Nov. 18, 2003
Nine Bulldogs Make All-MIAA list, including first-Team picks Yehyawi and Kamphoefner
Complete all-MIAA teams in .pdf format
Nine Bulldogs were named all-Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, including two first-team picks in senior linebacker Tameem Yehyawi (Keokuk, Iowa) and sophomore punter Mark Kamphoefner (Defiance, Mo./Washington).
Yehyawi led the MIAA with 11.6 tackles a game and had 128 total stops for the season, including 56 solos, 4.5 tackles for a loss, a sack, four pass breakups and a forced fumble. He finished his career with a career-high 17 stops at Southwest Baptist last Saturday. Over his four years as a linebacker for the Bulldogs, Yehyawi made 276 total tackles, had 18 tackles for a loss, 3.5 sacks, two interceptions, eight pass breakups and a forced fumble. He ended the 2003 campaign by registering double-digit tackles in the last seven games and in eight for the season, and had 12 double-digit games during his career.
He was recently named first-team academic all-district according to the College Sports Information Directors of America, and he is now being considered for his second academic all-America honors after earning second-team status a year ago. Yehyawi has a 3.96 grade point average in biology/pre-med.
Kamphoefner finished the year tied for first in MIAA punting with 40.3 yards per punt. He was also listed among conference leaders in kick scoring (9th, 2.6 ppg), field goals (6th, 0.64 pg), and field goal percentage (5th, 46.7%). Kamphoefner tied for the most field goals in a game in the MIAA, going 4-for-4 vs. Washburn to tie the Truman record as well.
Second-team all-MIAA honors were garnered by left tackle Eric Stewart (Moline, Ill.). He made 22 straight starts at left tackle for the Bulldogs, and saw playing time in 32 career games after joining the team in 1999 as a redshirt. He helped the Bulldogs limit their 2003 foes to just seven sacks. Last year, Stewart helped the team finish among NCAA Division II's top 20 teams with 419.4 yards of total offense a game. He is a two-time member of the MIAA commissioner's academic honor roll. Stewart is a history major.
Honorable mention status was bestowed on junior defensive tackle Ted Guisinger (Clive, Iowa/Dowling), senior defensive back Derek Kent (Lucas, Iowa/Chariton), senior center Greg Klipsch (St. Louis/Lindbergh), sophomore running back Jerard Leverson (Dolton, Ill./Thornridge), freshman receiver James Perry (St. Louis/Riverview Gardens) and sophomore defensive back Marcus Yokeley (Marshall, Mo.).
Kent was the only repeat selection among the honorable mention group and finished second in team tackles and eighth in the MIAA, despite missing the final two games of the season. He was a standout in the 'Dogs' backfield for the last four seasons, after walking on the team. As a freshman, he finished second in total tackles with 71, and the next year he led the team and was fourth in the MIAA with 119 tackles. Kent was also named a second-team all-MIAA linebacker as a sophomore and earned honorable mention recognition a year ago when he again finished second among the Bulldogs with 96 stops.
For his career, Kent made 365 total tackles, six interceptions, 33 tackles for losses, 5.5 sacks, 15 pass breakups and five forced fumbles. He had a career high of 19 total tackles in Truman's cliffhanger win at Washburn in 2001, making 12 solo stops that day. Kent enjoyed his 15th career game with at least 10 stops when he made 11 at Central Missouri this year. For the second year in a row last week, he was named second-team academic all-district and is a two-time member of the MIAA commissioner's academic honor roll.
Guisinger led the defensive line with 50 stops and had six tackles for a loss, including two quarterback sacks.
Klipsch started the last 22 games on the offensive line for the Bulldogs. He played every game at left guard last year, and took over at center this season. Klipsch has played in a total of 32 career games at Truman, after transferring from Morningside College (Iowa) where he was a part-time starter in 11 games in 2000.
Leverson had a breakout season with 1,012 yards rushing to lead the team and rank sixth among MIAA leaders. He had the most carries in a game in the MIAA in 2003 and tied the school record with 48 rushes vs. Washburn when he gained a career-high of 204 yards. He also rushed for 154 yards vs. then-No. 14 Central Missouri, had 137 yards vs. Missouri Southern and ran for 117 yards against Southwest Baptist.
Perry led the receivers with four touchdowns through the airways and was second on the team with 33 catches for 378 yards.
Yokeley, also a valuable special teams player, led the team and tied for second in the MIAA with 0.40 (4) interceptions a game, and was fifth in MIAA passes defended (13).
The Bulldogs finished the year by winning three of their last five games to post an overall record of 4-7 and 4-5 in the MIAA.