Football | 11/21/2014 10:02:00 AM

Montclair, NJ - The Montclair State football team grabbed a share of the New Jersey Athletic Conference championship this season and the Red Hawks also grabbed their share of spots on the 2014 NJAC All-Conference Team announced on Friday morning.

Senior C.J. CONWAY was named the Defensive Player of the Year while senior punter JOE JANOVIC and freshman linebacker JOSHUA BETTS were tabbed Special Teams Player and Defensive Rookie of the Year, respectively as the Red Hawks placed 15 players on the team, including eight on the First Team.

Conway, the lone MSU player to repeat on the All-NJAC Team, was joined on the First Team with Janovic, running back DENZEL NIEVES, fullback TARIQ TURNER, offensive lineman RUAIDHRI WALSH, defensive lineman JOE KOONCE, linebacker MICHAEL KLIMEK and safety ERIC GARGIULO. Quarterback RYAN DAVIES, wide receiver AARON WILLIAMS, defensive end NICK MANGUM, defensive back BILL SHIMKO and punt returner PAT CAGGIANO were chosen to the Second Team with senior tight end BEN KOHLE and defensive back ALLEN PHILLIPS selected Honorable Mention.

The 15 players, 14 of which earned All-Conference honors for the first time, helped Montclair State to an 8-2 mark this past season, including a 6-1 record in the NJAC as the Red Hawks claimed the 20^th conference title in its history. (Click here complete list of MSU All-Time NJAC Football honors).

Conway becomes the seventh player in program history to be named NJAC Defensive Player of the Year and the first cornerback among the group. He is the first Red Hawks to collect the award since Chad Faulcon in 2011. Conway, a two-time NJAC Defensive Player of the Week selection, led the league in passes defended with 17 and was second with eight interceptions as he also registered 51 tackles and forced two fumbles. He picked off four passes against Cortland in a 30-20 win, MSU's first in Cortland since 2003 and he had two in the season finale against Kean helping the Red Hawks to a 16-14 win that clinched a share of the league crown. Conway finished with 12 career picks which is sixth all-time in MSU history. He also ended his career with 33 pass breakups, second-best on the career list.

Janovic's selection marks the fourth time in the last six seasons that MSU had captured that honor. He joins kicker Marco Capozzoli (2009) and Dan Keegan (2010 & 2011) for that distinction.  The senior led the conference in average a 37.7 yards per punt. In 70 attempts this season, Janovic pinned opponents inside their 20 yard line 26 times, including a season-high six in a 7-6 win at Salve Regina. Only 19 of the attempts were returned this year averaging less than five yards per return. Janovic was a Special Teams Player of the Week selection during the year and had five punts of 50 yards or more, including a pair of 60-yard attempts. He booted a season-best 66 yarder against Morrisville State.

Betts is the eighth player to earn NJAC Defensive Player of the Year honors and the first since linebacker DAN AVENTO in 2010. Named Defensive Rookie of the Week during 2014, Bets totaled 34 tackles and three sacks while forcing a pair of fubmles and recovering one. He had a season-high 12 tackles, sack and forced fumble in a win at Southern Virginia on October 11 and had a sack, forced fumble and fumble recovery for a touchdown in Montclair's 28-7 win over The College of New Jersey a week later. He had seven tackles against Morrisville State and wrapped up his rookie campaign with four tackles in the win at Kean.

Nieves rushed for 908 yards and scored a league-leading 14 touchdowns despite missing the final two games of the year during injury. He averaged 113.5 yards per game and ranked eighth in the NJAC in total offense and fourth in all-purpose yards (118.6 ypg). He posted six 100-yard games during the year, including 191 yards and four touchdowns against Lincoln University in September. Nieves, who averaged 4.9 yards per carry, had 118 yards and two touchdowns versus William Paterson and ran for 102 yards and a score in a 20-16 over Rowan on October 25. The following week he had 128 yards and two touchdowns in the victory at Cortland.

Turner rushed for career-best 445 yards and collected four touchdowns in his final season with MSU. He had 91 yards on 12 carries in the win over Lincoln and rushed for 64 yards and a touchdown in Montclair's 35-15 win at Southern Virginia. Taking over for Nieves in the final two games, Turner had 198 yards and three touchdowns combined against Morrisville State and at Kean University in the season finale.

Walsh, who started all 10 games at center, anchored an MSU offensive line that ranked third in the NJAC in scoring offense at 22.2 points per game. The Red Hawks were fourth in the league in total offense (289.1 yards per game) and rushing offense (130.8 ypg) and allowed just 13 sacks in 257 pass attempts, second-lowest total in the conference.

Klimek posted 48 tackles and was third on the team with three interceptions, the latter number ranking fourth in the NJAC.  He added five pass breakups and had back-to-back games of five tackles in wins over The College of New Jersey and Rowan. In the victory over TCNJ, Klimek also had a sack and broke up two passes. He had eight tackles in the win at Cortland and closed out his year with a season-best nine tackles, including seven solo stops in the win versus Kean.

Gargiulo leads the nation and set a new MSU single-season record with 10 interceptions this season as he tied the school mark set by Joe Altomare in 1986. Gargiulo had two interceptions along with five tackles the Red Hawks' 19-6 win at William Paterson and then tied an NCAA Division III record and became the first player since 2000 to pick off that many passes in one contest. He was third in the conference in passes defended with 14 and ended his season with a 10-tackle performance along with one interception at Kean.

Koonce, a team captain for 2014, totaled 36 tackles and added 2.5 sacks while also breaking up four passes. He had five tackles and two breakups in the win at Salve Regina and had seven tackles along with a sack as Montclair State downed Cortland. He had six tackles versus Morrisville State and closed out his career with a pair of tackles, a sack and fumble recovery at Kean.

Davies finished third in the NJAC in pass efficiency rating (116.8) and was fifth in passing average and seventh in total offense. The junior signal caller completed 130-of-219 passes for 1333 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions. He passed for a season-best 215 yards at Cortland and was 14-of-21 for 116 yards and two touchdowns at Southern Virginia.

Mangum ranked third in the NJAC in sacks with five and he finished the year with 33 tackles. He had four tackles and 1.5 sacks versus Lincoln and had another 1.5 sacks along with six tackles at William Paterson the following week. He also posted a season-high seven tackles along with a sack against Morrisville State on November 8.

Williams was on the receiving end of several of those pass attempts pulling in 31 catches for 477 yards and four touchdowns. Missing two games during the year, Williams had seven catches for 108 yards at William Paterson, a game in which he also blocked a field goal attempts. He had four receptions for 92 yards and two touchdowns in the win over Rowan and posted a season-high with 10 catches for 130 yards at Cortland. He ranked eighth in the NJAC in receptions per game and was sixth in yard per contest at 59.6 per game.

Shimko finished as the team leader in tackles with 65 which ranked him in the Top 20 in the NJAC in that category. He also broke up five passes during the season. Shimko had 12 tackles and two pass breakups at William Paterson and came up with eight stops in the win over Rowan. He made nine tackles against Morrisville State and reached double digits for tackles for the second time making 10 against Kean in the season finale.

Caggiano led the NJAC in punt returns averaging 12.1 yards per run back. He averaged 16.0 yards per return on four runbacks at Salve Regina and 19.5 yards per return at William Paterson. Caggiano averaged 22.0 yards per return on three attempts versus The College of New Jersey, including a 54-yard runback for a touchdown in the 28-7 victory.

Kohle provided plenty of blocking help during the season and also pulled five catches for 78 yards while also collecting three tackles on special teams. Phillips was named the NJAC Defensive Player of the Week after recording nine tackles along with 2.5 sacks in the win over Lincoln. A week later he had 10 tackles and 1.5 sacks at William Paterson and finished the year with 36 tackles and six sacks which was second in the NJAC.