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Football Garners 15 All-OAC Selections, Led by Awards for Nystrom and Faron

| By: JCUSID
The Blue Streaks garnered a heaping of All-OAC recognition, including Drew Nystrom as Co-Coach of the Year and Jack Faron as Co-Ken Awable Award winner.
WESTERVILLE, Ohio -- John Carroll Football continues to showcase their passion for excellence, as postseason accolades have been released for the Ohio Athletic Conference.

The Blue Streaks are well-represented, with two individual award winners and 15 All-OAC selections, including eight First Team honorees. 

Drew Nystrom, the interim head coach for the Blue Streaks, shared the OAC Coaches-of-the-Year award with Geoff Dartt from long standing rival, Mount Union. In his first season as a head coach, Nystrom guided the Blue Streaks to an 8-2 record overall.

Nystrom is JCU's fourth OAC Coach of the Year, joining Tony DeCarlo (1994, 1997), Regis Scafe (2002), and Tom Arth (2013, 2016).

Jack Faron completed his fifth season with John Carroll as a recipient of the Ken Wable Award, sharing the illustrious award with Wally Kalinowski of Heidelberg. 

Faron is the fifth Wable Award recipient for JCU all-time, joining Matt Payne (2002), Victor DeBoer (2004), Anthony Latina (2015), and Blake Herideen (Spring 2021). 

The 6'4, 260-pound Lemont, IL native was also penciled in on the All-OAC First Team for his excellent work at right tackle. Faron was accompanied by right guard Luke Gibbons and center Matt Wrather on the All-OAC First Team.

The trio did wonderful work, helping the Blue Streaks pick up 5.0 yards per carry and 197.2 yards per game on the ground. The JCU offensive line also kept a very clean pocket, only allowing 13 sacks in 10 games.  

Playmakers Tadas Tatarunas and Brennan Fugh also garnered well-earned spots on the All-OAC First Team offense. Tatarunas was an absolute weapon at tight end. The Mentor native hauled in 29 receptions for 354 yards, highlighted by an impressive 6 touchdowns. Fugh tied for the lead in TD grabs with 6 scores, as well. The Pittsburgher topped the team with 44 receptions for 746 yards. His contributions over the last few seasons have been nothing short of stellar. 

On the other side of the ball, Bricker Thiel has a place on the All-OAC First Team defensive line for a second straight season, and is joined by first timer Jahiem Peake.

Thiel has been a game-wrecker for the past few seasons at his defensive end spot. The standout senior helmed the defense with 14.5 tackles for loss, and finished second on the team with 55 tackles and 6 sacks. The London, Ohio native also contributed 4 quarterback hurries, 1 forced fumble, and 1 fumble recovery.

Peake was a revelation down the stretch for the Blue Streaks, playing the hybrid linebacker/safety spot for JCU. The junior finished as the team leader in sacks this season with 7. The Akron native tallied 45 tackles and 11.5 tackles for loss, too, many coming in the crucial final few games of the regular season. He earned OAC Defensive Player of the Week honors in the regular-season finale as well as a spot on the D3football.com Team of the Week.

Speaking of the national football scene, Grant Gonya was a regular on the D3football.com Team of the Week, becoming the first Blue Streak to make the list three times in one season. And so, he's earned All-OAC First Team distinction. 

The graduate student makes the top team for the second straight year, this time as a punter. While he fell short of the NCAA's statistical minimums for consideration for a statistical championship, Gonya was amongst the nation's best punters. The Hudson native finished with an average of 46.5 yards per punt on 28 attempts. Gonya tallied 10 punts of 50+ yards, tabbed 11 punts inside the 20-yard line, with a long of 82 yards (on a windy day in Alliance, no less). It's safe to call it one of the best seasons by a punter in JCU history. 

John Carroll continued their dominance on the All-OAC Second Team, Joe Collins representing the Blue and Gold at quarterback, Evan McVay securing the rush game at the running back spot, and Yanni Volas at the kicker position.

Collins steered the ship on offense for a fine season. In his first season as the starter, the Michigander completed 66.8% of his passes for 2,286 yards and 25 touchdowns. His efficiency in the passing game allowed the Blue Streaks to average 38 points per game.

McVay topped the team in rushing in his sophomore season. The Aurora native finished with 677 yards, averaging 5.4 yards per carry. McVay added 7 rushing TDs, also hauling in 21 receptions for 238 yards and 4 TDs.

Volas transitioned to the primary field goal/extra point kicker after Week 1, and thrived in his role. The North Canton native did not miss a PAT until the final game, finishing the year near perfect at 46-of-47. He also converted 6-of-8 field goals. 

On the defensive side of the All-OAC Second Team, Nick Costanzo earned a place on the defensive line, and Kiefer Askew was slotted at cornerback.

Costanzo hassled quarterbacks all season long from his spot at defensive tackle. The "Cheeseburger Bandit" finished third on the squad in tackles with 49. The Buffalonian tallied 8.5 tackles for loss plus 3.5 sacks, also registering 4 quarterback hurries and a pair of breakups. He snagged a spot on the D3football.com Team of the Week earlier in the season. 

Askew stunned opposing wideouts all season. The grad transfer stunted opposing offenses by locking down top receivers all season long. The Georgia native collected a team-high 8 pass breakups, logging 29 tackles and 1 tackle for loss, as well.  

More Blue Streaks fell in the Honorable Mention category, specifically Joe Torok and JonMarcus Roland.

Torok returned for an outstanding senior season. A major weapon on third downs, Torok hauled in 36 receptions for 407 yards, both second only to Fugh. The Kirtland native also tallied 3 touchdown receptions.

Roland proved to be critical in the defensive backfield. The University of Detroit Jesuit alum scared opposing offenses from his spot at safety, finishing the season with 34 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 2 pass breakups, and 1 fumble recovery. His interception against Baldwin Wallace was also clutch.

John Carroll is proud to have put forth a valiant effort and unique determination in their 100th year of football. The future is certainly bright for the Blue Streaks, as young talent seemed to have emerged as the season progressed, culminating in an impressive selection of John Carroll student-athletes who earned spots on All-OAC teams.
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