Four Mules Named to All-Region Football Teams

Four Central Missouri State University Mules football players have been honored for their efforts during the 2004 season, as they have been chosen to a pair of All-Region teams.

Named to the Daktronics Division II All-Southwest Region team are senior cornerback John McPherson and senior offensive lineman Chase Ward. Named to Jeff Harlin’s D2Football.com Al-Southwest Region team are senior linebacker Jason Vanloo and junior all-purpose back Delanie Walker. McPherson is a first-team selection and now is on the ballot for All-America honors, while Ward, Vanloo, and Walker are all second-team honorees. The Daktronic’s team is selected by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America. McPherson and Ward also have been selected to play in the Whataburger Cactus Bowl.

A first-team All-Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association pick, McPherson was named to the All-MIAA team for the third time. He was honorable mention as a sophomore in 2002 and second-team last fall. A special teams demon, he intercepted a pair of passes, broke up three more, and registered 50 tackles on the year. McPherson, for the third consecutive season, led the Mules with 10 special teams tackles.

Ward was a unanimous first-team All-MIAA selection after starting all 11 games for the Mules, one of only two players on the CMSU offensive line who could make that claim. An honorable mention All-MIAA pick in 2003, he started four games at right guard and seven at center, helping the Mules average 214.9 yards rushing and 191.1 yards passing per game this season.

Vanloo led the Mules and the MIAA in tackles with 124 (11.3 per game). He also shared the conference lead with three fumble recoveries and added 8.5 tackles for losses, an interception, two pass breakups, and two forced fumbles. His tackle total was the fourth-highest in school history, as he became the first Mule to record 100+ tackles since 1998.

Walker was named second-team as both a wide receiver and kick returner. He led the Mules (and finished seventh in the league) in all-purpose yards after catching 48 passes for 623 yards and four touchdowns, rushing 21 times for 168 yards and two scores, and returning 18 kickoffs for 530 yards (a league-leading 29.4 yards per return) and an MIAA record-tying two TDs.

The Mules finished the 2004 campaign 7-4, 5-4 and tied for fourth in the MIAA.