Complete All-PSAC Announcement/Teams

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University football team landed 10 All-Conference selections, headlined by seven first team honorees and head coach Shawn Lutz being named the Western Division Coach of the Year, when the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference announced its postseason football awards Wednesday.
 
Lutz, in his third season as the head coach of the program, was named the PSAC West Coach of the Year for the first time in his career after leading SRU to a perfect 7-0 record in the division on the way to The Rock's 16th PSAC West title. Lutz has led the team to three straight winning seasons since taking over the program and has The Rock in the NCAA Division II playoffs this fall for the first time since 2015.
 
Slippery Rock had seven players earn first team All-PSAC Western Division honors and three others named to second team honors. The first team honorees are quarterback Roland Rivers III, running back Wes Hills, defensive tackle Jeff Marx, linebacker Brad Zaffram, kicker Jake Chapla and offensive linemen Steve Gaviglia and Colten Raabe. Defensive backs Kyle Hall and Eric Glover-Williams were named to second team honors, as was Chapla, who was named the second team punter in addition to being the first team placekicker.
 
Gaviglia headlines the list of All-Conference honorees for SRU with his third straight selection after previously earning second team honors in each of the last two years. Chapla is the only other repeat honoree for SRU after being named to second team honors as both a kicker and a punter last fall.
 
Slippery Rock went 7-0 in the PSAC West and ran away with the division title by a two-game cushion over Indiana (Pa.) and California (Pa.) after beating both of its closest rivals on the road to secure the division title. Those key road wins propelled The Rock into the NCAA playoffs, which begin Saturday with a first round game at LIU Post.
 
A brief profile of each of the nine Slippery Rock players honored by the PSAC can be found below.
 
- Roland Rivers III – 1st Team QB
Rivers took over the starting role prior to week three and led SRU to an eight-game winning streak with a 7-0 record in PSAC West games. In just nine games Rivers has thrown for 2,132 yards with 22 TD and has rushed for 454 yards with seven TD to account for 29 TD. He ranks eighth nationally in points responsible for per game (19.3) and ranks fifth on the single-season ledger at SRU in total offense with 2,586 yards. His 287.3 total offensive yards per game rank 16th best in the nation entering the postseason.
 
- Wes Hills – 1st Team RB
Hills has rushed for 1,205 yards in basically eight games. He played just two snaps in week two at Shippensburg before leaving the game with an injury after rushing for five yards. He missed all of weeks three and four and took limited snaps in week five to test the injury before returning in week six as the starter. Taking out the Ship game, Hills is averaging 150.0 rushing yards per game in the other eight games this year. He led all running backs in the PSAC this year at 7.05 yards per carry, a number that ranks first in the region and 10th nationally. Hills also put together three games in PSAC West play with more than 200 rushing yards. Since returning as the starter in week six, Hills has rushed for 967 yards (161.2 yards per game) in the last six games.
 
- Steve Gaviglia – 1st Team OT
Gaviglia earns his third straight All-PSAC honor as an offensive tackle after switching from the defensive line to offensive line following his freshman year. The senior standout graded out as one of the highest offensive linemen in program history this year with an average grade of more than 91 percent, helping SRU to post the top total offensive unit in the PSAC. Gaviglia has started 32 games over the last four years, including 22 straight.
 
- Colten Raabe – 1st Team OG
Raabe earns his first career postseason honor after leading the interior of the offensive line this season, despite battling through multiple injuries. The redshirt junior, who can graduate before next season and may forego his final year of eligibility, helped SRU to post the top total offensive unit in the PSAC this year. SRU ranks first in total offense (467.7 yards per game), second in rushing offense (197.2 yards per game) and fourth in passing offense (270.5) in the PSAC.
 
- Jake Chapla – 1st Team PK, 2nd Team P
Chapla earns his third and fourth All-PSAC honors in the last two years alone after also being named All-PSAC at both positions following his sophomore season in 2017. The first team selection as a kicker comes after Chapla booted the three longest field goals in the league this year (46, 50, 51) and went nearly perfect in PAT kicks (54-of-55). He enters the playoffs with a career-high 13 made field goals this season, which ranks second all-time at SRU. He needs one more field goal to break a tie for the SRU career-record after he tied that mark (35) last week. Chapla also had the longest punt in the PSAC this year (75) and averaged a solid 38.3 yards per punt with seven kicks of 50+ yards, 13 punts inside the 20 and 11 fair catches.
 
- Jeff Marx – 1st Team DT
Marx, a redshirt freshman that transferred in from Navy, becomes the first SRU player to earn first team All-PSAC honors in his freshman season since NCAA all-time sack record holder Marcus Martin was named to the first team in 2014. Marx has controlled the middle of the defensive line and helped SRU improve its rush defense by more than 100 yards per game over the 2017 season. He enters the playoffs with 39 total tackles, including 5.5 tackles for loss, one sack and one fumble recovery.
 
- Brad Zaffram – 1st Team LB
Zaffram was recruited to fill the need for a veteran linebacker after SRU started three freshmen linebackers in 2017. He met expectations this fall, despite playing most of the season with a cast on a broken hand. Zaffram, who transferred in from Jones County, enters the playoffs as the top tackler on the SRU defense with 70 total stops, despite missing the first game of the year. He's also got 11.0 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks and seven pass breakups on the year.
 
- Kyle Hall – 2nd Team DB
Hall earns his first career postseason honor as a safety after recording a career-high five interceptions this fall. The senior captain ranks fourth on the team in total tackles with 56 to go along with 3.5 tackles for loss and a team-high nine pass breakups. Hall has 10 career interceptions and is set to make is 45th career appearance in the first round of the playoffs.
 
- Eric Glover-Williams – 2nd Team DB
Glover-Williams transferred into Slippery Rock with the intent of playing slot receiver on the offensive side of the ball. With early season injuries to the secondary and a plethora of receivers on the roster, Glover-Williams approached the coaches about moving to defense to help the team. He made his first start as cornerback in week five and went on to rank ninth on the team in total tackles with 31. He also tallied 4.5 tackles for loss, one sack and two interceptions, including a game-clinching interception in the road win at No. 14 Indiana (Pa.).
 
 
  
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