November 29, 2001

FURMAN'S IVORY, BOUTON, BRATTON HELP PALADINS
COMPLETE NEAR SWEEP OF MAJOR SOCON FOOTBALL AWARDS

GREENVILLE -- Furman tailback Louis Ivory, linebacker Will Bouton, and freshman Brian Bratton helped the Paladins to a near sweep of the Southern Conference's 2001 Football Player-of-the-Year Awards, as selected today by members of the league's media association.

Ivory and Bouton were named offensive and defensive player-of-the-year, respectively, for the second consecutive year, and Bratton garnered the league's freshman-of-the-year honor. Western Carolina head coach Bill Bleill was named conference coach-of-the-year.

Ivory, a 5-foot-9, 200-pound senior from Fort Valley, Ga., and reigning Walter Payton Award winner, rushed for a conference leading 1,492 yards and 19 touchdowns in helping Furman to a 9-2 record and share of the league championship. He completed the regular season with 5,353 yards ‹ the second highest total in league history.

Bouton, a 6-foot-2, 233-pound senior from Greenville, paced Furman's defense with a 94 tackles, 10 tackles-for-loss, two sacks, two fumble recoveries, and an interception. The Paladins, who led the conference in rushing defense, also ranked among the league leaders in passing defense, total defense, and scoring defense this fall. Bouton ranks fifth on Furman's all-time tackles chart with 467 stops.

Brian Bratton's selection as league freshman-of-the-year marks only the second time since the the award's creation in 1979 that a Furman newcomer had been honored by the league. A Martinez, Ga., product, Bratton recorded a school record three kickoff returns for touchdowns and led NCAA I-AA in kickoff returns average (37.2 ypa).

In addition to the three major player awards, Furman also led the way with 16 all-conference selections. Appalachian State was second with eight, and co-champion Georgia Southern had six players named to the all-league team.

Media Offensive Player of the Year: Louis Ivory, Furman
Media Defensive Player of the Year: Will Bouton, Furman
Media Freshman of the Year: Brian Bratton, Furman
Media Coach of the Year: Bill Bleil, Western Carolina

First Team Offense

TE - Trent Sansbury, Furman (6-2, 238, Sr)
WR - Cecil Moore, East Tennessee State (6-2, 205, Jr)
WR - Michael Banks, Western Carolina (5-10, 172, Jr)
OT - Wayne Smith, Appalachian State (6-2, 304, Sr)
OT - Donnie Littlejohn, Furman (6-3, 272, Sr)
G - Omar Nesbitt, The Citadel (6-1, 305, Sr)
G - Marty Priore, Furman (6-1, 288, Sr)
C - Chris Stewart, Furman (6-0, 280, Sr)
QB - J. R. Revere, Georgia Southern (5-11, 184, Sr)
RB - Louis Ivory, Furman (5-9, 200, Sr)
RB - Adrian Peterson, Georgia Southern (5-10, 210, Sr)
RS - Brian Bratton, Furman (5-9, 168, RS-Fr)
PK - Danny Marshall, Furman (6-0, 180, So)

First Team Defense

DL - Josh Jeffries, Appalachian State (6-2, 265, Jr)
DL - Ryan Watson, Appalachian State (6-2, 300, Sr)
DL - Freddy Pesqueira, Georgia Southern (6-1, 250, Jr)
DL - Nathan Fuqua, Wofford (6-1, 280, Jr)
LB - Justin Seaverns, Appalachian State (6-2, 230, Sr)
LB - Travis Stephens, The Citadel (6-0, 230, Sr)
LB - Will Bouton, Furman (6-2, 233, Sr)
DB - Kevin Howard, The Citadel (5-10, 175, Sr)
DB - Shelvis Smith, Furman (6-0, 207, Sr)
DB - David Young, Georgia Southern (6-2, 205, Jr)
DB - Justin Fryer, Western Carolina (6-2, 190, Jr)
P - Jimmy Miner, Wofford (6-3, 195, So)

Second Team Offense

TE - Nick Henderson, East Tennessee State (6-4, 240, Sr)
WR - Sterling Hayward, Appalachian State (6-0, 200, So)
WR - Bear Rhinehart, Furman (5-11, 185, Jr)
OT - James McCoy, Georgia Southern (6-3, 254, Jr)
OT - J.C. Neel, Wofford (6-5, 285, Sr)
G - Josh Jones, Georgia Southern (5-11, 280, Sr)
G - Eric Nash, Wofford (6-3, 280, Sr)
C - Tyler Elkins, Appalachian State (6-2, 275, Sr)
QB - Billy Napier, Furman (6-3, 207, Jr)
RB - Maurice Murphy, The Citadel (6-0, 220, Sr)
RB - Fred Boateng, Western Carolina (6-2, 220, So)
RS - DaVon Fowlkes, Appalachian State (5-9, 155, Fr)
PK - Darren Brown, Wofford (6-0, 170, Sr)

Second Team Defense

DL - Ryan Spencer, Furman (6-2, 265, Sr)
DL - LeBryan Sperling, Furman (6-3, 284, Jr)
DL - Tyler Unzicker, Chattanooga (6-2, 265, Sr)
DL - Nick McNeil, Western Carolina (6-4, 235, So)
LB - John Thrift, Furman (6-0, 220, Sr)
LB - Joe Scott, Georgia Southern (5-10, 211, Jr)
LB - Josh Cain, Chattanooga (6-1, 230, Jr)
DB - Nygel Rogers, Appalachian State (6-1, 200, Jr)
DB - Tony Tiller, East Tennessee State (6-1, 185, So)
DB - Josh Cooper, Furman (5-11, 190, Sr)
DB - Richie Jackson, Furman (6-0, 190, Sr)
DB - Matt Nelson, Wofford (6-1, 195, So)
P - Brent Barth, VMI (6-1, 195, Jr)