BEREA, OHIO -- Three Baldwin-Wallace College football players have been named to the 2003 Associated Press Little All-America team.
Senior defensive end Nate Mitchell (Butler, Pennsylvania. Butler), senior safety Greg Koch (Olmsted Falls) and senior offensive guard Ian Formz (Wadsworth) were named to the second-team. The AP Little All-America team is comprised of players from NCAA Divisions II and II as well as players from NAIA.
Mitchell had 75 total tackles and led the Ohio Athletic Conference in both tackles for loss with 26 and quarterback sacks with a B-W single-season school-record 13 for 80 yards in losses. He has also batted down six passes, forced opposing QBs to hurry 21 others, forced one fumble and recovered another. Mitchell has already been selected as a first-team All-OAC and as the OAC's Paul Hoeremann Most Outstanding Defensive Lineman. He received first-team All-North Region and first-team Football Gazette All-American honors. He was also a first-team All-American choice by the Division III SIDs All-American team (formerly Hewlett-Packard).
Koch topped the Yellow Jackets in tackles in 2003 with a single-season school-record 117. It was the second straight year that he led the team in tackles. He also tackled opponents 11 times for losses, including a QB sack, intercepted four passes and had 11 total pass breakups. Koch has already been named as a first-team All-OAC and as the OAC's Lee Tressel Award winner as the OAC's Most Valuable Defensive Back. Overall, Koch is a three-time All-OAC pick, including being named to the first-team twice. In addition, Koch was already named as a Football Gazette All-American pick for the second straight year. He made the first-team this year and was a second-team choice last year. Koch is also a two-time first-team All-North Region choice. He was also selected as a first-team Division III SIDs All-American pick this year and was a third-team Hewlett-Packard All-American honoree a year ago. He ended his career last weekend when he played in the Aztec Bowl in Cancun, Mexico (on Dec. 13, 2003) and had two tackles and an interception. Koch's 277 career tackles rank second all-time at B-W.
Formaz anchored a Yellow Jacket line that allowed the B-W offense to score 41.5 points and average 433 yaards of offense per game. For his efforts, Formaz was named as a first-team All-OAC pick. He was also a second-team All-North Region by The Football Gazette and a first-team All-American by the Division III SIDs.
Baldwin-Wallace College ended its most successful season in more than a decade in 2003. The Yellow Jackets had a 10-2 overall and 8-1 OAC record. B-W was ranked as high as sixth nationally in Division III, had its first 10-win season since 1991, made its first NCAA Division III Playoff appearance since 1991, won its first playoff game since 1978 and extended its seasonal winning streak to 37 consecutive years. "The Streak" is now the second longest in both Division III and in ALL of college football. The Yellow Jackets have not experienced a losing season since 1966.
FOR MORE Baldwin-Wallace College Sports Information, please contact Sports Information Director Kevin Ruple by telephone at 440-826-2327, by FAX machine at 440-826-2329 or via e-mail at kruple@bw.edu. To contact Head Football Coach John Snell, please call him at 440-826-2069, FAX him at 440-826-2192 or e-mail him at jsnell@bw.edu.
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