Waxahachie, TX – Led by a quartet of first-team all-conference selections and the offensive player of the year, 20 SAGU football standouts have been selected for the Sooner Athletic Conference postseason honors, the league office announced Wednesday.
Junior running back
Keaton Dudik was the lone offensive player chosen for first team all-conference honors, and he was named 2021 Sooner Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year. The Waco, Texas product was selected as first team all-conference for the second straight year after leading the conference with 1,586 rushing yards, 22 rushing touchdowns, and averaging 132.2 rushing yards per game. Dudik also ranked second in the NAIA in rushing yards and third in rushing touchdowns. He finished leading the Sooner Athletic Conference with 27 total touchdowns while also raking in 493 receiving yards on 38 receptions.
Three SAGU defenders picked up all-conference honors as well, with defensive linemen
Drake Rodriguez and
Keandre Belcher and defensive back
Isaac Gowdy each grabbing postseason nods. The SAGU defense finished as the number one scoring defense in the Sooner Athletic Conference as their opponents averaged only 21.7 points per game, the least among the 10-team conference. The defense also finished as the number one rush defense, only allowing 104.3 rushing yards per game.
Rodriguez, a Georgetown, Texas native, ranked among the Sooner Athletic Conference leaders in sacks and tackles for loss, finishing fourth among all defenders with 7.0 sacks and fourth in the circuit with 13.5 tackles for loss. Belcher, a Katy, Texas native, brought in the second first team all-conference honor for SAGU on the loaded defensive line that ranked first in rush defense. He ranked second among the Sooner Athletic Conference leaders in tackles for loss with 17.5. Gowdy helped spearhead a SAGU secondary that ranked fifth in the conference in pass defense (226.2 yards per game) and third in the conference in defensive efficiency (119.0 efficiency), while the Gautier, Mississippi product recorded a conference second-best five interceptions in SAGU's 12 games played.
Junior quarterback
Jordan Barlow, senior wide receiver
Zackariah Johnson, junior wide receiver
Jamal Long, senior offensive lineman
Hayden Evans, sophomore linebacker
Dalton Spencer, sophomore defensive back
Keveon Davis, and junior kicker
Kieran Woodley were all named to the Sooner's all-conference second team.
Barlow ranked third in the conference with 2,787 passing yards and second in the conference with 26 passing touchdowns. He also finished in top ten in rushing with 454 yards and 9 touchdowns. Johnson finished ranked fourth in the conference with 709 receiving yards on 52 receptions. Long finished ranked seventh in the conference with 497 receiving yards, and he ranked fifth with 7 receiving touchdowns. Evans led the SAGU offensive line that protected the second ranked rushing offense and the third ranked passing offense. Spencer finished the year with 56 total tackles including 7.5 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks. Davis finished the year with 3 interceptions and 37 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss. Woodley went 11-15 in field goals during the 2021 season, including going 6-8 from 40-50+. He ranked second among the Sooner Athletic Conference kickers.
Nine SAGU players were given honorable mention nods including: junior defensive lineman
Noah Gipson, junior center
Evan Greathouse, senior punter
Seth Green, senior offensive lineman
Donald Kinchen, junior offensive lineman
Antuan McDowell, junior linebacker
Zach Nelson, freshman wide receiver
Paul Odidi, senior tight end
Blayne Rowe, and junior offensive lineman
Rodrick Williams.
As a leading Christian university, SAGU educates and prepares individuals who want to serve Christ and others. SAGU helps students discover and develop their God-given callings in a Spirit-empowered, learning community. We believe in affordable tuition, made possible in part through the financial support of donors who embrace the mission of SAGU and the importance of affordable, accredited programs to train Christians for leadership in ministry, business, education, and service. Most majors are available in-person in Waxahachie, TX, and online through a wide range of associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees.
