Highland Cavaliers Place Record Seven on Virginia All-State Team
Morgan Picked Player of the Year

December 15, 2006

Wise, VA – The Highland Cavaliers placed a program record seven players on the Virginia All-State team selected by the Virginia Sports Information Directors' Association (VaSID) while running back Ra'Shad Morgan earned College Division Football Player of the Year.

Morgan is joined on the College Division First team by quarterback Randy Hippeard. Five other Cavs' players, Aric Evans, Jon Mullins, Henry Potter, Reggie Dorsainvil, Brandon Moore and Ray Damm filled six spots on the second team.

Morgan earned the Player of the Year award after receiving the Dudley Award as the Virginia College Division Player of the Year.  He was named a First Team NAIA All-American and the Mid-South Conference Offensive Player of the Year.  He set 11 school records during the season in leading the Highland Cavaliers to an 8-3 overall record, their first winning season in five years.  Morgan rushed for 1,657 yards and 25 touchdowns on 306 attempts and led the NAIA in rushing (150.6 ypg), scoring (13.6 ppg) and all-purpose yards (178.3 ypg).  He totaled 1,961 all-purpose yards and had 35 receptions for 304 yards.

The field general of the high octane offense was the other first team pick as well as earning all-Mid-South 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.

The 6-3 Evans started slowly but came on in the last eight games of the season to earn his second honor after being a Mid-South first teamer. 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.


The record-setting season not only by Morgan but the UVA-Wise offense started upfront with the two all-state second team linemen, who were both all-conference first team, 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.

Though not having as gaudy numbers as the offense, the UVA-Wise defense had two all-state honorees. Defensive end Reggie Dorsainvil and defensive back Brandon Moore both gained second team status.

Dorsainvil from Virginia Beach, VA was the “rock” of the Cavs defensive line to earn all-state second team. 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 joined Dorsainvil on the second team. He moved up to the Mid-South first team as a defensive back after making the 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.

The final Highland Cavalier honoree is kicker/punter Ray Damm. The senior was the lone double awardee as the second team kicker and second team punter. He was Mid-South first team for both positions. 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.