Minnesota State University Moorhead

MOORHEAD, Minn. - Junior inside linebacker, Jake Larsen was honored Saturday as the Minnesota State University Moorhead Dragons football team's Most Valuable Player. All of the 2009 football award winners were also announced.

Larsen, a native of Waupun, Wisc., led the team with 65.5 tackles this season, 39 were solo. He ended the year with 2.5 tackles for a loss of three yards. Larsen also forced one fumble at Bemidji State, recovering two on the season, one at BSU and one against Southwest Minnesota State. Larsen was also named the Finest Defensive Back of the Year. Larsen was also named to the honorable mention All-NSIC team.

Also earning awards were Enol Gilles (2), Joseph Johnson, Brett McWilliams, Jon Swart and Zackery Tourangeau.

Gilles, a native of West Palm Beach, Fla., was named the Finest Offensive Back and the team's Most Dedicated Player. He ended his senior season as the team's leader in rushing, ended the year with 381 yards on 145 carries. He averaged 2.6 yards per carry and 7.4 yards per catch, catching 17 asses for 126 yards.

Joe Johnson, a Moorhead native, was selected as the team's Special Teams Player of the Year. He led hte team in all purpose yards with 1,403, he averaged 127.5 all-purpose yards per game. He had 41 kick-returns averaging 18.1 yards per return. He also averaged 6.7 yards per punt return, treturning 18 for 120 yards. Johnson also have 55 catches as a wide receiver for the Dragons, for 537 yards. He was also selected as a member of the second team All-Conference.

Freshman Brett McWilliams was honored as the Most Valuable Freshman after rushing for 194 yards in 2009. He had 62 carries, averaging 3.1 yards per rush. The native of Roscoe, Ill., also caught five passes for 30 yards.

Senior Jon Swart was picked as the team's Finest Defensive Lineman. Swart, a member of the NSIC second team All-Conference, ended his career with eight tackles for loss in 2009. The tackles for loss accumulated 39 negative yards for the Dragons' opponents. On the season he had 27.5 tackles, including two sacks for a loss of 21 yards.

Tourangeau, a sophomore from Apache Junction, Ariz., was named the Finest Offensive Lineman. He was an anchor for the Dragons offensive line in his second year as a starter.

Also awarded at the banquet were Michael Michalovitz and Robert Armstrong, both redshirts, were deemed the Scout Offensive Player of the Year and Scout Defensive Player of the Year, respectively.