Four earn D3football.com All-Region

Football 12/7/2022 12:25:00 PM

Four earn D3football.com All-Region

MINNEAPOLIS--Graduate student defensive end Brayden Thimons (Natrona Heights, Pa. | Highlands), senior running back Ryan Gomes (Tampa, Fla. | Walter L. Sickles), sophomore safety Brice Butler (Farrell, Pa. | Farrell) and graduate student offensive tackle Gabriel Cleveland (Cumming, Ga. | South Forsyth) were named D3football.com All-Region 2 selections Wednesday morning.

Region 2 includes the Centennial Conference, Empire 8, Liberty League, New Jersey Athletic Conference and the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC).

Thimons was a first team selection while Gomes and Butler we second team selections. Cleveland was named to the third team.

The All-America teams will be announced on the evening of Friday, December 16 at the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl.

Thimons, a three-time First Team All-PAC selection, was voted the PAC Defensive Player of the Year for second-straight season on November 15. He ranked third in the league with 16.0 tackles for loss and fourth in sacks with 8.5. His 16.0 tackles for loss rank 31st in Division III while his 8.5 sacks rank 41st. Thimons finished the year with 59 total tackles (42 solo). He also scored three rushing touchdowns in 2022.

In 25 career games at Westminster Thimons totaled 47.0 tackles for loss and 25.0 sacks.

Thimons was named the PAC Defensive Player of the Week October 24 after totaling 10 tackles (7 solo), a sack and pass breakup in win at Grove City. He was a D3football.com All-America (4th team) selection after earned First Team All-Region last season. Thimons also claimed Associated Press (AP) Division III All-America (2nd team) honors after the 2021 season.

Gomes earned the PAC Offensive Player of the Year award after leading the league with 1,024 rushing yards on 224 attempts. He had eight rushing touchdowns, the third-highest total in the league this season. Gomes also caught 13 passes for 108 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Gomes is Westminster's first 1,000-yard rusher since Dominique McKinley ran for 1,262 yards in 2015. He is Westminster's first PAC Offensive Player of the Year since Scott Froelich in 2003.

Gomes' 60 points scored this season ranked fourth in the PAC. He posted 100 or more rushing yards five times in 20223, going for a career-best 194 yards in a win over Bethany on September 10.

Butler was named a First Team All-PAC pick this season after being named an honorable mention in 2021. He finished the season with six interceptions, the second-most in the league. He returned two interceptions for touchdowns.

Butler has 11 interceptions in 21 career games. The 21 interceptions rank seventh among active Division III players.

Cleveland posted a grade of 91.50 in his final season with the Titans. In 10 starts he allowed just a pair of sacks while delivering 64 pancake blocks and 32 crucial blocks. Westminster had five games with 200 or more rushing yards in 2022. The Titans totaled 48 carries for 171 yards and three rushing scores in a 24-17 win at Grove City, the league's top rush defense, on October 22.

Westminster finished its season 7-3 overall and 6-2 in the PAC. The Titans received an invitation to participate in the Eastern College Athletic Conference's (ECAC) Clayton Chapman Bowl, but the game was canceled due to extreme winter weather conditions in the Buffalo, N.Y. area. Westminster was slated to travel to SUNY Brockport on Nov. 19.

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Players Mentioned

#19 Brice Butler: DB; 5' 11"; Sophomore

#4 Ryan Gomes: RB; 5' 8"; Senior

#56 Gabriel Cleveland: OT; 6' 4"; Graduate Student

#7 Brayden Thimons: DL; 6' 4"; Graduate Student

Players Mentioned

#19 Brice Butler
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: DB

#4 Ryan Gomes
: 5' 8"; Senior
: RB

#56 Gabriel Cleveland
: 6' 4"; Graduate Student
: OT

#7 Brayden Thimons
: 6' 4"; Graduate Student
: DL

Players Mentioned

Players Mentioned

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