He ranked among the nation's top five players in both categories and led the GLIAC while also ranking as FSU's third-leading tackler with a personal career-high 80 stops, including 37 solo hits. Sieler added a team-high five forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, a blocked kick and a pass breakup while starting all 15 games. Last week, Sieler was previously chosen to the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) All-America Second Team and he was also the GLIAC's Defensive Lineman of the Year.

Thomas also had his best season as a Bulldog with 59 total tackles and 38 solo efforts. He ranked fifth on the team in tackles and was among the national leaders with a career-high six interceptions for 67 yards. Regarded as one of the top cover men in the country, the three-year letterwinner also compiled a team-high 15 pass breakups and came up with 2.5 stops for loss. Thomas was a first-team All-GLIAC honoree this year.

A team captain, Darkangelo was the leader of a FSU defensive unit that ranked among the league's best. He totaled a team-high and career-best 143 total stops in 2016 with 62 solo tackles and 81 assisted hits. He also recorded 11 tackles for loss resulting in -17 yards and had a sack along with a forced fumble. The first-team all-conference choice was a four-year letterwinner and key contributor in the Bulldogs' success over his collegiate career.

Finally, Daugherty and Johnson helped the Bulldog offense generate a school-record 563 total points and a program all-time best 7,190 yards of total offense in 2016. As two of the squad's starting offensive linemen, they helped pave the way offensively as junior quarterback Reggie Bell led all signal callers in the country in rushing yardage during the regular-season, marking the fifth-straight year a Bulldog QB has accomplished the feat. A third-year starter, Daugherty also served as a team captain this fall and claimed All-America accolades for the second time in his collegiate career. Johnson was a freshman All-America choice in 2015 for the Bulldogs and both garnered All-GLIAC recognition.

Ferris State closed the longest season in FSU's 108-year history with a 12-3 overall record while reaching the national semifinals for only the second time in school history and first time since 1995 under Annese's direction. The Bulldogs won three-straight NCAA Playoff games, including the Super Region Four Championship game over archrival Grand Valley State, during the school's deepest postseason run in 21 years.

The Bulldogs wrapped up the year by winning eight of their final nine games, including three postseason victories to claim the Super Region Four Championship en route to the national semifinals. FSU made its eighth all-time NCAA Playoff berth this fall.