Lynch named SoCon's top defender
By Steve Behr

sports@wataugademocrat.com

SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Corey Lynch was named the Southern Conference’s Defensive Most Valuable Player by the league’s coaches and media association. The announcements were made Tuesday.

Lynch, a senior safety from Cape Coral Fla. recorded 83 tackles, but the play he’ll be known most for won’t be a tackle. Instead, it will be the field goal he blocked with six seconds left in the Mountaineers’ 34-32 victory over Michigan back on Sept. 1.

Lynch knifed through the Michigan offensive line and blocked Jason Gingell’s 37-yard field goal attempt and returned it to the Wolverines’ 5-yard line. Not only did it secure one of the biggest upsets in sports history, it also was converted into a Pontiac car commercial.

Kerry Brown also won the Jacobs Blocking Trophy, given by the coaches to the top offensive lineman in the conference, for the second straight year. Brown has started all 11 games for the Mountaineers despite playing the last four with a sprained thumb.

Brown has also been the anchor for a Mountaineers’ offensive line that has been riddled with injuries.

Lynch and Brown are two of 11 Mountaineers to be named either first or second team. Running back Kevin Richardson, Brown, center Scott Suttle and placekicker Julian rauch were named to the first team offense by the coaches and the media.

Defensively, tackle Gary Tharrington, linebacker Pierre Banks and Lynch were named to the media’s first team. The coaches named Tharrington and Lynch to the first team.

Making the media’s second team offense was tackle Jon Holt. Defensively, tackle Anthony Williams, end Tony Robertson and cornerback Jerome Touchstone were named to the team.

The coaches named quarterback Armanti Edwards, receiver Dexter Jackson and backup left tackle Brad Coley to the second team. Coley is playing in relief of Mario Acitelli, who has a broken leg.

The coaches also named Williams to their second team.