Wasem Coach of Year & Morgan Offensive Player of Year Highlight Cavs’ Mid-South Football Honors
Dozen UVA-Wise Players Make All-Conference

November 13, 2006

Wise, VA – After the most successful season in a decade, The University of Virginia’s College at Wise saw the football Mid-South Conference honors roll in. The two jewels of the gridiron awards was head coach Bruce Wasem and running back Ra’Shad Morgan as the Mid-South East Division “Coach of the Year” and “Offensive Player of the Year.” A dozen awards, 11 total players, received all-league acclaim.

Wasem’s Highland Cavaliers placed 10 individuals on the All-Mid South East first team. The offensive unit claimed eight of the 10 with running back Morgan, offensive linemen Jon Mullins and Henry Potter, quarterback Randy Hippeard, wide receivers Kendon Doe and Aric Evans, slot back Matt Barbour and kicker Ray Damm. The UVA-Wise defense had defensive end Reggie Dorsainvil and defensive back Brandon Moore. Linebacker Ben Robertson and Damm, as a punter, were second team honorees.

In his fifth year at the helm, Bruce Wasem looks to have laid the groundwork for the future in earning his first “Coach of the Year” honors. Wasem, who has been with the Highland Cavaliers’ program since its inception 16 years ago, guided the team to the best record, 8-3, in a decade and posted one more victory than the previous two seasons together. The Cavs were ranked 24 th in the final regular season NAIA national poll and tied their best placing of tied for second in the Mid-South East Division since joining the league before the 2002 season. UVA-Wise also broke 11 school records for year.

Ra’Shad Morgan ran his way to arguably the best season by a UVA-Wise running back to earn Mid-South East Division “Offensive Player of the Year” recognition. The junior also was selected to the All-Mid-South First Team at running back. Morgan set 11 Highland Cavalier season and single game records while leading the NAIA in two offensive categories and second in another. The Chesterfield, VA product rushed for 1,657 yards on 306 attempts with 25 touchdowns, all school season records. Morgan out of Meadowbrook High was second in the national and had a new Cavs’ record of 150.6 rushing yards per contest. He also led the NAIA in all-purpose yards (178.3 yds/gm) and scoring per game (13.6 ppg), both UVA-Wise records. Other Cavs’ season marks set by the running back included 1,961 all-purpose yards, 25 scoring touchdowns and 152 points scored.

Morgan shattered two single game UVA-Wise records with an 83-run last Saturday against Union after having set the record earlier in the year with an 80-yard scoring burst versus Lambuth. He set a single game rushing record of 289 yards on 34 attempts with four scores hosting Cumberland (TN) University, where he earned NAIA National and Mid-South Offensive Player of the Week honors. Morgan rounded out his 2006 stats with 35 receptions for 304 yards. He is now second in career rushing yards (2,947 yds.) and third in five other categories in the school books. Morgan produced four games with at least 190 yards on the ground and nine 100-yard contests in 11 games this season while scoring a rushing touchdown in 10 games.

The record-setting season not only by Morgan but the UVA-Wise offense started upfront with the two all-conference first team linemen in tackles Jon Mullins ( Rosedale, VA) and Henry Potter ( Virginia Beach, VA). The two bookends were the anchors to the top rated offense in the NAIA, 485.4 yards per game. For the second year in a row, the offensive line led the NAIA in the least amount of sacks allowed with six in 11 games or 0.50 per contest. The offensive unit boasted the second-best pass offense (296.5 yds/gm) and third in scoring offense (40.4), both new team records. The rushing offense was also 13 th (188.9 yds/gm). The offense set new standard with the two linemen’s help with 444 points scored and amassing 5,339 yards of total offense.

Mullins from Honaker High makes his second appearance on the all-conference team in the past two years after being an honorable mention pick last year. The four-year senior starter recently added CoSIDA College Division Academic All-District 3 first team and Mid-South All-Academic team by carrying a 3.44 GPA in Government.

Potter of Salem High School made the Mid-South team for the first time from his right tackle spot. The junior used his versatility many times to gain spot action as a defensive tackle on the UVA-Wise defense. He posted nine tackles, three tackles for loss, a sack and forced a fumble.

The field general of the high octane offense was all-conference first team quarterback Randy Hippeard. The redshirt sophomore set nine school passing records and led the nation in passing yards. Hippeard of Stafford, VA passed for 281.8 yards per game to lead the NAIA and set a new UVA-Wise standard. The Colonial Forge High alum threw for 3,100 yards on 211 of 361 passes with 25 touchdowns, all four new Cavs’ records. He also wrapped up the year second in total offense per game (282.7 yds/gm) and seventh in passing efficiency (147.34). Hippeard’s final single season school record was 3,110 yards of total offense.

The second-year signal-caller earned NAIA national and Mid-South “Offensive Player of the Year” set two single game marks with 439 yards and five passing scores in a road victory over the Pikeville College Bears where he complete 30 of 42 passes without an interception.

Hippeard saw all three of his trio of young wide receivers, Kendon Doe (Reidsville, NC/Reidsville), Aric Evans (Cincinnati, OH/Taft) and Matt Barbour (Brookneal, VA/William Campbell), on the conference’s first team. The elder statesmen of the three, sophomore Doe, tied the UVA-Wise season reception record with 54, to lead the team. His 4.9 catches per game was the second most in a Cavs’ season while covering 810 yards for eight scores, second on the squad. Doe produced five 100-yard games including a season-best 10 catches for 140 yards against Lambuth and pulling in a 49-yard scoring catch of his seven grabs for 126 yards at Shorter College. In his first year, Doe led the team in receiving and now has 1,136 yards on 88 receptions with 12 touchdowns in two years.

The 6-3 Evans started slowly but came on in the last eight games of the season to earn his honor. The lanky wide out finished 11 th in the nation with 75.6 receiving yards per game while breaking the school’s single season receiving mark with 832 yards on 41 grabs. Evans added the season touchdown catches with 11 to go with a team-best 20.3 yards per catch average. He produced four 100-yard efforts in the final eight ballgames including 170 yards on five catches with two scores against seventh-ranked Georgetown College. The wide receiver also pulled in eight balls for 152 yards and a 60-yard scoring strike against Pikeville.

After being a Virginia all-state receiver a year ago in high school, Barbour made the Mid-South’s top team at slot back. The fearless receiver completed his first season second with 48 catches on 729 yards and four scores. He amassed just one 100-yard effort coming on six catches for 102 yards and a 45-yard touchdown at the University of the Cumberlands. Barbour did have nine games with at least 50 yards receiving and had season-high nine grabs at Pikeville.

Though not having as gaudy numbers as the offense, the UVA-Wise defense had three all-league honorees. Defensive end Reggie Dorsainvil and defensive back Brandon Moore gained first team status while linebacker Ben Robertson was voted to the second team.

Dorsainvil from Virginia Beach, VA was the “rock” of the Cavs defensive line. The Salem High grad led the NAIA in forced fumbles with 0.55 per game, six in 11 games. He also was 17 th in sacks per game (0.7) in the nation with a team-best eight. The third-year starter also was the squad’s leader with 15 tackles for a loss of 64 yards while fourth in total tackles (56) and fifth in solo stops (25). He rounded out his numbers with an interception, two recovered fumbles and two pass breakups.

Dorsainvil earned Mid-South “Defensive Player of the Week” when he intercepted a pass to lead to the go-ahead score and then sacked the North Greenville University quarterback on the ensuing possession which was recovered in the end zone for points to seal the UVA-Wise win. He finished with six tackles, two sacks, two tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and one interception in the game. The 6-3, 250-pound defensive end had 11 tackles, three tackles for loss, a sack and forced a fumble against Cumberland (TN) while adding two sacks and three stops behind the line versus Southern Virginia.

Moore moves up to the first team as a defensive back after making the Mid-South East honorable mention team as a kick return specialist in 2005. The junior from Bristow, VA was the lone non-freshman starting of the Cavs’ secondary for the majority of the year. The Stonewall Jackson High alum led UVA-Wise with four interceptions, seven pass breakups and 31 solo tackles. He was sixth on the team with 42 total tackles, forced one fumble and recovered another. His best games of 2006 came with three interceptions against West Virginia Tech and recording eight tackles at the University of the Cumberlands. Moore was also the Cavs’ top kick and punt returner. He returned 18 kickoffs for 359 yards including a 61-yard return against North Greenville and another 50-yarder at the University of the Cumberlands. The third-year player retuned 19 punts for 155 yards.

Ben Robertson (Morehead City, NC) makes his second appearance on the Mid-South’s all-conference team. After gaining honorable mention last season, the junior moves to the second team this season. Robertson missed the team’s opening three games but came back to tie for first on the club in tackles with 66, his second year to lead in the category. The West Carteret grad tied for second with 10 tackles for loss of 40 yards, 2.5 sacks, forced one fumble, recovered two others and broke up a pass. Robertson paced the defense with four double digit tackle games including 29 stops in the final three games. He had a season-high 11 against both Georgetown and Shorter while having three tackles for loss versus West Virginia Tech. Robertson also received Mid-South All-Academic status for the second year in a row.

The final Highland Cavalier honoree is kicker/punter Ray Damm. The senior was the lone double awardee as the East Division first team kicker and second team punter. In his third year, the Fredericksburg, VA native set two new scoring records resulting from all of the points produced by the Cavs. He booted 47 point after attempts and scored 65 kick scoring points, new school records. The Stafford High specialist completed the year 11 th in the NAIA in kick scoring at 5.9 points per game. He connected for six of 10 field goals.

Damm earned Mid-South “Special Teams Player of the Week” honors with his outing at Pikeville. He tied a career-best 10 points, which he also scored the week before at Shorter, with seven of seven extra point attempts to go with a season-long 36-yard boot on the last play of the first half. The junior made second team punter after having a 33.9-yard per punt average with nine of 31 punts inside the opponents’ 20-yardline.

The kicker received CoSIDA College Division Academic All-District 3 first team and Mid-South Academic All-Conference with a 3.81 GPA in Business Administration. He will forego his final year of eligibility to graduate in only three years.

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