Eight Named All-USA South

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - Eight Shenandoah University football players earned All-USA South Conference honors in selections announced Wednesday by the conference office.

Senior defensive back Dionte Beatty and sophomore return man BJ Smoot headed up these honorees by being named to the league's first team.

For Beatty, it is the third straight year he has grabbed first team accolades. The Falls Church, Virginia native had a third-best-on-the-team 61 tackles from his cornerback spot and led the Hornets with four interceptions.

Beatty ended his career as the school's all-time interceptions leader and in solo tackles.

Smoot exploded on the scene this season to post a school-record 1309 yards in total offense, including 572 as a return man.

Included in those 28 returns was an 85-yard touchdown against Ferrum in week four and a 78-yarder in the season finale against Methodist. For the year, Smoot had 19 plays of at least 20 yards and two of at least 80 yards. His 24.9 yard kick return average is currently 48th in the nation.

Running back Kevin Roberts, offensive linemen Brian Cook and Jamal Venable, defensive end Mo Salih and linebacker Joe Lunsford all were named to the league's second team.

Roberts led the Hornets with 944 yards rushing despite missing the Averett contest with bruised ribs and his 104.9 yards rushing per game is a new school record. He rushed for 100 yards in six of his nine games and had 99 yards on 20 yards in the season finale victory over Methodist. He is 38th nationally in rushing.

Cook, a center, and Venable, a tackle, both earn All-USA South honors in their first season as starters. The SU offense averaged nearly 312 yards per game in 2008 and the 1.2 sacks allowed per game led the USA South. The total offensive yards per game is nearly 50 yards per game better than last season.

For the first two years of his Shenandoah career, Salih had a home as a tight end. In his first season on the defensive side of the ball, he posted a league best 15.0 tackles for loss and led SU with 4.5 sacks and earned second team honors for his efforts.

Lunsford led the team with 39 solo and 75 total tackles; he was also second with three interceptions and tied for third with five tackles for loss. This past week, he had a career-high 12 tackles against Methodist and was later named USA South Conference Defensive Player of the Week.

Sophomore Anthony Cordero earned the final on-field honor with his honorable mention selection at fullback. Cordero had 145 yards rushing this fall on 44 carries and scored the only touchdown of the game for SU in a 10-6 victory at Bridgewater in week two on a 51-yard reception.

The final accolade was junior quarterback Vern Lunsford to the All-Sportsmanship team. Lunsford set school records this season with 114 completions and 1474 yards passing. Each of the eight USA South Conference football schools places one player on the Sportsmanship squad.

For the complete team, please click here.