Lindsey Branch, UMW Sports Information
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – After what proved to be an impressive season and posting their second outright conference championship season in a row and their deepest playoff run since the 1994 season, the Montana Western football team had two players named as AFCA NAIA All-Americans.
The AFCA's NAIA All-America Selection Committee is made up of two head coaches from each of the AFCA's seven districts, one of whom serves as a district chairman, along with another head coach who serves as the chairman of the selection committee. The coaches in each district are responsible for ranking the top players in their respective districts prior to a conference call between the district chairmen and the committee chairman on which the team is chosen.
UMW offensive lineman Marcus Lombard earned a selection on the AFCA NAIA Coaches' All America First-Team.
Lombard, a 6-1, 300lb redshirt senior offensive lineman from Laie, Hawaii, earned his first first-team All-American honor and his second All-American nod in his career after another impressive season on the offensive line. He was also previously named Frontier first team all-conference offensive line.
This season, the Bulldog offense broke the total offense in a season record set in 2021 at 5,399 yards. They totaled 5,773 yards of offense this season and broke the record for passing yards in a season with a previous record set in 1994 at 3,535. They also broke the total points scored record that was set in 2021. They totaled 3,735 passing yards and totaled 498 points this season.
UMW wide receiver Eli Nourse earned a selection on the AFCA NAIA Coaches' All America Second-Team.
Nourse, a 5-10, 170lb sophomore from Dillon, Mont. earned his first AFCA All-America second-team nod and his second career All-America nod as he led the Bulldogs this season with 1205 receiving yards and averaged 100.42 yards per game. He broke his own single season record for receiving yards of 1,186 in the final game of the season, totaling 1,205 yards this season. Nourse finished eighth in the country in yards per game and sixth in total touchdowns with 12 this season.
To view the full release and complete list of recipients, click here.
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