The Midwest Conference announced the 2022 Football All-MWC Teams on Tuesday and league co-champion Lake Forest College was well-represented on the list of honorees.
Eight Foresters earned First Team All-MWC accolades, including five from the top defense in the conference. Lake Forest allowed just 7.9 points and 167.2 total yards per league game and opponents gained just 1.9 yards per rushing attempt while throwing 11 interceptions and only two touchdown passes against the Foresters.
Senior defensive end Alex Bendler led the conference with 20.5 tackles for loss and 11.0 sacks while adding three forced fumbles and a recovery in nine MWC contests. He was especially successful against the other top teams in the league, racking up 11.5 tackles for loss and 6.0 sacks against fourth-place University of Chicago and fellow co-champions Ripon College and Monmouth College. Bendler was also a First Team All-MWC selection a year ago.
Senior cornerback Dante Esposito also earned First Team All-MWC honors for the second year in a row. After returning from injury in the team's third conference contest of the season, he led the league with 1.14 passes defensed per game. He also recorded 14 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss, during that span.
Senior Justin Albee played on the opposite end of the defensive line as Bendler and ranked among the league leaders with 8.0 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. The First Team All-MWC selection also forced a pair of fumbles and recovered one.
Senior linebacker Javan Ah-Quin also caused two fumbles and was named to the First Team after finishing the season with 33 tackles, including 5.0 tackles for loss, in seven appearances against league foes.
Junior safety Trenton Brail returned two interceptions for touchdowns and added six pass breakups against the MWC this fall. He also recorded 33 tackles, including 3.5 tackles for loss, and forced and recovered a fumble to help him land on the First Team.
The Foresters lead the nation with eight blocked punts and senior Doug Antonucci accounted for half of them, including three against conference opponents. He was named First Team All-MWC as a special teams player.
Graduate student Damon Bonds also earned First Team All-MWC recognition for his special teams efforts as a kick returner. Bonds averaged 25.5 yards per kickoff return and scored on a 74-yarder against Monmouth. He was also a Second Team selection as a running back after rushing for 764 yards and 10 touchdowns and averaging 5.7 yards per carry during conference play.
Three Forester linemen who blocked for Bonds and the rest of the Forester offense were also listed among the league's best. Lake Forest averaged nearly 319.6 yards per game, including 208.3 on the ground, and allowed just a dozen sacks in conference play. Junior left tackle Ian Ramey was named First Team All-MWC after earning Second Team honors a year ago. Junior center Andres Mestre and guard Braxton Matteson were selected to the Second Team.
Senior quarterback Tre Stewart, was also a Second Team All-MWC choice after throwing 11 touchdown passes and just two interceptions against the rest of the conference. He also ran for 212 yards and six scores to earn all-conference accolades for the second time in his career.
Three-fourths of the Foresters' defensive line were recognized on Tuesday with junior tackle Jaylen Johnson's Second Team selection. Johnson tied for third in the league with 12.0 tackles for loss.
Sophomore linebacker Nik Rieck also earned Second Team distinction on defense after making 22 tackles and adding two interceptions and a fumble recovery. His diving pick on Chicago's last play from scrimmage on Saturday helped the Foresters secure the 13-7 victory and share of the conference title.
A pair of Lake Forest kickers were named Second Team All-MWC. Senior punter Logan Persson averaged 36.6 yards per punt and 11 of his 31 boots were either fair caught or ended up inside the 20-yardline. Freshman place-kicker Beckham Sonnabend connected on seven of eight field goal attempts and averaged 6.6 points per league game.
Lake Forest won eight of nine MWC games this fall to claim back-to-back conference championships for the first time in program history.
The Foresters' 15 all-conference honorees and 16 selections matched the school record set by the 2002 team.
