Long Beach City College sophomore quarterback Ryan Craighead was named SCFA All-Central West Conference Offensive Player of the Year and head coach Mike Reisbig was named Coach of the Year at Tuesday's postseason coaches meeting at LBCC. The two headline a list of 12 Vikings that earned postseason all-conference awards.
Craighead is having one of the finest seasons by a quarterback in LBCC history. Entering Saturday's Central Championship Bowl game against Golden West, Craighead has completed 198 of 348 passes for 2,897 yards and 25 touchdowns. His 2,897 yards and 321.9 yards passing per game average currently rank third in the state. Craighead has passed for 300+ yards in seven games this season, including three games of over 400 yards.
Reisbig, now in his fourth year at the helm of the Vikings, led LBCC to a Central West Conference championship this season with a 4-1 record. It was Long Beach's first conference title since 2005 as he leads the Vikings to its first bowl game since that 2005 season as well. Long Beach is 5-5 overall heading into Saturday's contest.
Craighead's primary target this season was wide receiver Travon Payne. The sophomore is on the verge of breaking numerous LBCC receiving records and was a unanimous first-team all-conference selection. In just eight games, Payne's 65 receptions broke Stanley Frank's 2005 single-season record of 62. His 1,147 receiving yards and 13 receiving touchdowns have both tied LBCC records as he heads into Saturday's bowl game.
Fellow sophomore receivers Willie Bobbitt and Sean Morris were also honored as second-team all-conference picks. Also earning all-conference honors on the offensive side of the field were sophomore guard Stephan Dube, and sophomore tackle Justin Aysse.
A pair of Vikings earned first-team defensive honors with freshman safety Dennis Buckner leading the way as a unanimous pick. Buckner was an anchor on the LBCC secondary and is second on the squad with 69 tackles to go with five pass breakups.
Joining Buckner on the first-team defensive list was sophomore linebacker Holman Faatili. Faatili currently leads Long Beach with 73 tackles and has three sacks.
Sophomore defensive end Paul Felder, freshman cornerback Montez Hunter, and freshman safety Ariel Arguello were all second-team selections.
The Vikings look to close out the 2011 season on a winning note. Kickoff for Saturday night's contest is set for 6 pm at Orange Coast College's LeBard Stadium.
Photos by John Fajardo