Tuesday, August 2, 2022
ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Pioneer Football League named 35 student-athletes to its Preseason All-Pioneer Football League Team, Tuesday, including 11 returning First Team All-PFL selections.
Returning players named to the league’s 2021 All-PFL Teams were placed automatically on the 2022 Preseason All-PFL team, in order of head coaches voting.
Preseason favorite and defending champion Davidson notched four preseason selections: senior running back Dylan Sparks, graduate fullback Coy Williams, junior offensive lineman Beck Kipperman, and senior defensive lineman Jonathan Hammond. Sparks returns after finishing third among the league’s running back with 796 rushing yards in 10 games. Williams was tied for the league lead with 14 touchdowns while his 695 rushing yards were fifth-most among league backs. Hammond was among the league’s top four in both sacks (9.5) and tackles for loss (13.0) last season.
San Diego, picked to finish second in the Monday’s PFL Preseason Coaches’ Poll, had six student-athletes named to the preseason team: wide receiver Vance Jefferson, offensive lineman Finley Lecky, defensive lineman William Buck and Muhindo Kapapa, linebacker David Ambagtsheer, and defensive back Amir Wallace. Jefferson finished among the league’s top 10 in both receptions (44) and reception yards (498) during an 11-game season. Buck led the league with 10.0 sacks and was second with 15.0 tackles for loss while Kapapa tacked on 6.5 sacks to finish 2021 ranked fifth among all defenders. Ambagtsheer returns after posting 73 total tackles last season
St. Thomas, Dayton, and Stetson, who were picked third, fourth and ninth in the preseason poll, respectively, each had five student-athletes recognized in the preseason poll. Dayton senior all-purpose back Jake Chisholm earned two nods on the preseason team – one at running back where he amassed 1,033 yards in 10 games and another at all-purpose back after leading the league with 1,639 all-purpose yards.
The upcoming 2022 season marks the 30th year for the Pioneer Football League – the nation’s only non-scholarship, football-only NCAA Football Championship Subdivision conference. The league will feature 11 teams each playing an eight-game schedule to determine the league champion and recipient of the automatic bid to the NCAA FCS Championship.
The 2022 schedule gets underway Saturday, August 27 when Morehead State travels to Mercer. The rest of the league gets underway Saturday, Sept. 4. The 2022 PFL race starts in Week 4 (Sept. 24) with a four-game slate.
2022 Preseason All-Pioneer Football League Team |
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| (as selected by PFL head coaches) | ||||||
| Pos. | Player | School | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. | Hometown |
| OFFENSE | ||||||
| WR | Sam Bubonics (H) | Dayton | 5-11 | 177 | RSo. | Solon, Ohio |
| WR | Nazeviah Burris (2) | Stetson | 6-0 | 180 | So. | Union, S.C. |
| WR | Vance Jefferson (2) | San Diego | 6-0 | 185 | So. | Poway, Calif. |
| QB | Alexander Piccirilli (H) | Stetson | 6-4 | 225 | Gr. | Jupiter, Fla. |
| TE | Dominic Carlucci (H) | Stetson | 6-2 | 230 | RSo. | Raleigh, N.C. |
| RB | Hope Adebayo (1) | St. Thomas | 5-8 | 184 | So. | Inver Grove Heights, Minn. |
| RB | Jake Chisholm (1) | Dayton | 5-9 | 191 | Sr. | Union, Ky. |
| RB | Dylan Sparks (1) | Davidson | 6-0 | 209 | Sr. | Centreville, Va. |
| FB | Coy Williams (1) | Davidson | 5-11 | 213 | RSr. | Lumberton, Texas |
| A-P | Jake Chisholm (1) | Dayton | 5-9 | 191 | Sr. | Union, Ky. |
| OL | Aaron Byrd (H) | Valparaiso | 6-4 | 305 | RSr. | Bradley, Ill. |
| OL | Beck Kipperman (2) | Davidson | 6-2 | 259 | Jr. | Round Rock, Texas |
| OL | Finley Lecky (H) | San Diego | 6-1 | 270 | Jr. | Chandler, Ariz. |
| OL | Cam Marriott (1) | Morehead State | 6-3 | 300 | Jr. | Redlands, Calif. |
| OL | Brian Stevens (H) | Dayton | 6-2 | 290 | RSo. | Milford, Ohio |
| OL | Matt Weimann (1) | St. Thomas | 6-3 | 312 | Sr. | Oakdale, Minn. |
| DEFENSE | ||||||
| DL | William Buck (1) | San Diego | 6-0 | 285 | RJr. | Sacramento, Calif. |
| DL | Jonathan Hammond (1) | Davidson | 6-2 | 208 | Sr. | Atlanta, Ga. |
| DL | Muhindo Kapapa (2) | San Diego | 6-2 | 275 | Gr. | Fairfield, Calif. |
| DL | Fermon Reid (1) | Stetson | 6-0 | 254 | Gr. | Naples, Fla. |
| LB | David Ambagtsheer (H) | San Diego | 6-0 | 220 | RSr. | San Diego, Calif. |
| LB | Mike Arrington (2) | Marist | 5-11 | 212 | RSr. | Ashburn, Va. |
| LB | Majeste Hansberry (H) | Stetson | 6-2 | 215 | RSr. | Atlanta, Ga. |
| LB | Luke Herzog (2) | St. Thomas | 6-2 | 229 | So. | Mendota Heights, Minn. |
| LB | Ben Schmiesing (2) | Dayton | 6-1 | 232 | Gr. | Piqua, Ohio |
| DB | Clay Fields (2) | Marist | 5-11 | 190 | RSr. | Franklin, N.J. |
| DB | Luke Glenna (2) | St. Thomas | 5-11 | 188 | Sr. | Edina, Minn. |
| DB | Cooper Krezek (2) | Morehead State | 6-0 | 200 | RSo. | Kansas City, Mo. |
| DB | Amir Wallace (H) | San Diego | 6-1 | 180 | Sr. | Fairfield, Calif. |
| DB | Teddy Wright (1) | Marist | 6-0 | 212 | Gr. | Sharon Hill, Pa. |
| SPECIAL TEAMS | ||||||
| PK | Brian Bartholomew (1) | Valparaiso | 5-11 | 160 | RSr. | Sugar Grove, Ill. |
| P | Shane Dunning (H) | Drake | 6-0 | 175 | Jr. | Muskego, Wis. |
| P | Kolby Gartner (H) | St. Thomas | 6-2 | 217 | Jr. | St. Michael, Minn. |
| RS | Chuck Maxwell (2) | Valparaiso | 5-5 | 140 | Jr. | Elkhart, Ind. |
| LS | Brady McKnight (1) | Morehead State | 6-1 | 200 | So. | Stephens City, Va. |
| Notes in parentheses: 1-was a first-team selection; 2-was a second-team selection; H-was an honorable mention selection in previous year of competition. | ||||||