AUSTINTOWN, Ohio – Eight members of the Capital University football team were named to All-OAC honors on Tuesday following a vote conducted amongst the conference’s head coaches.
Senior Pete Ankrom (Springfield, Ohio/Springfield North HS) won the Gene Slaughter Award as the OAC’s top linebacker and earned First Team honors on defense. Classmate Derick Alexander (Grove City, Ohio/Grove City HS) was a First Team All-OAC pick on offense. Two offensive lineman were named to the All-OAC Second Team offense as junior Cory Dutcher (Orient, Ohio/Teays Valley HS) was picked at center and fellow junior Kyle Koblinski (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington HS) was selected as an offensive lineman. Senior Nick Sadler (Lima, Ohio/Shawnee HS) was All-OAC Second Team defense honoree at defensive line while sophomores Sam Jacobs (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Watterson HS) and Matt White (Mason, Ohio/Mason HS) were honorable mention selections at linebacker and wide receiver respectively.
Ankrom led the Crusaders and ranked third in the OAC with 98 total tackles (63 solo, 35 assisted), which was the most tackles by a Crusader linebacker since Ron Swearigin posted 103 during the 2003 season. He added 3.5 sacks for a loss of 25 yards, 13.5 tackles for loss (48 yards) and one interception that he returned for 21 yards. Ankrom was joined by Mike Nettling of John Carroll as winners of the OAC’s Top Linebacker Award, which is named in honor for the first time for former Capital head coach and Director of Athletics Gene Slaughter. Slaughter is the Crusaders’ all-time leader in football coaching victories with a 120-94-3 record over a 25-year career that included a victory in the 1970 Stagg Bowl. He also served as CU’s Director of Athletics from 1981-1987.
Alexander was Capital’s top offensive threat overall with 1,315 all-purpose yards including a team-best 716 yards receiving and six touchdowns. He ranked among the best in the OAC in receptions per game (5.20), receiving yards per game (71.6) and all-purpose yards per game (131.5). Alexander earned All-OAC First Team honors for the second time in his career after also being recognized as an All-America selection in 2006.
Dutcher and Koblinski teamed up to lead an Crusader offensive line that produced the third best passing offense in the OAC at 226.9 yards per game. Capital averaged 24.0 points per game and scored on 84.8 percent of its opportunities in the red zone while surrendering the fourth fewest number of sacks in the OAC.
Sadler posted 48 total tackles (22 solo, 26 assisted) at defensive end for Capital this season. He made 15.5 stops in the backfield for a total of 57 lost yards to go along with 7.0 sacks for 21 yards, two recovered fumbles and one forced fumble. Sadler was part of a Crusader defense that ranked fourth in the OAC in sacks and third in first downs surrendered while allowing opponents to convert on third down just 34.2 percent of the time, which was the second best mark in the conference.
Jacobs finished second on the Capital roster with 83 total tackles including 40 solo stops. He made six tackles for loss and two sacks for a loss of 12 yards. Jacobs also had one interception and one fumble recovery for the CU defense.
White finished second on the team with 546 yards receiving on 39 catches including two touchdowns. He posted 112 yards in a win over Wilmington and made multiple catches in every game this season while also taking part in several return teams for the Crusader special teams.
Capital finished with a 5-5 overall record in 2008 under the direction of first-year head coach Jim Bickel. The Crusaders placed fifth in an Ohio Athletic Conference that sent two teams to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive season. CU has produced eight straight non-losing seasons and a 62-25 (.713) overall record along with 22 All-America selections since 2001.