(Posted December 3, 2001)

Huntingdon, PA - The Juniata College football team had three representatives named to the 2001 Football Gazette All-South Region Team. Junior defensive end Fred Taber (Calvert Hall/Bel Air, MD) and senior inside linebacker Josh Seiders (Wyomissing/Wyomissing Hills) were both named to the region's first team, while junior corner back Paul Evans (Huntingdon/Huntingdon) earned a spot on the second squad. Taber and Seiders will go on the national ballot for All-American honors by Don Hansen's Football Gazette. The All-American teams will be announced in mid-December. All three are receiving all-region recognition for the first time, while the trio was named to the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) second team this fall.

Taber led the Eagle tacklers on the defensive line with 63 total stops, including 27 solo efforts. An amazing number of 18 of his wrap-ups occurred behind the line of scrimmage this fall and he was first on the unit in sacks with 12 which resulted in 92 lost yards for Eagle opponents. Overall, his 12 sacks ranked second in the MAC, while his 6.4 tackles per game average tied him for 29th in the conference. He had a season-best 10 tackles, including four for lost yardage (two quarterback sacks), against FDU-Madison on September 8. Taber posted two sacks in a game four times, including two against 13th ranked Lycoming on November 10. He also batted down four passes at the line of scrimmage this fall.

Seiders picked up conference recognition for the first time in his four-year tenure at Juniata. He led the Eagles in tackles this fall with a program-record 135, breaking the former standard of 131 set by Bob Crossey '87 in 1986. Seiders had 45 solo stops in the 2001 campaign and posted 10-or-more wrap-ups in all 10 of Juniata's games. He had a season-best 17 tackles at King's and 16 two times (FDU-Madison and Moravian). Of his 17 stops at King's, four came behind the line of scrimmage and two were quarterback sacks. Overall, Seiders paced the MAC in tackles per game (13.5) and ranked fourth in sacks with his eight. He forced four fumbles to tie for second in the conference. In addition, he had two pass breakups, two interceptions, two fumble recoveries and 19 tackles for lost yardage.

Evans led the MAC in interceptions per game (0.8) and heading into the final week of the regular season he was tied for sixth among NCAA Division III players in picks per contest with his 0.9 average. He tied a Juniata program record with at least one interception in seven consecutive games this fall. Bob Devine set the original mark during the 1974 campaign. Evans, who had eight interceptions on the year and returned them for 104 yards, had a personal-high 66 tackles, including 45 solo stops in 2001. His eight interceptions ties him for fifth on the Juniata single-season chart. He had a season-high 14 wrap-ups at MAC champions Widener on Nov. 3 and Evans knocked down a campaign-best three passes against Susquehanna on October 20. His total of 21 passes defensed on the year ranked him second in the conference.

Juniata ended the year with a 5-5 overall record after starting the year at 1-3. The Eagles rallied to post their first four-game winning streak since 1990 during the fall and also completed the MAC slate at 4-5 which tied the blue and gold unit for fifth place.

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Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.