Moetului, Beaumonte and Edwards Earn Team Player of the Year Honors

Eagles honored at EWU Football Awards Banquet in the final send-off for 14 Eagle seniors

Senior Darriell Beaumonte was a repeat selection to join senior defensive tackle Charles “Dexter” Moetului and junior wide receiver Nicholas Edwards as Eastern Washington University’s Players of the Year from the 2011 football season at the Eagle Football Awards Banquet on Jan. 29. The awards were selected upon by their teammates.

Beaumonte was selected as the special teams MVP for the second-straight year, while Moetului was honored on defense and Edwards recognized on offense.

That trio helped lead EWU to a 6-5 record and 5-3 finish in the Big Sky Conference, marking the school’s 14th winning season in the last 16 years. A year earlier, they helped lead the Eagles to a 13-2 record and the NCAA Division I Football Championship, beating Delaware 20-19 in the title game on Jan. 7, 2011, in Frisco, Texas.

The Offensive Scout Team Player of the Year went to freshman quarterback Vernon Adams, who is one of the candidates to take the place of Walter Payton Award Winner Bo Levi Mitchell. The same award on defense went to sophomore linebacker Jakob Pugsley. Adams redshirted this past season and is from Pasadena, Calif. (2011 graduate of Alemany High School). Pugsley was a non-lettering squad member who is from Newman Lake, Wash., and graduated in 2009 from East Valley High School.

Captains awards were presented to five seniors -- quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell (Katy, Texas – Katy HS ’08 & Southern Methodist Univ.), center Chris Powers (Black Diamond, Wash. – Tahoma HS ‘07), offensive tackle Gabriel Jackson (Tacoma, Wash. – Mount Tahoma HS ‘07), safety Matt Johnson (Tumwater, Wash.  – Tumwater HS ‘07) and linebacker Zach Johnson (Tumwater, Wash. – Tumwater HS ‘07). Zach Johnson, however, is appealing to the NCAA to grant him a sixth year to complete his four years of eligibility because of injuries suffered in the 2009 and 2011 seasons.

Also, the Pat Roberts Memorial Award was presented to senior tight end David Miles for achieving both academic and athletic excellence. Miles is from Maplewood, Minn., and graduate from Roseville High School in 2007. He played the 2011 season as a tight end, and previously played along the defensive line for the Eagles.

Beaumonte is a 2007 graduate of Clover Park High School and is from Lakewood, Wash. A reserve Eastern running back and fullback on offense during his career at EWU, he was a second team All-Big Sky Conference selection as a special teams player after finishing the season with 15 tackles.

As a junior, he was a first team All-Big Sky selection and finished with 15 tackles and two blocked kicks, one of which he returned for a touchdown. A kickoff and punt coverage special teams standout, Beaumonte was credited with 41 tackles in his career. On offense in his career, Beaumonte rushed for 379 yards and three touchdowns, and caught 16 passes for 132 yards and one more score.

A veteran of 40 Eastern games in his career, Moetului started 11 games in his career – all in the 2011 season. From North Bend, Wash., and a 2007 graduate of Mount Si High School, Moetului finished his career with 79 tackles, including 3 1/2 sacks and 10 total tackles for loss totaling 21 yards. He also forced a fumble. He had 46 tackles and 1 1/2 sacks as a senior in the 2011 season. He had a career-high 10 tackles in the second-to-last game of his career in a triple overtime victory at Cal Poly on Nov. 12, 2011, when he played 92 of the 106 downs Eastern played on defense in the 53-51 triple-overtime win.

Edwards, a consensus NCAA Football Championship Subdivision All-American in 2011, broke Eastern’s school record for receptions in a single season. He finished the season with 95 grabs to break the record previously set by Eric Kimble with 87 in 12 games in 2005. His receptions ranks 20th in FCS history and third all-time in the Big Sky, and his average of 8.64 catches per game is fifth in BSC history.

The 19 touchdown receptions Edwards had led FCS and equaled the school record of 19 set in 2004 by Kimble. Edwards finished the season with 1,250 yards to rank fifth all-time at Eastern. Kimble also holds the touchdowns record with 19 in 2004 and the top two receiving marks with 1,453 in 2004 and 1,419 in 2005.

Edwards finished the season ranked fourth in FCS in receptions per game (8.64) and fourth in receiving yards per game (113.6). In his career, Edwards already has 29 touchdown receptions to rank second in school history, and has caught a total of 178 passes (fourth all-time at EWU) for 2,198 yards (10th).

Edwards, a 2008 graduate of Foss High School in Tacoma, Wash., had performances of 13 catches (second in school history), two of 12 (eighth), 11 (12th) and two of 10 (20th) in the 2011 season, and had nine catches for 166 yards and three touchdowns versus Portland State on Oct. 29. His 13 receptions – second-best in school history behind the record of 17 – came against South Dakota on Sept. 10.

2011 EASTERN SENIORS
(Number - Name - Position - Ht. - Wt. - Yr. - Letters Won - Hometown (High School)

#30 - Darriell Beaumonte - RB - 6-0 - 210 - 4L - Lakewood, Wash.
#29 - Jeremy Chaten - DB - 6-1 - 170 - 3L - Seattle, Wash.
#8 - Nick Gauthier - QB - 6-1 - 200 - 2L - Valencia, Calif.
#47 - Bobby Gentry - LB - 5-11 - 200 - 4L - Seattle, Wash.
#4 - Alden Gibbs - DB - 6-3 - 190 - 2L - Brooklyn, N.Y.
#92 - Mike Jarrett - K - 5-9 - 165 - 3L - Puyallup, Wash.
#60 - Gabriel Jackson - OL - 6-4 - 280 - 4L - Tacoma, Wash.
#5 - Matt Johnson - DB - 6-2 - 220 - 4L - Tumwater, Wash.
#97 - David Miles - TE - 6-4 - 255 - 4L - Maplewood, Minn.
#9 - Bo Levi Mitchell - QB - 6-2 - 210 - 2L - Katy, Texas
#95 - Charles Moetului - DL - 6-3 - 275 - 3L - North Bend, Wash.
#23 - Ethen Robinson - DB - 5-10 - 200 - 2L - Spokane, Wash.
#78 - Chris Powers - OL - 6-2 - 285 - 3L - Black Diamond, Wash.
#98 - Renard Williams - DL - 6-2 - 300 - 4L - Port Orchard, Wash.

Listed as seniors but hoping to be granted a sixth year to complete their eligibility because of injuries . . .

#33 - Tyler Hart - WR - 5-10 - 200 - 4L - Friday Harbor, Wash.
#10 - Zach Johnson - LB - 6-1 - 225 - 3L - Tumwater, Wash.