AFCA Release

The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) announced the 2018 First and Second Team NCAA DIII All-Americans on Monday and a pair of Bethel Royals were honored in senior safety Dawson Brown and senior defensive end Kyle Kilgore. Brown (1^st Team) and Kilgore (2^nd Team) are the 15^th and 16^th selections to the AFCA All-America teams for the Bethel Royals. The AFCA has selected an All-America team since 1945 and currently selects teams in all five of its divisions. What makes these teams so special is that they are the only ones chosen exclusively by the men who know the players the best — the coaches themselves.
 
Dawson Brown was a playmaker from the beginning of his Bethel career and leaves as the third leading tackler in Bethel football history with 250 career tackles. After starting his first two seasons as an outside linebacker, gaining first team All-Conference recognition at the position as a sophomore, Brown switched to safety for his junior and senior years and was a two-time MIAC All-Conference selection there. He earned his second consecutive second team All-Region award from D3football.com last week and was also named to the 2018 CoSIDA Google Cloud Football Academic All-District Team as the Biokinetics major holds a 3.74 cumulative GPA.
 
In 2018 Brown was the Royals second leading tackler and 10^th in the MIAC with 81 total tackles. In Bethel's first two games of the season Brown recorded 13 tackles in each game while totaling nine tackles against both St. Thomas and North Central in the NCAA Playoffs. The Becker, Minnesota native led the MIAC in interceptions with six while ranking t-8^th in the NCAA. He returned three of those interceptions for touchdowns, one of only three players in NCAA DIII to return three or more INT's for TD's. Brown also ranked fifth in the MIAC with eight pass breakups to go along with a blocked kick and two and half tackles for loss. He was named the MIAC Defensive Player of the Week after week one when he led Bethel with 13 tackles and added two interceptions – one of which was returned for a touchdown – and a blocked kick in Bethel's 41-29 victory at Simpson.
 
For his career Brown did a little bit of everything on the defensive side of the ball. In addition to the career total of 250 tackles he also had 17 tackles for loss, six sacks, two forced fumbles, 14 interceptions with five career pick sixes to go along with eight blocked kicks and a blocked punt returned for a touchdown.
 
 

 
 
 
Kyle Kilgore dominated all season from his defensive end position in earning Second Team All-American status from the AFCA. The East Ridge high school graduate earned a plethora of awards in his career with the Royals. Kilgore was a two-time MIAC First Team All-Conference award winner and a two-time Third Team All-Region selection by D3football.com. Kilgore was also named to the AFCA Allstate Good Works Team where he will honored at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans on January 1st and is a nominee for the Cliff Harris Award, which honors the nation's best small college defensive player.
 
Kilgore led the MIAC and was fourth in all of NCAA DIII with 15 sacks on the season. His 65 total tackles also ranked in the top 20 in the league at 17^th. Kilgore was the MIAC Defensive Player of the Week in the final week of the regular season after registering eight tackles, including one tackle for loss, half-a-sack, a batted pass and coming up with perhaps the biggest play in the game when he blocked a punt early in the fourth quarter resulting in a Bethel touchdown in the Royals 21-15 victory over St. Thomas, putting Bethel into the NCAA Playoffs.
 
The Tommie game was just a small preview of what kind of a treat Royals fans where in for from Kilgore in the NCAA Playoffs. In three games, with all three coming against opposing quarterbacks who were their conferences Offensive MVP's, and two of which who were Gagliardi Trophy semifinalists, Kilgore totaled seven sacks – the most in the NCAA DIII playoffs. In those three playoff games he totaled 20 tackles, an incredible 18 of which were solo, to go along with eight and a half tackles for loss and two forced fumbles. The constant pressure from Kilgore and the rest of the Royals resulted in a combined completion percentage of just 47% for those three quarterbacks who completed nearly 70% of their passes during the year.
 
Kilgore completed his career with 21.5 sacks, 28.5 tackles for loss and 136 total tackles. In addition, he forced two fumbles, recovered three fumbles and blocked two kicks. Twice he was named the MIAC Defensive Player of the Week. The Education (Social Studies 5-12) major holds a 3.279 cumulative GPA at Bethel.
 
 

 
 
D3football.com All-West Region Team

Brown and Kilgore where two of five Royals who were named to D3football.com's All-West Region teams. Despite the Royals run to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Playoffs, no Royals were named to the First Team All-West Region team. Brown was named to the Second Team Defense along with Trent Substad who earned Second Team Special Teams recognition for his work on the special teams unit where he blocked a punt which was returned for a touchdown, returned a different blocked punt for a touchdown and recorded a safety on a muffed snap punt.
 
On the D3football.com All-West Region Third Team was Kilgore and a pair of Royals offensive lineman. Center Nolan Richardson and guard Tom Delich were both key cogs in the Royals potent ground game which led the MIAC with 2,979 yards and 44 rushing touchdowns while allowing only 13 sacks in 13 games, ranking in the top 20 in the nation in fewest sacks allowed.   
 
The D3football.com All-Region teams are selected in balloting by West Region sports information directors and D3football.com staff and were chosen from 255 nominations by Division III member schools. A total of 78 players were chosen. Players nominated for All-Region are eligible to be considered for D3football.com All-America honors, which will be announced the evening of Dec. 14, in D3football.com's pregame coverage for Stagg Bowl XLVI.