Maple Ridge’s Daniel Martin, a linebacker for the Simon Fraser University Clan football team, was named to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference All-Conference second team this week.
Martin, a senior on the NCAA Division II team, finished the 2011 season with 48 tackles in 10 games this season. Martin also contributed three sacks and 7.5 tackles for a loss.
Martin is a criminology major, and one of many Clan player to receive GNAC awards this season. Martin was a graduate of Westview Secondary School, and played for the Meadow Ridge Knights community football program.
Martin’s teammate on the defensive line, Justin Capicciotti, was named Co-Defensive Player of the Year along with Gavin Drake of Western Oregon University. The senior defensive lineman was also named to the first All-Conference team on the defensive side of the ball. Capicciotti finished first in the GNAC in sacks this season with 10 and also ranked in the top 10 in tackles with 66, just eight behind the conference leader, who happened to be SFU teammate Casey Chin.
Chin was one of four linebackers named to the All-Conference second team. The sophomore led the GNAC in tackles this season with an average of 8.2 per game, 74 in total.
The Clan finished off their season on a high note earlier this month, with a 35-24 comeback win over the Central Washington University Wildcats.
The Clan scored 29 points in the fourth quarter en route to the win, giving them a 3-7 record this season, while going 2-6 in conference play.
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