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 Francis Brown was one of four Catamounts to be named first team All-Southern Conference. A total of 10 Catamounts were named All-SoCon. |
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Nov. 22, 2005
Cullowhee, N.C. - The Western Carolina football team had 10 Catamounts named to the 2005 All-Southern Conference team, as named by the league coaches. Landing on the first team were return specialist Mike Malone (Gainesville, Ga.), defensive tackle Felipe Foster (Athens, Ga.), safety Primus Glover (Springfield, Ga.) and corner back Francis Brown (Camden, N.J.), while second team honorees included offensive guard Kevin McAlmont (Union City, Ga.), center Linden Ryan (Shawsville, Va.), tailback Darius Fudge (Riverdale, Ga.), defensive end Rico Reese (Austell, Ga.), linebacker Lamar Barnes (Clayton, N.C.) and punter Tim Mayse (Pine Mountain, Ga.).
The 10 picks were the second-most by any one team, tying Furman's 10 selections and trailing SoCon champion Appalachian State with 12. The 10 honorees are additionally the most for Western since 1993 when 12 Catamounts were named All-SoCon, including nine first team selections.
2005 Coaches All-SoCon Team in PDF Format
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Malone (Gainesville HS) earns his first SoCon honor in football. He currently ranks second in the nation and leads the Southern Conference in kick returns, averaging an impressive 31.29 yards per return. Western additionally ranks first in the nation in kick returns with an average of 27.44 yards per return. Malone, who is the reigning 100 and 200-meter Southern Conference champion, did his most damage this year versus Elon. First, he returned the opening kickoff 80 yards, setting up a field goal. The next time he touched the ball, he returned the kickoff 90 yards for his first career touchdown. Those 170 yards in kick returns versus Elon ranks 10th on the SoCon single-game list. Malone got the year off to a good start, returning his only kickoff 46 yards versus Mars Hill and having kick returns of 35 and 34 yards in an upset win over Furman. His 31.29 yards per return are eighth on the SoCon single-season top 10 and second on the WCU all-time list, trailing All-American Kerry Hayes' average of 36.1 yards per return (16 returns for 584 yards) in 1993.
Foster (Clarke Central HS) was named first team despite tallying just 21 tackles on the season, including three tackles for losses and two sacks. However, it is Foster's play up front, disrupting plays and commanding double teams, which went a long way in Western Carolina ranking among the SoCon top three in five defensive categories. Foster's top game this season was an eight-tackle performance versus Wofford. He additionally blocked a field goal versus the Terriers to help preserve a shutout, which was also the first time ever Wofford had been shutout in a league game. Foster was also tabbed first team All-SoCon by the coaches in the preseason.
Like Foster, Glover (Effingham HS) lived up to his preseason first team billing by the league coaches to make its postseason all star team as well. A second team pick last season, Glover registered a career-high 47 tackles, including three for losses and a sack, while tallying four pass breakups, an interception, a force fumble and a fumble recovery. He started the season in fine fashion, collecting five, six and seven tackles versus Mars Hill, Furman and Cincinnati, respectively. He additionally had two TFLs and a sack with a PBU in Western's win over Furman. Glover closed the season on a strong note as well, getting eight tackles in both the Wofford and Appalachian State games. His lone interception of the season came at Chattanooga.
Brown (Hudson Valley JC/Camden HS) garners his first All-SoCon pick, being named first team at corner back. Brown, who was granted a fifth year by the NCAA prior to the season, took full advantage of his opportunity by recording 35 tackles and leading Western with four interceptions, the 10th-highest total by a Catamount since 1969. He additionally ranked third in the SoCon in picks and fifth in the league in passes defended, while ranking 25th in the nation in interceptions. Brown was also second in the SoCon and 45th in the nation in punt returns, averaging 8.0 yard per return. He had nine tackles and two interceptions in the Cats' season-opening win over Mars Hill, followed by a five-tackle outing and getting a game-sealing interception in WCU's win over Furman. He closed his career with four tackles on Senior Day versus Wofford and getting five stops with an interception at Appalachian State.
Glover and Brown played key roles in Western Carolina leading the nation in pass defense, allowing just 132.33 passing yards per game. The Catamounts also led the SoCon and ranked seventh nationally in pass efficiency defense with a rating of 98.81. The duos combined five picks additionally help Western lead the SoCon in interceptions (15), while ranking 24th nationally.
McAlmont (Creekside HS) and Ryan (Fork Union Military/Shawsville HS) were two consistent linemen over their careers. Since moving from defensive tackle after two games into his sophomore season, McAlmont started 29 of his next 30 games at left guard. He helped pave the way for WCU taliback and fellow All-SoCon pick Fudge, while the Catamount offense ranked third in the league in passing. Ryan, who was Western's offensive line MVP three times this season, holds the distinction of being the only Catamount to start all 43 Western Carolina games, dating back to the 2002 season opening win at Liberty. (The 2002 game at Liberty was also Kent Briggs' first game as WCU head coach. Reese and Andre Brown were the only other Catamounts to play in each of Western's 43 games, starting 19 and 12 games, respectively, over their careers.) Ryan was integral in Western leading the SoCon in passing twice (2002 and `03) and ranking among the SoCon leaders in fewest sacks allowed twice.
Fudge (Jonesboro, Ga.) was also a second team All-SoCon pick by the league's coaches in the preseason. He was tabbed SoCon Offensive Player of the Week in Western's win over Furman, gaining 133 yards on just 13 carries (10.2 yards per attempt) with a touchdown. He also played a key role in Western's late-season resurgence, gaining 95, 99 and 97 yards on consecutive weeks versus Chattanooga, Elon and Wofford to set up the Cats' potential first-place showdown with Appalachian State in the season finale. He capped the season by gaining 81 yards on 16 carries versus the Mountaineers. Fudge ranks eighth in the SoCon in rushing (75.6 yards per game) and 64th in the nation.
Reese (Pebblebrook HS), a preseason All-SoCon pick to start the season, proved the league's coaches right early in the year by getting five tackles, a sack, two quarterback pressures and an interception return for a touchdown in Western's win over Furman. At Georgia Southern, Reese tied for team high honors with a career-high 11 tackles, including eight solo stops. Versus Elon, he had seven tackles, including two TFLs, followed by a seven-tackle performance versus Wofford, including two tackles for losses and a sack. Like the Furman game, Reese had a game-changing play against the Terriers. With Wofford down just 10-0 and facing fourth-and-four, he broke through the line to register a 10-yard sack forcing the turnover on downs. Two plays later, Reid scored his 11-yard TD and essentially sealed the game. Reese concluded his career by collecting nine tackles at Appalachian State, including two TFLs and a half sack. He finished the season by ranking second on the team in tackles with 58, which ranks 15th in the SoCon. Reese additionally turned in 12 tackles for losses to rank fifth in the SoCon and 53rd in the nation.
Barnes (Clayton HS) receives his first SoCon honor. He ranked no lower than third on the team in tackles in each of his last three years, including a tie for second this season with 58 stops. Of his 58 tackles, which tied for 15th in the SoCon, eight went for losses, while adding a forced fumble. He had three career games this season. First, he tallied 10 stops, including two for losses, in a near upset at Cincinnati. At Georgia Southern, he led the Cats with 11 tackles, including one for a loss. Barnes concluded his stellar career by recording a career-high 12 tackles at Appalachian State, including one for a loss. Barnes played a key role in Western ranking 20th in the nation in total defense and 24th in scoring defense.
Mayse (Columbus HS), who led the SoCon in punting last season with an average of 39.8 yards per punt, picked up where he left off to rank 12th in the nation in punting this season with an average of 41.80, which was the best by a SoCon player in the NCAA statistics. Of Mayse's 49 punts this season, including a long of 63 yards, he had eight punts of 50 yards or more, 10 fair caught and pinned the opponent inside their own 20 11 times. Mayse's season average ranks sixth on the WCU single season list. Also, with one year remaining, his current career average of 40.8 yards per punt ranks third on the WCU all-time list.
