Nine Olivet College football players earn All-MIAA honors

FREELAND, Mich. – Nine Olivet College football players have been named to 2021 All-Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) teams. Earning All-MIAA First Team honors were sophomore running back Cortaveon Barnett, junior offensive lineman Christopher Beck, senior defensive linemen Alonzo Grigsby and Ta'Mar Heart-Wilkins, and senior tight end Seth Young. All-MIAA Second Team selections were sophomore return specialist Akeem Benjamin, senior defensive lineman Jeylin Rogers, senior offensive lineman Andrew Sikkema and junior punter Brendan Sine. All-MIAA honors are based on a player's performance during the six-game league schedule.

Barnett was one of the top running backs in the MIAA, as he had 86 carries for 751 yards and seven touchdowns. He also caught a touchdown pass to give a league-leading 48 points. Beck, Sikkema and Young blocked for an offense which averaged 408.2 yards and 27.3 points over the six MIAA games. Now a three-time All-MIAA selection, Young caught 12 passes for 143 yards.

Benjamin returned nine kickoffs for 240 yards (26.7 average). He also hauled in 17 receptions for 147 yards. Sine averaged 38.5 yards on 21 punts. His longest punt covered 76 yards, the second-best in school history.

Grigsby finished with 20 tackles, 14 solo and six assisted. Heart-Wilkins recorded 25 tackles, 17 solo and eight assisted. Grigsby and Heart-Wilkins both had six quarterback sacks for negative 54 and 33 yards, respectively. Rogers tallied 30 tackles, 13 solo and 17 assisted.

For the entire 10-game schedule, Barnett rushed for a single-season school record 1,320 yards on 115 carries. He scored 17 total touchdowns to give him 102 points, which is the second-most in school history for a season. Beck, Sikkema and Young blocked for the offense which averaged 428.8 yards and 38.8 points. Young caught 18 passes for 218 yards.

Benjamin averaged 35.9 yards on 12 kickoff returns and 20.3 yards on seven punts. He also snagged 27 passes for 294 yards. Sine posted a 38.8 average on 40 punts. Eleven landed inside the opponent's 20, eight were fair caught and none were blocked.

Rogers topped the defense with 44 total tackles (20 solo and 24 assisted). Heart-Wilkins recorded 40 tackles (24 solo and 16 assisted). Of the 40, 16 were quarterback sacks for 62 yards. Grigsby tallied 33 tackles (22 solo and 11 assisted), with 13.5 being quarterback sacks for 79 yards. He also forced a team-best five fumbles.

The Comets open the 2022 season Saturday, September 3, when they host Franklin (Ind.) College. Olivet's first MIAA contest is October 8 at home against Kalamazoo College.