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OGDEN -- Six players were unanimous selections to the 2009 All-Big Sky Conference Football team, which was released on Tuesday.
The first team included seven Weber State athletes.
"It's awesome. It's really good for the team," WSU coach Ron McBride said.
WSU senior wide receiver Tim Toone, Montana senior wide receiver Mark Mariani, Montana State guard senior Jeff Hansen, and Montana tackle Levi Horn were unanimous selections on the offense.
Montana State senior defensive end Dane Fletcher and Eastern Washington junior linebacker J.C. Sherritt were unanimous defensive selections.
For the second time in three seasons, Eastern Washington quarterback Matt Nichols was voted the offensive player of the year. Nichols holds the Big Sky's all-time record in total offense and is just 53 yards away from becoming the league's all-time leading passer.
Fletcher, a candidate for the Buck Buchanan Award, was named the defensive player of the year. He leads the league with 17 tackles for loss. His average of 1.89 ranks second in the nation.
Sacramento State junior safety Zach Schrader was tabbed the Newcomer of the Year.
Weber State senior running back Trevyn Smith made history, becoming just the third player in the 47-year history of the league to earn first team honors four straight seasons. Smith joins Nevada running back Charvez Foger and Weber State's Scott Shields as the only players in league history to earn the fourpeat.
Smith, a 5-10, 210-pound senior from Springville, needs 21 rushing yards in Weber State's first-round playoff game to reach 1,000 yards for the fourth straight season. Smith ranks third on the Big Sky's all-time rushing list with 5,007 yards and ranks fourth place in all-purpose yards with 6,376. He's a candidate for the Walter Payton Award.
"Everything worked out for me," Smith said. "I couldn't have done anything without the guys around me and the coaches around me. "
Five players were repeat selections from the 2008 first team, including Mariani and Toone. Mariani, a senior from Havre, Mont., has caught 50 passes for 980 yards with nine touchdowns. Toone, a senior from Peoria, Ariz., caught a league-high 77 passes for 1,058 yards and 10 touchdowns during the regular season.
Toone was also named to the first team as a return specialist. He leads the nation with a punt return average of 21.2 per game and had two 90-plus returns for touchdowns this season, including a Big Sky-record 95-yarder.
Also tabbed to the top team for a second straight season were Weber State center Kyle Mutcher, Wildcat defensive back Josh Morris, and teammate Kevin Linehan, a defensive end. Morris is a candidate for the Buck Buchanan Award.
Nichols was a first-team pick in 2007. Portland State fullback senior Bobby McClintock returned to the First Team after last making it in 2006 as a freshman.
Regular-season champion Montana led the first team with nine overall selections.
Weber State landed seven on the first team. Toone was joined by Mutcher, Smith, Linehan, Morris, linebacker Taylor Sedillo and punter Mike Snoy.
Weber State had four players earn second-team honors, including senior offensive tackle Nestor Cruz, sophomore offensive guard J.C. Oram, freshman fullback Bo Bolen, and senior safety Beau Hadley.
Honorable mention went to junior wide receiver Mike Phillips, senior tight Cody Nakamura, junior quarterback Cmeron Higgins, freshman defensive tackle Maiah Fa'atoafe, sophomore linebacker Nick Webb, senior defensive back Thyrell Lewis, junior safety Jordan Brown, and sophomore special teams player Caldwell Taylor.
* WARD LEADS SUU HONOREES: Trevor Ward was named Great West Conference special teams player of the year and he was joined by seven teammates on the all-GWC first team, the conference announced today.
Ward, a punter from Ogden, earned player of the year honors after averaging 48.0 yards per punt, a figure which would have led the nation if not for the fact that he punted just 35 times, five fewer attempts than are required to qualify for the national rankings. He finished with 1,680 punting yards and as a team the Thunderbirds finished the regular season as the best net punting team in the country, at 45.1 yards per kick. Ward has been named all-conference all four years he has been at SUU, including first-team the past two seasons.
Southern Utah had three first-team offensive and five defensive players named to the first team, and three more on the offensive side of the ball received second-team recognition. One defender earned honorable mention. Wide receiver Tysson Poots, senior linemen Levi Mack and Aaron Po'uha earned first-team honors on offense, while senior defensive tackle Chad Westwood, and defensive backs Akeem Anifowoshe and Colin Pretlow joined Ward on defense.
Earning second-team honors were senior quarterback Cade Cooper, senior center Stephen Boyer (Davis High) and junior wide receiver Fesi Sitake. Cornerback Erron Vonner earned honorable mention recognition.
