Football gets 6 on All-MIAC football teams

November 22, 2005
Tommie linebacker Andrew Ubbelohde (SR-Red Wing) earned first-team All-MIAC recognition for the third year in a row to highlight six St. Thomas players on the honor team announced Monday.

Wideout P.J. Theisen (JR-Elko/New Prague) and defensive tackle Ben Kessler (SR-Janesville, Wis./Craig) also were voted to the 37-man first team.

On the 34-player second team were Tommie DB Justin Nwadiashi (JR-St. Paul/Johnson), OT Sam Friederichs (JR-Coon Rapids/Totino-Grace) and RB Jake Casey (FR-White Bear Lake).


Ubbelohde

Andrew Ubbelohde
Ubbelohde was a three-time All-MIAC selection; ended the regular season third in the nation in tackles per game with 14.9; had a school-record 21 tackles vs. St. John's in his final college game; broke a UST season tackles record with 133 in nine games; and closed his career with 318 tackles, second-most in Tommie history. In 24 starts since 2003, he has 307 tackles, 10 sacks, two interceptions, two forced fumbles and one recovered fumble. He was named MIAC Defensive Player of the Week three times in his career.

He is among 46 Division III seniors selected to play in the Dec. 17 Aztec Bowl. He'll play on the United States team that faces the Mexican National Team in Toluca, Mexico. Previous Tommies to play in the Aztec Bowl were Ryan Collins (1997), Andy Kaiser (2001), Sean O'Leary (2002) and Steve Groth (2004).

Ubbelohde has a 3.81 gpa in Criminal Justice and is on the national ballot for Academic All-America consideration.


Kessler

Ben Kessler
Kessler was honored for the third-year in a row as he was a second-team pick in 2003 and 2004. He led the MIAC in tackles for loss last season and in 36 career games had 169 tackles, 22 sacks, 35 tackles for loss, three fumble recoveries, three forced fumbles and three blocked kicks.

Kessler, a four-year letterman and three-year starter, is a Philosophy and Business double major with 4.00 gpa. A student in St. John Vianney Seminary, Kessler plans to become a Catholic priest. A co-captain, Kessler was voted first-team Academic All-American in 2004 and is on the national ballot again in 2005. He was named to 2005 AFCA Good Works Team.


Theisen

P.J. Theisen
Theisen had 63 catches for 998 yards, including five consecutive 100-plus yard receiving games. In Division III national stats, he finished 12th in receiving yards per game and 13th in all-purpose yards. He tied a 19-year-old school record Nov. 12 at Hamline with four touchdown receptions -- all in the first half -- to lead a 35-13 victory. His four TD catches doubled his career total and matched the UST single-game record set by Brian Biehn vs. St. John's in 1986. Playing just three quarters, Theisen had 12 receptions for 224 yards -- believed to rank in the top-10 all-time in the MIAC for receiving yards in one game.

Theisen has 118 career catches for 1,829 yards in 28 games and is on pace to finish in the top five of both UST career charts.

In track and field, Theisen has run on three MIAC championship teams, qualified for nationals twice in the 400 hurdles, and has run on two NCAA runner-up 4x400 relays.

Theisen has a 3.89 gpa in Accounting and is on the national ballot for Academic All-America consideration.

Theisen's sister Katie also made first-team All-MIAC this fall with a 13th-place conference-meet finish in cross country. She went on to take 71st at nationals in just her first season as a distance runner. Katie was a state runner-up in the triple jump and a standout hurdler at New Prague High.


Nwadiashi

Justin Nwadiashi
A first-year starter at cornerback, Nwadiashi had a streak of five games in a row with one interception. He was named MIAC Defensive Player of the Week Nov. 7 after he picked off a pass and forced a fumble and helped hold Hamline under 200 yards of offense. He had 36 tackles and eight pass break-ups in nine games.

A Political Science/Criminal Justice double major with a 3.26 gpa, Nwadiashi also is a track and field standout. He anchored the Toms' winning 4x100 relay at the 2005 MIAC Championships.


Casey

Jake Casey
Casey made his college debut in 2005 and rushed for 808 yards and 10 TDs. He had touchdown runs of 6 and 68 yards vs. St. Johns and is the first running back since the 2002 NCAA playoffs to get two rushing TDs against the Johnnies. Casey had four 100-yard games and three others with 80 or more yards. He also had 74 receiving yards.


Friederichs

Sam Friederichs
Friederichs anchored an offensive line that produced five 100-plus yard rushing games, averaged 404 yards of total offense a game and averaged 27 points a game. His blocking helped two different QBs pass for separate 300-yard passing games, and three QBs throw for separate 225-yard games. A two-year starter, Friederichs has a 3.22 gpa in Biology.

The Tommies, 4-5 overall, tied Bethel for fourth place in the nine-team MIAC standings at 4-4 -- the 10th time in the last 11 seasons they finished in the first division of the conference.

see MIAC list here