WALESKA, Ga. – The Appalachian Athletics Conference has announced its 2024 football honors, and the University of Pikeville is well represented.
 
At the top of the list are Lee Kirkland, who has repeated as AAC Offensive Player of the Year, and Coach Corey Fipps, who was named the league's Coach of the Year.
 
Kirkland is among six Bears named first-team all-conference, with six teammates on the second-team list.
 
He was joined on the first-team offensive by offensive lineman Jordan Scott and running back Amon Williams. Members of the first-team defense included defensive end Myson Livingston, linebacker Chuck Moore and defensive back Kha'Ron Thrower.
 
The second-team offense included linemen Jacob Kopchak and Renard Smith along with receiver Jalen Royal-Eiland. On the defensive side, defensive end Ben Tate, linebacker Trevor Carter and defensive back Clayton Hutto were honored.
 
Most importantly, a league-leading 32 Bears were named to the All-Academic Team.
 
Fipps took the honor for the first time in his career. He led the Bears to a 5-5 record and a share of the regular season title and claimed the school's second playoff appearance thanks to a 47-21 win over Reinhardt on Oct. 5.
 
The Bears rallied from an 0-4 start this season to make the playoffs for the first time since 2005.
 
Kirkland repeated as the offensive player of the year thanks to going 315-for-473 and 3,366 yards and 35 touchdowns. All of those are new school records.
 
The graduate student from Bluffton, S.C., had a 66.60 completion percentage for the season and was named the league's offensive player of the week five times.
 
He holds the UPike records for attempts, completions, yards and touchdowns in a game, a season and a career.
 
Williams led the AAC in rushing, totaling 1,067 yards. His average of 106.7 yards per game was 50.3 yards per outing more than the runner-up. A 5-11, 185-pound freshman from Cumming, Ga., he also led the league with 11 touchdowns rushing while also catching 47 passes, three of which went for scores.
 
Scott, a 6-2, 306-pound graduate student from Belfry, was named a first-team lineman, while teammates Kopchak (6-4, 285-pound senior from Sacramento, Calif.) and Smith (6-4, 320-pound freshman from Dallas, Ga.) were on the second team.
 
They were honored for their season of allowing only six sacks in 10 games. They also kept the quarterbacks upright to throw for 3,458 yards while opening holes for a rushing attack that picked up 1,557 yards in the regular season.
 
Also on the second team offense was Royal-Eiland, a 5-9, 172-pound junior from Youngstown, Ohio. He had a team-best 643 receiving yards while also leading the team with eight touchdown receptions.
 
Livingston, a 5-9, 250-pound graduate student from St. Marys, Ga., had 37 tackles on the season, 8.5 of them being sacks. He also forced a fumble and recovered one.
 
Moore, a 5-10, 210-pound junior from Huntsville, Ala., led the team in all three tackle columns. He finished the regular season with 76 tackles, 46 solos and 30 assisted tackles. Additionally, he had two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble.
 
Thrower is a 6-1, 210-pound senior from Fairfield, Calif., who will enter the postseason with 29 tackles, 17 of them solos. He also has 2.5 tackles for loss, leads the team with three interceptions and has been credited with seven pass breakups.
 
The second team defensive unit included Tate, a 6-0, 240-pound graduate student from Spartanburg, S.C. He has 21 tackles this season, seven of them being sacks. He's also forced three fumbles and blocked a kick.
 
Carter is a 6-3, 225-pound freshman from Ironton, Ohio, who finished the regular season with 39 tackles, five tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks this year. He also had an interception and forced two fumbles.
 
Hutto, a 6-0, 164-pound freshman from Thomasville, Ga., is second on the team with 53 tackles. He has nine pass breakups, two interceptions, two forced fumbles and a blocked kick.
 
UPike had 32 members of the All-Academic Team. To qualify, a player must be at least a sophomore academically with a 3.25 grade point average.
 
They included: Michael Akins, Najmir Bellegarde, Owein Blas, Paul Brown, Matthue Calderon, Tayden Carpenter, Andrew Castle, William Cvar, Dylan Ferguson, Tyler Freas, Alex Hatton, Marshall Jefferson, Jacob Kopchak, Myson Livingston, Chase Mims, Chuck Moore, Bradyn Price, Jordan Ratliff, Jalen Royal-Eiland, Dige Savage, Mason Sayers, Peyton Sayers, Grant Scott, Jordan Scott, Austan Shuffler, Ben Tate, Jacoby Thornsbury, Kha'ron Thrower, Tommy Turner, Levi Wheeling, Amon Williams and Jordan Williams.