Chappell and Manuel earn All-Region honors for second straight year

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Huntingdon defensive tackle D.J. Chappell and running back Trevor Manuel left their mark on the Huntingdon football program the past four seasons.

During their collegiate careers, Chappell became one of the Hawks' all-time leaders in sacks and tackles for loss and Manuel set every major career rushing record for Huntingdon. With the release of the D3football.com All-South Region Team on Tuesday, Chappell and Manuel added another accomplishment.

Chappell was named first-team All-Region and Manuel was named second-team. This is the second straight year both players have earned the recognition.

"Both of them are awesome young men and deserving of this," Huntingdon head football coach Mike Turk said. "They're both great representatives of Huntingdon College and have been a key part of this program for four years. Both of them are rare players that don't come along very often. We're definitely going to miss them next year."

As a junior, Chappell became the first Huntingdon player named to first-team All-Region by D3football.com. Former defensive back Jamaal Jemison (2005) and receiver Mark Colson (2006) were named first-team All-Region by other organizations. Manuel is just the third Huntingdon player to be named second-team All-Region by D3football.com.

Chappell and Manuel join Keith Anthony and Colson as the only Hawks to earn All-Region recognition twice.

"It's a good feeling and a nice honor," said Chappell, who was an honorable mention All-American in 2011. "I'm proud of Trevor and happy for both of us. Having both of us recognized is good for our program and helps get the Huntingdon name out there a little more."

Chappell finished the season with a team-high nine sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss and was third on the team with 34 tackles. Chappell led the Hawks in sacks each of his final three seasons and led the team in tackles for loss the past two seasons.

He ranks second in program history with 25.5 sacks and 42 tackles for loss.

"Chap had a breakout year as a junior and this year teams were focusing on him," Turk said. "Teams were putting two blockers on him to try and keep him out of the backfield and he still made plays.

"He is a special player and his play only helped make those around him better."

In just nine games, Manuel rushed for 946 yards and 17 touchdowns this season. The yards are the third most in a season by a Hawk and the touchdowns are a school record. Manuel, who was fourth in Division III in scoring this season, also had 20 receptions for 197 yards and four touchdowns and passed for two touchdowns.

For his career, Manuel ranks first in the Huntingdon record books in rushing attempts (634), rushing yards (3,021), rushing touchdowns (44), kick returns (42) and kick return yards (933). He also ranks fourth in punt returns, punt return yards, sixth in passing touchdowns, sixth in receptions, seventh in receiving touchdowns and ninth in receiving yards.

"In our eyes, Trevor is a first-team guy. You look at the numbers he put up in just nine games this season and the competition he did it against, and that says a lot," Turk said. "Trevor reached a lot of milestones at Huntingdon, but individual accomplishments were never his main goal. He put up great numbers, but he was more concerned about being an unselfish player and helping the team win."

Mary Hardin-Baylor quarterback LiDarral Bailey was named the South Offensive Player of the Year and Mary Hardin-Baylor linebacker Javicz Jones was named South Defensive Player of the Year for a second straight season. Washington and Jefferson's Mike Sirianni was named South Coach of the Year.

D3football.com selects All-Region teams for the North, South, East and West regions of the nation. First-team selections from these regions are eligible for All-American recognition.