Eight members of Pride football earn All-Heart honors

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Finishing up their third season since the start of the program in 2019, the Clarke University football team had eight individuals selected to the Heart of America All-Conference teams for the 2021 season, Heart officials announced on Thursday afternoon. 

The members of the Pride selected to All-Heart teams include offensive players Jeremy Lennox, Max Steffen, and Shawn Buhr as well as defensive players Griffin Mulcahy, Bryan Valdes, Kenneth Spaight, Johel Gonzalez, and Israel Hernandez.

Offensive linemen Lennox (2nd Team) and Buhr (Honorable Mention) were the primary starters on the left side of the Pride's offensive front as Lennox played tackle with Buhr just to his right at the guard position. The Pride offense averaged over 100 rushing yards per game at 105.9 to end the season, with two runners finishing with multiple touchdowns and over a 3.0 yards per carry average.

Buhr also earned an academic honor on Thursday as a receptient of CoSIDA's Acaedmic All-District 3 Team that consisted of NAIA football players in the states of Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Buhr holds a 3.95 GPA pursuing a degree in Elementary Education and is now eligible to potentially earn Academic All-America later in the year.

Steffen (2nd Team), a receiver from Peosta, Iowa, finished as the team's leader in receptions (27), receiving yards (568), and receiving touchdowns (7) as well as averaging over 50 receiving yards per game at 56.8 and an average of 21 yards per reception. His seven touchdowns caught made him one of only two players on the team with multiple receiving touchdowns as the team finished with 12 touchdown passes on the season. Steffen also returned 14 kickoffs for a total of 339 yards and a long of 76 yards to average 24.2 yards per kickoff return.

Mulcahy (2nd Team), a defensive end from Pecatonica, Ill., had the most sacks on the Pride defense with five for a loss of 19 while adding 4.5 more tackles for loss while adding a fumble recovery and a pass break up. He totaled 52 tackles on the year to finish fourth on the team in total tackles after 18 solo tackles and 34 assisted tackles.

Valdes (2nd Team), a linebacker from Florida City, Fla., played in 10 games this season with 54 tackles and 4.5 tackles for a loss of 13 yards while also adding a fumble recovery and pass break up on the season. His 28 solo tackles finished for the second most solo tackles on the season as he added 26 assisted tackles.

Spaight (2nd Team), a safety from Rodeo, Calif., finished the season as the team's leading tackler at 79 total stops adding three interceptions, two forced fumbles, and three tackles for a loss. Spaight earned the program's first ever Player of the Week honor when he was named the Heart Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 25 after recording 12 tackles and forcing a fumble against Culver-Stockton College.

Gonzalez (Honorable Mention), a safety from Norco, Calif., had a strong season on pass defense in 2021 to end the year with five interceptions, the most on the team, while also breaking up three passes on the season. Gonzalez also had 35 tackles on the season, 24 solo and 11 assists while adding a pair of tackles for a loss of seven yards.

Hernandez (Honorable Mention), a defensive end from Norco, Calif., played opposite of Mulcahy to finish with the second-most sacks on the team at 3.5 while adding 1.5 more tackles for a loss of 12 total yards. Hernandez forced two fumbles in his eight games played while finishing the season with 22 tackles, nine solo and 13 assists.

Clarke football will head into the offseason after their 1-10 record in 2021 looking to get through their offseason into the spring season after their first group of seniors move on from the program.