The league's leading rusher and top tackler have been named Gateway Offensive Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. RB Marcus Mason of Youngstown State and LB Cameron Siskowic have earned this year's Gateway's top player honors. Youngstown State's Jon Heacock, meanwhile, earns Bruce Craddock Coach of the Year award honors for the second-straight season.
YSU's Mason, who finished fourth in the Walter Payton Award voting, averaged a league-best 166.2 yards per carry during the regular season -- the fourth-best single-season regular-season average in league history -- en route to helping YSU to an outright Gateway title. He averaged a GFC-best 198.2 yards per game in league games.
Siskowic, a Buck Buchanan Award candidate, ranks second in the FCS with 11.67 tackles per game (140 total tackles in 12 games). Siskowic is the fifth different Redbird and fifth ISU player in a row to win the league's top defensive honor.
One of three Gateway finalists for the Eddie Robinson Award, given to the nation's top FCS coach, Jon Heacock is this year's Gateway Coach of the Year. The Penguins won their first outright Gateway Conference championship and reached the playoffs for the first time since the 2000 season.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: RB Marcus Mason, Youngstown State
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: LB Cameron Siskowic, Illinois State
‘BRUCE CRADDOCK’ GATEWAY COACH OF THE YEAR: Jon Heacock, Youngstown State
2006 all-Gateway Football Conference Team
(selected by coaches, sports information directors and media panel)
FIRST TEAM
QB -- Luke Drone, ILS, 6-2, 210, Jr., Mt. Carmel (Ill.) High
RB -- Marcus Mason, YSU, 5-9, 215, Sr., Pontiac (Md.) Georgetown Prep High / Illinois
RB -- Arkee Whitlock, SIU, 5-10, 195, Sr., Rock Hill (S.C.) High
FB -- J.T. Wise, SIU, 6-1, 230, Sr., Farmersville (Ill.) Sacred Heart-Griffin High
WR -- Curtis Hamilton, WKU, 6-0, 195, Jr., West Paducah (Ky.) Paducah Tilghman High
WR -- Marco Thomas, WIU, 6-1, 175, Sr., Chicago (Ill.) Bogan High
TE -- Braden Jones, SIU, 6-4, 260, Sr., Harrisburg (Ill.) High / Northwestern
OL -- Ryan Jewell, YSU, 6-4, 285, Sr., Warren (Ohio) Harding High
OL -- Will Justice, SIU, 6-4, 290, Sr., Cordova (Tenn.) High
OL -- Chad Rinehart, UNI, 6-5, 310, Jr., Boone (Iowa) High
OL -- Patrick Walker, YSU, 6-5, 290, Sr., Bedford (Ohio) St. Peter Chanel High
OL -- Isaiah Wiggins, ILS, 6-3, 290, Jr., Chicago (Ill.) Prosser High
PK -- Brian Wingert, UNI, 6-1, 183, Sr., Cedar Falls (Iowa) High
DL -- Justin Martindale, ILS, 6-2, 255, Sr., Wadsworth (Ill.) Warren Township High
DL -- Jim Phelan, YSU, 6-3, 295, Sr., Chicago (Ill.) De LaSalle High / Joliet CC
DL -- Mychal Savage, YSU, 6-2, 290, So., Hartsdale (N.Y.) New Rochelle High / Hargrave Military
DL -- Lorenzo Wims, SIU, 6-2, 260, Sr., Fort Wayne (Ind.) Snider High / Ball State
LB -- Marty Hutchinson, YSU, 6-4, 220, Sr., Newton Falls (Ohio) High
LB -- Cameron Siskowic, ILS, 6-2, 225, Sr., San Diego (Calif.) Clairemont High / Washington State
LB -- Kye Stewart, ILS, 6-0, 205, Jr., Nashville (Tenn.) Pearl-Cohn High
LB -- James Terry, YSU, 6-2, 225, Jr., Stafford (Va.) Fork Union/Woodbridge High
DB -- Dre Dokes, UNI, 5-9, 162, Sr., Springfield (Mo.) Kickapoo High
DB -- Codera Jackson, YSU, 5-10, 180, Sr., Rochester (N.Y.) East High / Alfred State CC
DB -- Jason Perry, YSU, 5-8, 175, Sr., Warrensville Heights (Ohio) St. Peter Chanel High
DB -- Marion Rumph, WKU, 6-1, 195, Jr., Bradenton (Fla.) Manatee High
P -- Joe Bishop, YSU, 5-10, 199, Sr., Canton (Ohio) St. Thomas Aquinas High
RS -- Craig Turner, SIU, 5-10, 195, Jr., Boutte (La.) Hahnville High
SECOND TEAM
QB -- Eric Sanders, UNI, 6-1, 190, Jr., Oelwein (Iowa) High
RB -- Herb Donaldson, WIU, 5-11, 220, So., St. Louis (Mo.) CBC High
RB -- Pierre Rembert, ILS, 6-0, 220, Sr., Milwaukee (Wis.) Cudahy High / Michigan
FB -- Dave Mordis, ILS, 6-3, 270, Jr., Palos Park (Ill.) Stagg High
WR -- Pierre Jackson, ILS, 6-1, 175, Sr., Chicago (Ill.) Harper High / Minnesota
WR -- Laurént Robinson, ILS, 6-2, 195, Sr., Rockledge (Fla.) High
TE -- Derrick Bush, YSU, 6-4, 265, So., Circleville (Ohio) High
OL -- Joe Lobdell, UNI, 6-6, 285, Sr., Lena (Ill.) Lena-Winslow High
OL -- Brad Samsa, YSU, 6-2, 280, So., Warren (Ohio) Howland High
OL -- Fred Staugh, INS, 6-5, 300, Sr., Flower Mound (Texas) Univ. of Colorado
OL -- Chris Sullivan, WKU, 5-11, 265, Sr., Louisville (Ky.) Pleasure Ridge Park High
OL -- Chad Walker, WIU, 6-5, 325, Sr., Peoria (Ill.) Woodruff High
PK -- Craig Coffin, SIU, 5-11, 200, Sr., Cape Coral (Fla.) North Fort Myers High
DL -- Dusty Bear, WKU, 6-1, 265, Jr., Osprey (Fla.) Venice High
DL -- Mark Huygens, UNI, 6-6, 267, So., Sergeant Bluff (Iowa) High
DL -- Jordan Lacy, UNI, 6-3, 244, Jr., Jefferson City (Mo.) High
DL -- Chris Wash, MSU, 6-3, 245, Sr., Topeka (Kan.) West High
LB -- Jerome Bennett, WIU, 6-1, 235, Jr., Southfield (Mich.) High
LB -- Blake Boyd, WKU, 6-2, 240, Fr., Madisonville (Ky.) Madisonville-North Hopkins High
LB -- Micah King, SIU, 5-10, 220, Sr., East St. Louis (Ill.) High
LB -- Andre Lewis, WKU, 6-1, 215, Jr., Madison (Tenn.) Hunter's Lane High
DB -- Brandon Bruner, SIU, 6-0, 180, Sr., Oklahoma City (Okla.) Putnam City North High
DB -- Fu'ad Khaleel, WIU, 5-11, 190, Sr., Columbia (Mo.) Rock Bridge High
DB -- Tom Nelson, ILS, 6-0, 195, So., Arlington Heights (Ill.) John Hersey High
DB -- Chris Parsons, UNI, 6-1, 183, Jr., Moore (Okla.) High
P -- Nathan Stokes, MSU, 5-11, 181, Jr., Ozark (Mo.) High
RS -- Eric Davis, MSU, 6-0, 180, So., Oakland (Calif.) Skyline High
Honorable Mention
Illinois State: LB Niall Campbell, OL Janiah Downing, DB James Temple
Indiana State: DB Scooter Archie, WR Carl Berman, LB Andy Jones, WR Sam Logan
Missouri State: LB Derrick Byrd, TE Payne Hall, OT Justin Williamson
UNI: LB Brannon Carter; WR/RS Johnny Gray, WR James Lindgren
Southern Illinois: LB Brandin Jordan, LG Aaron Lockwood, OT Darren Marquez
Western Illinois: DL Darron Boone, WR Carl Sims, LB Jason Williams
Western Kentucky: QB Justin Haddix, PK Chris James, RS Dennis Mitchell, RB Lerron Moore
Youngstown State: LB Jeff Koval, WR T.J. Peterson, QB Tom Zetts