Concord's Lilly, Richardson Earn Football Honors - Beckley, Bluefield & Lewisburg News, Weather, Sports

Junior linebacker Jake Lilly and junior cornerback Riyahd Richardson continued to receive accolades for their stellar play in 2012 when the duo was named to the 2012 Don Hansen Football Gazette NCAA Division II All-Super Region One first team Tuesday.

The first-team and second-team all-region selections advance to a national ballot from which the 2012 Don Hansen NCAA Division II All-America team will be named later this month.

Tuesday's commendations are just the latest in a list of postseason honors both players have received since Concord's season ended with a 23-16 win at West Virginia Wesleyan. Lilly and Richardson both earned Beyond Sports Network All-America, Daktronics All-Region and first team All-West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference recognition. Lilly was also named the WVIAC's Defensive Player of the Year.

Lilly led the WVIAC in tackles for the second consecutive season. He finished the year with 126 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, two interceptions, two forced fumbles, 0.5 sacks and six pass break-ups. The Bluefield, W. Va. native ranks fourth in Division II in tackles per game (11.45), fifth in solo tackles per game and 81st in tackles for loss per game (1.18). Lilly registered at least 10 tackles in a game seven times this season including a season-best 18 stops at Liberty.

His single-season tackle total was the third-highest in Concord history. A two-time All-WVIAC selection, Lilly enters his senior season ranked fifth for the Mountain Lions in career tackles.

For the season, Richardson totaled team-highs of five interceptions and 13 pass break-ups to go with 28 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. A native of Duncan, S. C., Richardson intercepted passes in five of Concord's final six games of the season and returned a blocked extra point attempt for two points in CU's win at West Virginia State. He is tied for 14th in the nation in interceptions per game (0.50) and leads the WVIAC in INT's and passes defended.

Richardson is tied for the most pass break-ups (39) in Concord history while also ranking third in career interceptions (10).

The junior standouts led a CU defense that ranked 14th in the nation in total defense, 11th in scoring defense and seventh in passing defense last season. Concord closed out the year by winning its final three games to finish with a 7-4 overall record and 6-2 mark in the WVIAC.

Concord finished 2012 7-4 overall and having won five of its final six games of the season. The Mountain Lions went 6-2 in the WVIAC, finishing tied for second in the league.

The Don Hansen team carries out the legacy of long-time small college football advocate Don Hansen, who passed away at age 75 on Aug. 29, 2010. Hansen, from Brookfield, Ill., started and published Don Hansen's National Weekly Football Gazette for three decades, selecting NCAA Division II All-America teams for the first time in 1988.  Don Hansen's Football Gazette began selecting Division II All-Region squads in 2003.

Super Region 1 is compiled of universities from four conferences including the PSAC, WVIAC, NE10 and the CIAA. A total of 38 teams and 129 players are represented on this team.