Porter, Thomas, Hixon and Caldwell earn All-Region honors
MINNEAPOLIS – Four Huntingdon players earned All-South Region recognition with the release of the D3football.com All-Region teams on Tuesday.
Senior receiver Otis Porter, junior running back Eric Thomas, sophomore offensive lineman Darrell Hixon and junior linebacker Mal Caldwell were each named third-team All-Region.
"This is a great recognition and we're really proud of all of them. One of the best things for us is three of them are coming back next year," Huntingdon head coach Mike Turk said. "Otis and Eric have meant so much to our offense. You can't overstate what they've done this season and during their careers.
"Darrell has become a player we know we can count on to protect the passer and be an effective run blocker. To just be a sophomore, that says a lot about his ability. On defense, Mal came out of nowhere and led us in tackles this year. He was one of the big reasons our defense improved the way it did during the course of the season."
This is the ninth straight season the Hawks have had at least two All-Region performers. Huntingdon has produced 28 All-Region selections since the D3football.com teams began in 2005. This is the first All-Region recognition for each of this year's selections.
Porter, the USA South Offensive Player of the Year, bounced back from a season-ending injury in 2018 to become just the second Huntingdon receiver to earn All-Region recognition and the first since Mark Colson in 2006.
Porter finished the season with 57 receptions for 826 yards and a school-record 13 touchdown receptions. The 57 receptions are the second most in a season by a Hawk. His 13 touchdowns tied for the fourth most in the South Region this season.
Porter ended his career as Huntingdon's career-leader in receptions (160), receiving yards (3,045) and touchdown receptions (35).
Thomas is the second Huntingdon running back to earn All-Region honors and the first since Trevor Manuel in 2011 and 2012. As a sophomore, Thomas became the third Hawk to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. This season, he became the first Hawk to gain 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons.
Thomas rushed for 1,143 yards and 14 touchdowns on 216 carries this season. The 1,143 yards are the second most by a Hawk in program history. With 2,470 career rushing yards and 27 career rushing touchdowns, Thomas enters his senior season as Huntingdon's third all-time leading rusher.
Hixon is the fourth Huntingdon offensive lineman named to the All-Region team. Hixon's selection, along with the previous selections of Chris Hering (2017 and 2018), Chael Pridgen (2013, 2014 and 2015) and Joey Peacock (2013), marked the sixth time in the past seven seasons that a Huntingdon offensive lineman has earned All-Region recognition.
Hixon, who has started in his first 21 games as a Hawk during the past two seasons, anchored an offensive line that paved the way for an offense that averaged 404.2 yards and 32.8 points per game. This season, he graded out at 91-percent, recorded 42 knockdown blocks, allowed two sacks and was not flagged for a penalty.
Caldwell joins Trey Hayes (2016, 2017 and 2018) and Zach Brownell (2014) as Huntingdon linebackers who have earned All-Region recognition since 2014. In his first season as a full-time starter, Caldwell led the Hawks with 94 tackles. His 94 stops were the third most in program history and five short of the Hawks' season record.
Caldwell also tied for the conference and team lead with three forced fumbles, recorded 3.5 tackles for loss and turned in a career-high 15 tackles against North Carolina Wesleyan.
Birmingham-Southern running back Robert Shufford was named the South Region Offensive Player of the Year. Muhlenberg defensive end Frankie Feaster was chosen as the South Defensive Player of the Year for a second straight season. Bridgewater's Mike Clark was selected as the South Coach of the Year.
D3football.com selects All-Region teams for the North, South, East and West regions of the nation.
To view all of the D3football.com All-Region teams, click here.