Kentucky Wesleyan's
Chuck Palonis and
David Smith received the top awards for their performance at the 15th annual All-American Bowl College All-Star game for Division II and III seniors recently.
Palonis, a 6-foot-4, 302-pound offensive tackle from Chicago, Ill. (Mount Carmel HS), won the Mick Tingelhoff Award for best lineman as his Stars team defeated Stripes 34-7. He started all 11 games for KWC in 2010.
Smith, a 5-foot-9, 209-pound wide receiver from Jersey City, NJ (James Ferris HS), received the Co-Offensive Most Valuable Player Award for the Stars. He collected a second-best 55 passes for 703 yards and five touchdowns for the Panthers.
Also participating were
Jasen Fairley,
David James and
Steven Smith.
Fairley, a 5-foot-11, 303-pound nose tackle from Collins, Miss. (Collins HS), had 16.5 tackles including seven solos, one tackle for loss and one blocked kick in starting all 11 KWC games.
James, a 6-foot, 215-pound senior linebacker from Forestville, Md. (Oxon Hills HS), led KWC in tackles for loss with 12.5 and sacks with 2.5 along with a third-best 47 tackles plus a blocked kick.
Smith, a 6-foot-2, 255-pound defensive end from Indianapolis, Ind. (HS), grabbed 32 total tackles including 20 solos plus 6.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and one blocked kick in 11 Panther contests.
This marks the second straight year student-athletes from Kentucky Wesleyan College has participated in this All-Star game.
The Panthers also participated in a scouting combine. Many All-Start participants have went on to the NFL, the NFL European League and the Canadian Football League.
The All American Bowl began in 1996. It is designed to bring together the country's top Division II and III college standouts and free agents to compete in an All-Star bowl setting.
