Titans Place Nine Players On All-WIAC Football Team
Senior First Team selections Derrick Jennings Jr., Matt Kahn, AJ Plewa, Scott Skornicka, Dom Todarello, Alex Wendorf and Cole Yoder headline UW-Oshkosh's nine players on the 2018 All-WIAC Football Team.
Todarello picked up his seventh career all-conference citation and Plewa his third while Jennings Jr., Skornicka, Wendorf and Yoder where recognized for the second straight season. Kahn was honored for the first time.
Rounding out the Titans' all-league players were honorable mention picks in senior Turner Geisthardt and junior Riley Kallas at punter and wide receiver, respectively. Geisthardt earned his fifth All-WIAC honor and Kallas his first.
Todarello was chosen to the First Team at all-purpose back for the second year in a row. The 2017 WIAC Special Teams Player of the Year was also selected to the first team at special teams player and honorable mention at wide receiver in 2016, and to the second team at return specialist and honorable mention at special teams player in 2015.
Todarello ranks fourth in the WIAC with 129.7 all-purpose yards per game and eighth with 3.80 receptions per game. He leads the conference in kickoff return average (26.4) and lists second in punt return average (10.6).
Todarello finished second on the team with 38 catches for 499 yards and four touchdowns. He was also second on the squad with 237 rushing yards and one score on 46 carries. Todarello had seven games with more than 100 all-purpose yards this season, including a season-best 181 against UW-Stevens Point on Oct. 27. He hauled in a career-high eight receptions for 94 yards against UW-Stout on Nov. 10, had two touchdown catches against UW-River Falls on Sept. 29 and registered a season-high 103 receiving yards and one score against UW-La Crosse on Oct. 20.
Todarello, who earned D3football.com All-America Third Team honors as a return specialist last season, capped his career with 4,799 all-purpose yards (1,812 kickoff return, 1,529 receiving, 887 rushing, 571 punt return). His kickoff return yardage ranks third in UW-Oshkosh history and sixth in conference annals while his 2,383 combined kick return yards are second among active NCAA Division III players.
Jennings Jr. was selected to the All-WIAC First Team at linebacker for the second straight season after leading the league with three blocked kicks. He also ranked second in the conference with four interceptions, third with 13 tackles for loss and ninth with four sacks.
A D3football.com First Team All-American a year ago, Jennings Jr. tallied 62 tackles, including a team-leading 37 solo, this season. He also broke up four passes and forced a pair of fumbles.
Jennings Jr. notched a career-high 10 tackles, including three for loss, against UW-Stevens Point on Oct. 27 and made nine stops against both UW-Platteville on Oct. 13 and UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 3. He intercepted three passes and recorded 1.5 sacks against Carthage College on Sept. 1 before blocking a pair of kicks against Lincoln University of Missouri on Sept. 15.
Yoder, a D3football.com All-Region Third Team and All-WIAC First Team pick at safety last season, paced the Titans this year with 71 tackles. He ranks second in the conference with four interceptions. Yoder's 7.1 tackles per game is 10th best in the WIAC while his 10 passes defended rank sixth.
Yoder produced a career-high 16 tackles, including seven solo, against UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 3 and made 10 stops against Davenport University (Mich.) on Sept. 8. He collected two interceptions against UW-River Falls on Sept. 29.
Yoder concluded his four years at UW-Oshkosh tied for third in program history and seventh among active Division III players with 16 interceptions.
Plewa earned All-WIAC First Team honors this year after garnering second team accolades both of the past two seasons. He registered a pair of interceptions and led this year's team with nine pass breakups.
Plewa made a season-high six tackles on three occasions this season, totaling two for loss against Carthage College on Sept. 1. He had an interception and two pass breakups against UW-River Falls on Sept. 29 before recording an interception against UW-Stout on Nov. 10.
Wendorf, a repeat selection on the All-WIAC First Team, led a UW-Oshkosh offensive line that helped 14 Titans gain 1,247 rushing yards and score 11 touchdowns on the ground this year. With Wendorf, a 2017 D3football.com All-West Region Second team pick, anchoring the line, the UW-Oshkosh offense ranked third in the conference with 23 sacks allowed in 2018.
Skornicka, a linebacker, and Kahn, a defensive lineman, played a large role in the Titans leading the WIAC with 23 turnovers gained and a .329 opponent third down conversion rate. UW-Oshkosh also ranked second in the league in scoring defense (14.0), total defense (310.6), rushing defense (125.6), passing defense (185.0) and passing efficiency rating defense (95.8).
Skornicka, who was named to the All-WIAC Second Team last year, tied for the conference lead with two forced fumbles. He made a team-leading 37 tackles among his 60 total stops, which included eight for loss and two sacks.
Skornicka collected a season-high 11 tackles, including three for loss and one sack, against Carthage College on Sept. 1 and recorded nine tackles against UW-Whitewater on Oct. 6, UW-Platteville on Oct. 13 and UW-Stout on Nov. 10.
Kahn contributed 13 tackles this season. He marked a season-high four tackles against both Davenport University on Sept. 8 and UW-River Falls on Sept. 9.
Geisthardt leads WIAC this season by averaging 39.6 yards per punt. He had a long punt of 59 yards on the year and placed 18 of his 60 punts inside the opponents' 20-yard line, including five of his six boots against Lincoln University of Missouri on Sept. 15.
A D3football.com All-West Region Second Team honoree as a punter last year, Geisthardt was named to the All-WIAC Second Team at punter each of his first three seasons. He was also selected to the league's First Team as a placekicker in 2017.
Geisthardt capped his career as the UW-Oshkosh leader with 7,887 punting yards, which rank third among active Division III players and fourth in WIAC history.
Kallas had a team-high 47 catches for 586 yards and four touchdowns this season. He ranks fourth in the conference in receptions and eighth in receiving yards.
Kallas produced three 100-yard games on the year, including an 11-catch, 134-yard, two-touchdown performance against UW-Stevens Point on Oct. 27. He also had four receptions for 109 yards and a pair of scores against UW-River Falls on Sept. 29.
WIAC champion UW-Whitewater nearly swept the major league awards as Warhawks quarterback Cole Wilber was named Offensive Player of the Year, defensive lineman Harry Henschler Defensive Player of the Year and Kevin Bullis Coach of the Year. UW-Stevens Point's Christian Almonte earned Special Teams Plyer of the Year honors.
UW-Whitewater (9-0), which received 22 All-WIAC selections, claimed the league title with a 7-0 record. Following the Warhawks in the WIAC standings were UW-La Crosse (7-3) in second place with a 5-2 record; UW-Oshkosh (6-4) in third at 4-3; UW-Stevens Point (4-6) and UW-Stout (5-5) in fourth at 3-4; and UW-Eau Claire (4-6) UW-Platteville (4-6) and UW-River Falls (3-7) tied for sixth at 2-5.