Posted: Dec 10, 2010
For the second year in a row, LaGrange College football will help represent the United States of America at the 2010 Tazón de Estrellas (Bowl of the Stars) in Mexico.
LaGrange seniors Andrew Christie, Drew McAdams, Jon Milner and Josh Stripling are part of the 44-man Team Stars and Stripes roster announced this week. The team will face the CONADEIP All-Stars on Saturday, December 18 at the Tec de Monterrey Stadium in Toluca, Mexico. Last year, Richard Okpani and Alex Sapp represented LaGrange in the game.
"I'm very excited for these players. They've given so much to LaGrange College and our football program," Head football coach Todd Mooney said. "Now they have the honor of representing our country and playing in red, white and blue. It's a fantastic honor."
Former La Salle, Delaware Valley College and Widener head coach Bill Manlove, who will again coach Team Stars & Stripes, has selected the roster from players nominated by head coaches at NCAA Division III colleges. Manlove and his returning staff received almost 200 player nominations to kick off the selection process.
A total of 22 colleges from 12 states are currently represented on the Team Stars & Stripes roster: Augustana College, Central College, Crown College, Dickinson College, Grinnell College, Grove City College, Illinois Wesleyan University, John Carroll University, Kalamazoo College, LaGrange College, Loras, North Central College, Ohio Northern University, Pomona-Pitzer, St. Olaf College, Thomas More College, Trine University, Union College, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Wartburg College, Wesley College, and Willamette University.
Christie is a four-year letterman from Loganville, Ga. He started all 10 games at defensive tackle for the third straight year. Christie had a career-high 20 total tackles, including four for losses and a quarterback sack. He was the team's Defensive Player of the Week for the Centre game.
McAdams, from Carnesville, Ga., has been a starter on the defensive line for the past four years. This season, he was second on the team with 56 tackles, including 4.5 tackles for loss. McAdams was the team's Defensive Player of the Week for the Birmingham-Southern game. As a sophomore, he was a first team All-SLIAC selection.
Milner, from Hochston, Ga., was a four-year starter on the offensive line at tackle. He was a first team All-SLIAC and third team D3football.com All-South Region selection as a sophomore. Milner has been the team's Offensive Player of the Week five times in his career, including twice this season.
Stripling has handled most of the Panthers' kicking duties the past four years. The Newnan, Ga. native was the SLIAC Special Teams Player of the Year as a sophomore. Stripling holds 26 school kicking records. This season, he punted for a career-best 38.7 yards per punt. Stripling had a school-record punt of 70 yards at Centre and had a season-best 47.8 yards per punt average at Centre.
