ST. LOUIS, MO. -- Six Presbyterian College football players received postseason honors from the Pioneer Football League on Tuesday, as the league announced its annual awards.
Wide Receiver Jalyn Witcher was named to the All-Pioneer Football League's First Team as Blue Hose running back Delvecchio Powell II was named to the All-Pioneer Football League's second team for all-purpose runner.
Quarterback Ren Hefley, linebacker Alex Herriott, wide receiver Matthew Rivera, offensive lineman Blake Tyler and Powell were all named to the All-Pioneer Football League Honorable Mention list.
Jalyn Witcher, WR – First Team
Witcher wrapped up his freshman season rewriting the Blue Hose DI record book. The Little Rock, Ark. Native finished the 2021 season with 80 catches for 1120 yards and 12 touchdowns as all three of those are Presbyterian College DI single-season records. The record-setting season netted him a finalist spot on the Jerry Rice Award list for top freshman in FCS. He finished second in the DI record book with 7.3 receptions/game. Witcher is third among FCS receivers in receptions per game, fourth in yards, and sixth in receiving scores. He opened the 2021 season with five grabs for 156 yards and a DI single-game record-tying three touchdowns against St. Andrews. He added his fourth receiving score against Fort Lauderdale in week two. As the Blue Hose began conference play, Witcher totaled back-to-back games with 10+ receptions pulling down 11 for 136 yards and a pair of scores at Dayton. He one-upped it in the next contest against Morehead State with 12 receptions for 178 yards and two more scores. Witcher continued his 100+ yard performance at Davidson with eight grabs for 107 yards and his ninth score of the year. He recorded a career-high 192 yards and a score in the Blue Hose homecoming matchup with San Diego. After a quiet matchup with Stetson, Witcher bounced back with nine catches for 86 yards and a touchdown against Valpo. He added another 100+ yard game against Marist before wrapping up 2021 with his 12th touchdown against St. Thomas. He totaled at least three catches in all 11 games in 2021 highlighted by two games with 10+ grabs. Witcher had six games with eight or more receptions. He added six games with 100+ yards highlighted by the 192 yards against San Diego. Witcher had a touchdown in eight games including three multi-touchdown games.
Delvecchio Powell II All-Purpose – Second Team, Running Back – Honorable Mention
Powell totaled 775 rushing yards and 447 receiving yards to lead the Blue Hose in all-purpose yards throughout the 2021 season with 1,222. The Pooler, Ga. native finished the 2021 season with a pair of 100+ rushing yard performances as both came in PFL play against Dayton as he had 16 carries, 131 yards, and two scores along with the matchup against Marist that saw Powell total 14 rushes, 115 yards, and two scores. He also had six games in 2021 with 100+ all-purpose yards. On the receiving side, Powell had a pair of games with 11 receptions with a season-high 81 yards coming against Morehead State. Powell finished fourth in the league with his 1,222 total rushing and receiving yards just ahead of Jalyn Witcher. Powell led the league with 6.57 yards per carry which was also a PC DI single-season record and was fourth in the league with 70.45 rushing yards per contest. He sits fourth in the single-season DI record book for the Blue Hose with his all-purpose yards, fifth in all-purpose yards per game, fifth in rushing yards.
Ren Hefley, QB – Honorable Mention
Hefley played and started in all 11 games for the Blue Hose at the quarterback position. He led the PFL in total offensive yards per game (360.1), total touchdowns (41), passing yards per game (357.64), passing yards (3934), completions (351), and passing touchdowns (39). He began his Blue Hose career with a bang as he went 39-of-51 for 576 yards and a record-breaking 10 touchdowns against St. Andrews. The opener was one of three games that saw Hefley pass for 500+ yards as he had 551 vs Morehead State and 544 at Valpo. He also had seven contests in 2021 that he totaled 30+ completions with a single-game DI record for the Blue Hose of 50 coming against Morehead State. He was named to the Walter Payton Award Watch List. He finished the season with 351 completions on 563 attempts for 3934 passing yards and 39 touchdowns along with a pair of rushing touchdowns. Hefley set a PC DI single-season record for pass attempts (563), completions (351), passing yards (3934), passing touchdowns (39), and passing yards per game (357.6).
Alex Herriott, LB – Honorable Mention
Herriott played in all 11 games and made starts in the final eight games for the Blue Hose at the linebacker position. He made a team-high 61 tackles including eight tackles for loss which led the PC defense as well. Herriott added three sacks along with three quarterback hurries and a pass breakup to his stat line. The Blue Hose freshman recorded a tackle in all 11 games with a season-high nine coming in conference play against Dayton and San Diego. He added eight tackles in contests against Campbell and Valpo. He had a season-high seven solo tackles in that matchup with Valpo. All three of Herriott's sacks came during league play against Morehead State, Stetson, and Valparaiso.
Matthew Rivera, WR – Honorable Mention
The Jacksonville, Fla. native made starts in all 11 games in the Blue Hose wide receiver core that saw Rivera total 66 catches for 722 yards and five touchdowns. He opened his season with eight catches for 137 yards and two touchdowns against St. Andrews. He added his third touchdown on the season in week two against Fort Lauderdale. Rivera totaled his second game with 100+ yards against Campbell as he had exactly 100 receiving yards. The Blue Hose sophomore wideout opened league play with 117 receiving yards and a score at Dayton. He totaled a season-high 10 receptions for 90 yards against Morehead State. Rivera grabbed his fifth score of the season in the season finale against St. Thomas. His five receiving scores put him in a tie for ninth in the single-season PC DI record book and his 722 receiving yards rank seventh.
Blake Tyler, OL – Honorable Mention
Tyler played and started in nine games on the PC offensive line that saw him start at center in 2021. He was a part of an offensive line that totaled 517.9 offensive yards per game. The Blue Hose offense ranked in the top five in all of FCS with 414.6 passing yards per contest. Tyler helped block for an offense that saw Ren Hefley total three games with 500+ passing yards and had running back Delvecchio Powell rush for a pair of 100+ yard games on the ground. The Blue Hose offense had 11 100+ yard performances thru the air led by freshman Jalyn Witcher with six.
