Six Brevard College Tornados Collect USA South Postseason Honors

Joseph Marvin: Assistant Sports Information Director

OFFICIAL USA SOUTH RELEASE

BREVARD, N.C. – The USA South Conference announced on Tuesday afternoon its 2018 All-Conference and All-Sportsmanship awards, pegging six Brevard College Tornados Football student-athletes as selections.

Freshman quarterback Dalton Cole, senior wide receiver Bubba Craven, sophomore defensive back Quentin Jackson, senior defensive end Axel Easter, junior punter/wide receiver Ralph Roman III, and junior tight end Martigus Henley were selected as USA South Conference honorees.

The announcement marks the first time that BC has garnered USA South All-Conference honors for the sport of football.

Cole, a native of nearby Hendersonville, N.C., was announced as the 2018 USA South Offensive Rookie of the Year after his stellar freshman campaign with the Tornados. Cole becomes the first Tornado to earn an individual USA South end of the year honor in the sport of football. He led the conference with 20 touchdown passes while his 163 completions on 270 attempts were also league-highs. Cole threw for 1,847 yards with a 60.4 completion percentage, both of which were good to rank second in the USA South. In league-only games, Cole threw for the second-most yards (1,449) and accumulated 13 touchdowns which tied for the conference lead. Additionally, he collected USA South Rookie of the Week honors twice this fall.

Cole broke several Brevard College single-season records. He now holds the BC single-season passing records for completions (163), attempts (270), and touchdowns (20). Cole's 1,847 yards place him second on the BC single-season leaderboards, only trailing O'Shay Carter's 2,024 yards set last season.

 

Craven, a wide receiver out of Pleasant Garden, N.C., was named to the 2018 USA South All-Conference First-Team after his record-breaking efforts for BC. Craven concluded his time as a BC Tornado with 101 career receptions for 1,530 yards and 19 touchdowns with a 54.6 average yards per game, which are all BC all-time career receiving records. Craven holds multiple single-game and single-season receiving records at Brevard College as well, including single-game touchdowns and single-season receiving yards, receptions, and average yards-per-catch.

Jackson, hailing from Columbia, Md., was selected to the 2018 USA South All-Conference First Team after a breakout sophomore campaign which included 44 total tackles, four interceptions, four pass breakups, and a fumble recovery. Jackson's four interceptions tied Greensboro's Kasseem Bagley for the conference lead. Jackson's four interceptions place him in a tie for second place on the BC NCAA-era single-season record books with Jacob McCleery (2013).

Easter, a native of Graham, N.C., was named to the 2018 USA South All-Conference Second Team after a fantastic senior season that saw him lead the entire USA South Conference in sacks (8) and tackles-for-loss (17). Easter also ranked second in the league in forced fumbles (2). Easter's eight sacks tie a BC NCAA-era single-season record with Justin Jefferson (2009), and his 17 tackles-for-loss are a Brevard College single-season record. Easter finished his illustrious Tornado career with 11.5 sacks (second in BC history) and 27.5 tackles-for-loss (third in BC history).

Roman, a native of Ahwatukee, Az., was selected to the 2018 USA South All-Conference Second-Team after a fantastic campaign both punting and receiving for the Tornados. Roman booted 38 punts for a whopping 1,376 yards, good enough for a 36.2 net average. Roman pinned opponents inside the 20-yard line a total of 13 times, forced six fair catches. He recorded his longest punt of 2018 on October 27 in a victory over LaGrange, blasting a 55-yard punt into the stratosphere. Roman was one of the most versatile Tornados, as he also was Cole's second-leading receiving target. He hauled in 38 catches for 371 yards and a touchdown in 2018. Roman also returned seven kicks for 100 total yards. He recorded the third-highest net punting average in the USA South Conference.

Henley, out of Mearsville, Ga., was selected to the USA South All-Sportsmanship Team following his 2018 season. Henley hauled in eight catches for 177 yards and four touchdowns on the season. Henley's four receiving touchdowns were second on the team. He also recorded the longest Tornado catch of 2018, hauling in a 59-yard touchdown in a victory against Methodist.

Brevard's six USA South honorees helped the Tornados to their second-straight season with four wins, including wins in three out of their last four games. Brevard's four wins are tied for the second most wins in program history. Brevard also finished with a program-best 4-1 home record.

 

 Full 2018 USA South All-Conference Selections

 

The 2018 USA South Football All-Conference Team

 

 

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