Brandon Wegher was named the 2014 GPAC Offensive Player of the Year to headline the Mustangs selections on the 2014 All-GPAC Football Team.

Brandon Wegher, a 5-11, 210 lb. senior running back from Dakota Dunes, S.D., has been named the 2014 Hauff Mid-America Sports/Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Offensive Player of the Year to highlight the Mustangs’ selections on the 2014 All-GPAC Football Team as selected by the league’s head coaches.

Wegher has rushed for a school-record 1960 yards and 33 touchdowns in 239 attempts for an average of 8.2 yards per carry. He leads the nation in rushing with an average of 190.6 yards per game and is also the NAIA scoring leader 36 touchdowns, 33 rushing touchdowns, and 218 points to establish new NAIA national single-season records in all three categories.

Wegher, the Mustangs’ third leading pass receiver with 23 catches for 312 yards and three touchdowns, is also the NAIA national leader with an average of 227.2 all-purpose yards per game. Wegher rushed for a school-record 327 yards in a 50-7 victory against Dakota Wesleyan University on Oct. 18 and has run for 3165 yards in his two-year career with the Mustangs to make him the all-time leading rusher in Morningside history.

Wegher is one of 12 Morningside players named to the All-GPAC First Team. He is joined on the All-GPAC First Team Offense by Ryan Kasdorf, Devin Thomas, Kendall Lindeman, Joe Brummer, and Jackson Steinberg. Morningside’s first-team All-GPAC defensive selections are Luke Gibbs, Darrius McMullin, Zac Schleuger, Ethan Stofferan, and Xavier Spann. Thomas also made the All-GPAC First Team as a kick and punt returner, while Zach Decker made the All-GPAC First Team as a punter.

Kasdorf, a senior quarterback from Newhall, Calif., has completed 173 of 245 pass attempts (70.6 percent) for 2802 yards and 25 touchdowns.

Thomas, a senior wide receiver from Council Bluffs, Iowa, leads the Mustangs with 66 pass receptions for 1228 yards and nine touchdowns for an average of 18.6 yards per catch. He is averaging 15.3 yards per punt return and 31.2 yards per kickoff return.

Lindeman, a junior J-back from Ethan, S.D., has 18 pass receptions for 251 yards and four touchdowns for an average of 13.9 yards per catch.

Brummer, a junior offensive guard from Harlan, Iowa, and Steinberg, a junior offensive center from Saint Ansgar, Iowa, are the offensive line standouts for a Morningside team that leads the nation in scoring with an average of 60.2 points per game and also tops the nation with averages of 360.3 yards rushing and 675.7 yards total offense per game.

Gibbs, a sophomore defensive lineman from Maxwell, Iowa, is the Mustangs’ top pass rusher with team-high totals of 5.5 quarterback sacks and five quarterback hurries. He has 18 solos and 13 assists for 31 total tackles and is second on the team with 12 tackles behind the line of scrimmage for losses of 67 yards.

McMullin, a senior defensive lineman from Helena, Ala., has 13 solos and 17 assists for 30 total tackles to go along with 8.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage for losses of 34 yards and 4.5 quarterback sacks.

Schleuger, a junior linebacker from Wesley, Iowa, is the Mustangs’ leading tackler with 37 solos and 50 assists for 87 total tackles. He has a school-record 23.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage for losses of 70 yards, five quarterback sacks, and four quarterback hurries.

Stofferan, a junior linebacker from Sibley, Iowa, is the Mustangs’ second leading tackler with 26 solos and 34 assists for 60 total tackles to go along with 11 tackles behind the line of scrimmage for losses of 39 yards and three quarterback sacks.

Spann, a freshman defensive back from Lakeland, Fla., leads the Mustangs with five interceptions he has returned for 76 yards. He is second on the team with five pass breakups. Spann has 12 solos and five assists for 17 total tackles.

Decker, a sophomore from Beatrice, Neb., has punted 23 times for 938 yards for an average of 40.8 yards per punt with a long of 69 yards.
In addition to their first-team selections, the Mustangs placed Blake Frank and Devin Groenhagen on the All-GPAC Second Team.

Frank is a sophomore offensive tackle from Mapleton, Minn. Groenhagen, a senior defensive lineman from Le Mars, Iowa, has 10 solos and 18 assists for 28 total tackles, including 5.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage for losses of 28 yards. He has 2.5 quarterback sacks and three quarterback hurries.

Morningside’s Jason Vander Kooi, a sophomore wide receiver from Hinton, Iowa; Logan Gibbs, a senior linebacker from Maxwell, Iowa; Nathan Gilligan, a senior running back from Anderson, Calif.; Tyler Kavan, a sophomore running back from Weston, Neb.; Bryce Bostwick, a senior linebacker from Lincoln, Neb.; and Jon Hauswald, a junior tight end from Sioux Center, Iowa, were all named to the All-GPAC honorable mention list.

Morningside posted a 9-1 record during the regular season, including an 8-1 mark in the GPAC to share the league title with Northwestern College and win its fourth consecutive GPAC championship. The Mustangs will make their 11th consecutive post-season appearance this Saturday when they host Ottawa University at 1 p.m. in a NAIA Championship Series First Round contest.

Click here for the complete 2014 All-GPAC Football Team.