Published: November 18, 2009 11:05 pm         

Derek Eitel Named Heartland Conference Offensive Player of the Year; 11 Engineers Capture All-League Honors

Rose-Hulman placed 11 players on the all-Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference football team, highlighted by the unanimous selection of senior Derek Eitel as league Offensive Player of the Year.

Eitel becomes Rose-Hulman’s first league Offensive Player of the Year since Jason Duff received the honor from the College Athletic Conference in 1988. He is the first league Player of the Year on either side of the ball since Paul Spreen won the HCAC defensive honors in 2007.

Eitel graduated with every major career passing record and rewrote the Engineer offensive record book in 2009. His career totals include school record marks of 576 completions for 7,507 passing yards and 52 touchdowns, along with a career passing efficiency rating of 125.4.

Single-season records for Eitel included 2,723 passing yards and 24 touchdowns, along with a passing efficiency rating of 152.8. He also passed for the second most yards in school history in a 27-for-45 effort for 422 yards and three touchdowns to lead Rose-Hulman over Franklin 34-21.

“Definitely my senior year culminated with my best year,” said Eitel, a former standout at Marshall, Ill. “I really got comfortable with coach [Steve] Englehart. The players around me got better every year. The offensive line was solid throughout the year. You’ve got to have protection to throw all those passes.”

Rose-Hulman had bigger expectations than a 6-4 season, Eitel said, but after a 2-3 start, “it ended pretty well,” Eitel said.

“I’m proud of the way we battled back from adversity this year. We lost four games by [a combined] 18 points. We were right there in every game.”

Kyle Kovach captured a second major award for Rose-Hulman by earning league Freshman of the Year honors. The Engineers have captured this award in two of the last three seasons, with Reed Eason capturing the honor in 2007.

First-team all-conference honorees included Eitel; junior wide receiver Reed Eason; junior linebacker Scott Eaton; junior tight end Ben Hopf; and graduate student kick returner Thomas Reives.

Rose-Hulman also placed five players on the second-team all-league squad. Kovach received two awards, one for his play at running back and the other for his kick returning prowess. Reives captured a second-team accolade for his efforts at wide receiver. Senior Patrick Duncan claimed second-team honors at defensive end, junior Matt Baber was honored for his play at the offensive guard spot, and sophomore Jeff Ketchum earned the honor for his efforts at left offensive tackle.

In addition, three Engineers earned spots on the honorable mention all-league team. Eason was recognized as the honorable mention punter, senior Kyle Stevens was honored for his play at safety, with junior Robby Alumbaugh cited for his play at cornerback.

Kovach claimed the Freshman of the Year and his pair of second-team all-league accolades after finishing second in the conference in rushing with 736 yards and nine touchdowns on a 5.0 average per carry.

He also returned 10 kickoffs for 216 yards and one touchdown. His efforts included a career-high 153 yards and two touchdowns in a victory over Hanover.

Eason finished with school records of 71 receptions and nine touchdowns for the team this fall. He also placed second in school history with 877 receiving yards and stands second in program history with 155 career catches and 19 touchdown receptions. He also ranks fifth in school history with 1,845 yards.

Eaton ranked eighth in Rose-Hulman single-season history with 112 tackles to rank second in the HCAC. His efforts including five straight games in double figures for tackles that included a career-high 17 stops vs. Hanover. He enters his senior season with 209 career tackles and 15 tackles-for-loss.

Hopf made his mark on the Engineers during his first season on the gridiron since high school. The electrical engineering major earned academic all-district and was named first-team all-league after ranking third on the team with 30 receptions for 377 yards and four touchdowns. He hauled in a career-high six catches at North Park and gained a career-high 95 yards at Anderson.

Reives earned first-team all-league honors as a kick returner and claimed second-team honors for his efforts at wide receiver. He completes his playing career ranked as the all-time leader in average yards per catch (21.1) and seventh in receiving yards at 1,504. He also returned 39 kickoffs for 865 yards in his Rose-Hulman career, an average of 22.2 yards per effort. This season, Reives ranked second on the team with 718 receiving yards and five touchdown catches.

Baber completed his third year as a starter for the Fightin’ Engineers and started all 10 games at the right guard position to earn his first career all-conference honor. He served on an offensive unit that established new school records for points scored (365), passing yards (2,849), touchdown passes (25) and total offense (4,282 yards).

Duncan led the Engineers with six sacks and anked second on the team with eight pass breakups in a breakthrough season. He finished first among team defensive linemen with 42 tackles, including 24 solo efforts, and led the team with two forced fumbles and four quarterback hurries.

Ketchum started all 10 games on the offensive line for the second consecutive year to earn his second career all-league honor. He moved to left tackle this fall and helped anchor an offensive line that recorded three of the top five single-game offensive performances in school history this fall, highlighted by a 589-yard performance in a 34-21 win over Franklin.

Rose-Hulman finished the season with a 6-4 record and placed third in the HCAC at 4-3 in league play. The Fightin’ Engineers won six games in a season for the fourth consecutive year, the first time in school history that the football program has accomplished the feat. The 2010 schedule will be announced when non-conference games are finalized.