Sheppard, Drushal, Watson Highlight Scots' All-NCAC Honorees

Rick Drushal

Evan Watson

» Complete All-NCAC Team

Dustin Sheppard (Johnstown, Ohio / Johnstown-Monroe) of The College of Wooster was voted as the North Coast Athletic Conference Newcomer of the Year, while fellow Fighting Scots Rick Drushal (Lakeville, Ohio / West Holmes) and Evan Watson (Crawfordsville, Ind. / Crawfordsville) were tabbed with first-team honors on the All-NCAC Football Team, announced the league Tuesday.

Three other Wooster players received recognition, too, as Greg Peltz (Amherst, Ohio / Amherst Steele), Andre Smith (Hendersonville, Tenn. / Beech), and Shaun Swearingen (Hilliard, Ohio / Bishop Watterson) were named honorable mention.

Sheppard becomes the third Scot to be selected NCAC Newcomer of the Year in the 11-year history of the award, joining Brock Wanless (1996) and Tony Sutton (2002), his predecessor who went on to earn three All-American citations. Despite not taking over as Wooster’s primary tailback until early October, Sheppard was the top freshman running back in the conference, netting 769 yards and scoring six touchdowns on 155 carries (5.0 average). His best game came against Oberlin College on Oct. 22 when he rushed for 250 yards, the most in a game by a freshman and the 10th-highest overall in Fighting Scot history.

Drushal, a junior offensive lineman, is now a three-time All-NCAC pick, including first-team honors twice. This fall, he anchored a unit that cleared the path for Sheppard and the rest of the offense to operate, as Wooster, which entered the season with just five offensive starters back, were able to average 24.2 points and 368.2 yards of total offense. Drushal started all 10 games at left tackle, increasing his career starts to 32, and graded out as the top member of a line that helped the Scots average 4.0 yards per carry and yielded 23 sacks.

Watson, a junior defensive end who received honorable mention on the all-conference team in 2004, was Wooster’s sack leader this year with 7.5 for 47 yards. The 7.5 sacks tied for the seventh-most in school history and he added 5.0 other tackles for loss. Overall, Watson was the squad’s fourth-leading tackler, finishing with credit for 62 stops, including 34 solos. He also tied for the team lead in forced fumbles (three). For his career, Watson has totaled 10.5 sacks and 117 tackles during 30 games played.

Peltz, another junior, emerged from the Scots’ deep group of tight ends to earn his first career postseason accolade. In addition to his blocking duties, Peltz was one of the quarterbacks’ top targets, finishing second on the team in receptions with 28. He totaled 356 receiving yards, the most by a Wooster tight end since Trevor Garner in 1992 (412), and scored three touchdowns.

Smith, who garnered second-team All-NCAC honors as a sophomore last fall, led the Scot defense with 79 tackles while starting all 10 games at the outside linebacker position. Fifty-six were solos and 5.5 went for losses, including 2.0 sacks. Smith, who eclipsed the 200-tackle mark for his career (209), also registered four quarterback hurries, one pass breakup, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery on the season.

Swearingen, yet another member of the junior class, is now an All-NCAC player in two sports, having previously received honorable mention as the starting centerfielder for the baseball team last spring. This fall, he developed into Wooster’s leading receiver, winding up with 29 catches for 396 yards and one touchdown. Swearingen, who also averaged 10.9 yards per punt return, increased his career totals to 45 receptions, 636 receiving yards, and three scores.

As a team, the Scots won their first four games of 2005, extending their regular season win streak to 14, however, several key injuries led to a 2-4 finish and 6-4 overall record. In conference games, Wooster went 3-4 to tie for fifth-place with Allegheny College and Denison University.