Chalk up another accolade for Durango native Avery Llewellyn.
Llewellyn, a 2011 graduate of Durango High School, was named the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Special Teams Player of the Week on Monday. It was the third time he has received the honor.
The junior kicker at Colorado School of Mines (3-0, 1-0 RMAC) led the No. 22 Orediggers toward a 33-18 victory against Chadron State on Saturday, when he connected on 2-of-3 field goals. He made kicks of 37 and 44 yards, and he also went 3-for-4 on extra point attempts, with one of those attempts blocked.
The 6-4, 195-pound Llewellyn also serves as his team’s punter. He punted eight times Saturday for an average of 43.6 yards per punt. He pinned the Chadron State Eagles (1-2, 0-1 RMAC) inside their own 20 once, and he also had a punt of 75 yards.
Llewellyn was the RMAC and National Football Foundation – Colorado Chapter Special Teams Player of the Year in 2013 and was named the conference’s Preseason Special Teams Player of the Year as he entered this season.
The son of Jack and Karen Llewellyn also was named to the Beyond Sports Network Second-Team All-American list as well as the USA Football All-American team going into the 2014 season. He also is on the Fred Mitchell Watch List, the award given to the country’s top place-kicker in Division II, Division III, NAIA, NJCAA and Division I Football Championship Subdivision kickers.
Lance Orender, a senior quarterback at New Mexico Highlands, was named the conference’s Offensive Player of the Week after completing 56-of-78 passes for 620 yards and a new RMAC record eight touchdown passes Saturday against Western New Mexico (1-2, 0-1 RMAC). He also broke the Highlands record for passing yards in a game and was just 19 yards short of setting a new RMAC record in that category. His 56 completions also are a conference record and beat the previous Highlands record by 13.
The 6-5, 233-pound quarterback from Clovis, California, also broke the NCAA single-game record for the number of passes without an interception.
Seth Brown, a 5-11, 202-pound sophomore linebacker at Colorado State University-Pueblo (3-0, 1-0 RMAC), was named the RMAC Defensive Player of the Week. He had a 49-yard interception return for a touchdown in a comeback win against Western State on Saturday in Gunnison. The pick-6 came with just 10 seconds remaining in the first half. Brown also tied for the team lead in tackles with eight total and seven solo, and he also forced a fumble on a sack.
Fort Lewis College (1-2, 0-1 RMAC) players did not receive any accolades after a 40-14 loss at Black Hills State (2-1, 1-0 RMAC). The Skyhawks will play their first home game of the season at noon Saturday against Orender’s Highlands Cowboys (1-2, 1-0 RMAC).
heraldsports@durangoherald.com
