On December 17th Westemeyer became the first offensive lineman to win the award and only the second non-offensive skill position player to capture the honor (see yearly winners below).  There is not enough room on this page to discuss all of the accolades that this incredible representative of the Augie community has collected in his four years on campus, so we just listed them below.

Congratulations to Blaine, his family, and the Augustana football community.

THE BLAINE WESTEMEYER LEDGER: 2006-09

GAGLIARDI AWARD WINNER – 2009 (given to top player in NCAA Division III who shows best combination of athletic prowess, academic excellence and community involvement)

NATIONAL FOOTBALL FOUNDATION WILLIAM V. CAMPBELL POST-GRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP – $18,000.00 scholarship given to just 16 players nationwide (across all divisions)… Blaine was one of just two NCAA Division III players so honored

AMERICAN FOOTBALL COACHES ASSOCIATION (AFCA) ALL-AMERICAN (1 st team) – Named two years in a row: 2008 & 2009

ESPN – THE MAGAZINE ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN (as named by CoSIDA) – Two time first team honoree

ESPN – THE MAGAZINE ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT (as named by CoSIDA) – 1 st team in 2008 & 2009 and third team in 2007

ALL-CONFERENCE SELECTION IN COLLEGE CONFERENCE OF ILLINOIS & WISCONSIN (CCIW) – Three time first team selection: 2007 – 2008 – 2009

D3 FOOTBALL.COM ALL-NORTH REGION – Selected two years in a row: 2008 & 2009

JACK SWARTZ AWARD BY CCIW – Three time winner in 2007 – 2008 – 2009…Award is given to one male and one female athlete at each school in CCIW at the end of each athletic season…Blaine is only three time winner in CCIW history.

NCAA DIVISION III PRE-SEASON ALL-AMERICAN – Consensus selection in both 2008 & 2009

TAZON de ESTRELLAS (Bowl of Stars) PARTICIPANT – Selected to play on “Team Stars & Stripes” with NCAA Division III all-star team at Tec de Monterrey Campus Estado de Mexico against the Mexican All-Stars

OFFENSIVE MVP 2009 – Selected by his teammates to be the 2009 Augustana “Offensive MVP”

FRESHMAN MVP 2006 – Selected by his teammates in fall of 2006 to be the team’s Most Valuable Freshman on offense

NCAA POSTGRADUATE NOMINEE – 2009-10 school year…Winners will be named in January of 2010

NCAA TOP VIII AWARD NOMINEE – Winners will be announced at 2010 NCAA Convention

TEAM CAPTAIN – Captained 2010 Augustana team along with teammates Jake Parke, Aaron Setchell and Preston Jones

FELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIAN ATHLETES – Active member of Augustana chapter

STUDENT ATHLETE ADVISORY COMMITTEE – Currently holds down role as vice-president

ATHLETES GIVING BACK – Organization which devotes time and effort to reaching out to the Quad City Community

HOSPICE VOLUNTEER

PROCTOR IN CHEMISTRY & ORGANIC CHEMISTRY

FOUR YEAR STARTER AT OFFENSIVE TACKLE

ACADEMIC ALL-CONFERENCE IN CCIW – Four year selection: 2006 – 2007 – 2008 – 2009

STATISTICAL NOTES : In 2007 the Vikings finished the season fifth in NCAA Division III in team rushing with 299.7 yards per game…Augustana led CCIW in rushing three times while Westemeyer was a starter: 2006 (261.8 ypg)…2007 (299.7 ypg)…2008 (204.6 ypg)…Helped Vikings win 21 st CCIW title in school history in 2006…Augustana was 25-15 in Westemeyer’s career.

NOTEWORTHY : Carries 3.93 grade point average with major in bio-chemistry…Will graduate Summa Cum Laude in May of 2010.

PAST WINNERS OF THE GAGLIARDI TROPHY (as presented by the Jostens Company)

YEAR – PLAYER, POSITION, SCHOOL

2009 – BLAINE WESTEMEYER, OFFENSIVE TACKLE, AUGUSTANA

2008 – Greg Micheli, Quarterback, Mount Union

2007 – Justin Beaver, Running Back, Wisconsin-Whitewater

2006 – Josh Brehm, Quarterback, Alma

2005 – Brett Elliott, Quarterback, Linfield

2004 – Rocky Myers, Strong Safety, Wesley

2003 – Blake Elliott, Wide Receiver, St. John’s

2002 – Dan Pugh, Running Back, Mount Union

2001 – Chuck Moore, Running Back, Mount Union

2000 – Chad Johnson, Quarterback, Pacific Lutheran

1999 – Daniel Ragsdale, Quarterback, Redlands

1998 – Scott Hvistendahl, Wide Receiver/Punter Augsburg

1997 – Bill Borchert, Quarterback, Mount Union

1996 – Lon Erickson, Quarterback, Illinois Wesleyan

1995 – Chris Palmer, Wide Receiver, St. John’s

1994 – Carey Bender, Running Back, Coe

1993 – Jim Ballard, Quarterback, Mount Union

Senior offensive tackle Blaine Westemeyer led the way with his third straight first team appearance.  Joining him were fellow seniors defensive back Aaron Setchell and linebacker Eric Meyer.  Senior wide receiver Jake Parke, senior guard Jeff Daisy, and junior running back Robert Wood were all name to the second team.

Westemeyer, Parke and Meyer have all gained all conference honors in previous seasons.  After moving to a slot receiver from running back, Jake Parke just missed his third consecutive first team recognition.  Meyer was a second team selection last year.

It comes as no surprise that Westemeyer gained first team honors as the list of awards continues to pile up for the senior.  A pre-season All-America pick by D3football.com, Westemeyer will likely earn his second straight ESPN first team selection later this year.

Setchell earned the CCIW Defensive Player of the Week honor twice this season.  He led Augustana with 72 total tackles (43 solo, 29 assists), five for a loss and added one sack. Setchell also intercepted two passes and recovered two fumbles, forced another fumble, and broke up three passes.  Rounding out a strong performance he also scored two touchdowns.

Meyer captured 55 tackles (29 solo & 26 assists) good for fourth on the team.  He added one sack and an interception.  Meyer has also been named to the second team academic all-district roster by ESPN twice as well.

Parke finished his career with 1,253 rushing yards and 23 touchdowns.  This past year Parke caught 42 passes, good for third most in school history (his 46 catches in 2008 place him second), and ended his career third all time in career receptions with 97.

Wood ran for 643 yards this season and eight touchdowns with an impressive 5.6 yards per carry average.  His total was good for fourth in the conference in total rushing yards.  Wood was also named to the ESPN academic all-district second team.

Daisy anchored the defensive line this year after being a fullback last year.  He collected 23 tackles (14 solo & nine assists) and had a team high 11 tackles for a loss and six sacks.

Lee led the Vikings to a 6-4 overall record and a 4-3 mark in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin.  He finished the season with 1,714 yards passing and a .641 completion percentage, 10 passing touchdowns with only six interceptions.  Showing his versatility, Lee also rushed for six touchdowns.  His sensational season placed Lee in second place for single season passing yardage, behind only Ken Anderson, and in one year places Lee ninth in career passing yardage as well.

Augustana ended their 2009 season with a 6-4 overall record, good enough for a tie for third in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin.

The defense set the early tone for this contest forcing a three and out on Milikin’s first possession.  The Augie-O wasted little time lighting up the scoreboard scoring in four plays that covered 67 yards.  Lee & Jake Parke connected for 47 yards on the first play and Robert Wood finished the drive with a seven-yard TD run putting Augustana up 7-0.

Parke ended his career third on the all-time receptions list with 97.

The Big Blue didn’t fair any better on their second drive as quarterback Gavin Johnson threw an interception to Augie’s Alex Schroeder, setting the Vikings up on Milikin’s 44 yard line.  Augustana couldn’t finish the drive, however as Parke was stopped on fourth down.

The defense held, and Lee ran for a 3 yard touchdown on the next possession to push the lead to 14-0.  Later in the second quarter Lee added another touchdown run, this time from 11 yards out.  Then freshman running back Nick Pena added a rushing touchdown of six yards and Augie led 28-0 at half time.  Lee had collected 256 passing yards at this point, well on his way to a new record.

The third quarter saw Lee’s first two touchdown passes of the day, the first to senior Matt Downing, who was keeping pace with Lee collecting 11 grabs last week and adding 10 more for 160 yards against Milikin.  Downing ends the year with 40 receptions for the season and 72 for his career, good enough for eighth on Augustana’s all time receptions list.

Lee’s second TD pass of the day went to Jack Gilleland as the Vikings lead extended to 42-0 by the end of the third quarter.  The Lee-Downing connection broke the single game record as a 41 yard completion found a safe home in Downing’s arms early in the fourth quarter.  Both took the rest of the day off.

Milikin managed two late touchdown’s in the fourth quarter as the final score ended 42-14

Lee finished the game 25-34 for 422, two touchdown passes, two scoring runs, and no interceptions.  All told, Lee wrapped up his season with 1,714 yards passing, good for second all-time for a single season, again behind Anderson. With this one season total, Lee has also placed himself in the top ten on the career passing list at number nine.

Pena led the Viking ground attack with 37 yards and a touchdown on seven carries. As has been the case for most of the season, the Augustana defense was solid again. Big Blue running back Dion Wilson, who came in leading the CCIW in rushing, gained just 18 yards on seven carries and as a team, Millikin gained just 267 total yards and only 79 yards on 29 rushes.

Senior linebacker Preston Jones finished his career by leading the Vikings with ten tackles, including seven solos, two for loss and one sack. In addition to Schroeder, Andrew Rosset also intercepted a Millikin pass.

Augie was poised to enter the locker room at halftime with a 20-17 lead and only 30 seconds left on the  clock.  But the Cardinals stole the momentum going into the locker room after covering 60 yards in two plays to regain the lead 24-20.  North Central rode Big Mo into the second half as Augie managed only nine points while allowing 21 more, ending with a 45-26 final and a 5-4 overall record.

Lee’s 28 completed passes surpassed the old mark set by Ken Anderson in 1970.  Eleven of Lee’s completions found their way into the secure hands of senior Matt Downing, just one short of the single game mark for catches.

The Viking defense got things started on the right foot when Ben Hall put a big hit on North Central WR Steve Hlavac to separate him from the ball on only the third play of the game. Augie linebacker Cody Wickenhauser came up with the recovery to give the Vikings possession at the Cardinal 48-yard line.

Then the Vikings Special Teams made a great play as Augustana’s punter Alex Schroeder snuck through an opening on the left side to pick up a big first down and extend the drive.  The officials tacked on 15-yards for a Cardinal late hit and Augie was back on track.  The drive culminated in a Ryan Gibbons 37-yard field goal and Augustana took the early lead 3-0.

The stingy Viking defense forced a quick three-and-out and the offense wasted no time chalking up another three points on a 47-yard field goal by Gibbons.  Interestingly, Gibbons initially missed his first attempt after the ball bounced off the right upright.  But in a strike of luck, the play was blown dead for a delay-of-game penalty.

Early in the second quarter the Cardinals rebounded when Hlavac caught a 32-yard strike from QB Aaron Fanthorpe to take a 7-6 lead.  On Augustana’s next possession Lee overshot his intended target and North Central returned the interception to the Viking 10-yard line.  Just two plays later Phillip Rossberg scored on a tough 14-yard run to put the bad guys up 14-6.

In typical style for the first half of this game, Augustana answered with a nine-play drive that covered 68-yards and ended with Lee doing the honors on the ground on fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line.  Gibbons missed the point after and the score remained 14-12 in favor of North Central.

A 27-yard Morgan Sheridan field goal pushed the North Central lead to 17-12 before the Vikings caught a huge break. Forced to punt for the first time with just over a minute-and-a-half left before halftime, Schroeder’s kick was muffed by the Cardinals’ Joe Schneiderbauer. Augustana’s Corbett Ball made the recovery at the Cardinal 20 and it took the Vikings just four plays to get in the end zone with Lee and Downing connecting for the final eight yards.

Unfortunately the Cardinals answered with the  two play Fanthorpe to Hlavac connection that covered 60-yards for the go-ahead score just before half.

The Cardinals maintained that momentum into the second half, forcing Augustana to punt on its first two possessions and then getting a 3-yard touchdown run by Rossberg to cap a six-play, 75-yard drive. That made the score 31-20 with 1:10 left in the third quarter and North Central pushed the lead to 38-20 when Fanthorpe hit tight end Kyle Fiedorowicz with a 16-yard touchdown pass at the 7:04 mark of the fourth.

Lee then led Augustana on a 12-play, 83-yard touchdown drive to cut it to 38-26 with 3:31 left. He completed five passes on the drive with the final one going five yards to Downing for the score. The touchdown pass was also Lee’s 26th completion of the game, breaking Anderson’s record.

After a failed Augustana on-side kick, North Central finished the Vikings off with a 4 play, 44-yard drive capped by a Pat Malek TD run to put the final points on a 45-26 Augie loss.

Lee finished the day with 28 completions in 40 attempts for 257 yards—a new career high for the sophomore. Downing hauled in 11 passes for 135 yards and two touchdowns, leaving him just one off Paul Ander’s school record of 12 receptions set in 1968.

Pena was able to join the starting lineup as the first and second team running backs were not playing, and he took full advantage.  Sharing time with senior Jake Parke, the two-headed monster racked up 188 yards (88 by Pena, 100 by Parke) and four touchdowns (Parke scored one on Augie’s opening drive).

North Park opened the game the game by throwing an interception that led to Parke’s touchdown scamper followed by a North Park fumble that Augustana turned into seven points early in the contest.

Despite two bad possessions, North Park responded with a five-minute scoring drive of their own to get within seven points.  But Pena shut the door before halftime, scoring two more times to put the good Vikings up 28-7 at half.

Augustana quarterback David Lee started the scoring in the second half with a 52-yard touchdown run with 10:23 left in the third quarter. Just before the end of the quarter, senior Henry Deters closed out the Augustana scoring with an eight-yard touchdown run on his only carry of the day.

North Park QB Shelby Wood connected with Sam Cochiaro to end all scoring for the day as the scoreboard read 42-14.

Despite playing without several key performers, Augustana’s offense was efficient if not spectacular. The Vikings scored on every possession of the first half except their last, when they took a knee. The ground game produced 303 net yards on 42 carries, an average of 7.2 yards per tote. Through the air, Lee connected on 9-of-14 for 135 yards and freshman Nick Welch  went 3-for-3 for 19 yards in his first action of the year. Lee added 72 rushing yards on six carries as well. Zach McCullough lead Augustana with five catches for 65 yards.

Defensively, Augustana allowed just 103 rushing yards on 35 North Park carries. Wood completed 10-of-17 passes for 129 yards and the Vikings intercepted him once. John Mago was the leading Augustana tackler with eight. Aaron Setchell had three tackles for loss and forced a fumble.

To no one’s surprise, Augustana’s Aaron Setchell took the CCIW “Defensive Player of the Week” honor.  To say Setchell earned this honor is an understatement of mass proportion.  Setchell tallied 19 tackles (eight solo, 11 assists) in the Vikings’ win over conference foe Carthage last Saturday.  Adding to his resume, Setchell knocked down three passes, recovered a blocked punt and scored a touchdown.  He helped slow down a potent Red Man offense that had been averaging 463 of total offense.  Carthage managed only 382 while scoring only 20 points.

Augie’s first scoring drive ended with an 18-yard touchdown scamper by quarterback David Lee, capping a 10 play 80 yard drive.

The Red Men answered with it’s own impressive 12 play 66 yard scoring drive.  Carthage quarterback Evan Jones completed a touchdown pass to Mike Koeneman to finish off the drive.  The Vikings managed to block the extra point and Augie held to a slim 7-6 lead.

Augustana answered with another seven minutes of ball control offense that brought back images of the vaunted Viking attack of yesteryear.  The 16 play, 80 yard drive ended with a spectacular grab by Zachary McCullough in the end zone for the second Augie score of the night.

The Augustana defense then took its turn in the spotlight as Shane Holl forced a fumble and recovered it to give the Vikings the ball back on the Carthage 49 yard line.  Augie’s sophomore running back A.J. Hoger wasted no time putting the Vikings ahead 21-6 on the third play of the ensuing series, covering 36 yards for the touchdown.

Again the Augie D came up big, stripping Carthage QB Andrew Schweitzer of the ball to end a Red Man threat.

Then it was the Special Teams’ turn for a big play.  On fourth-and-eight from the Carthage 21 with 48 seconds left in the half, Rosset came through to get a hand on Funk’s punt and Setchell ran it down in the end zone to put Augustana up 28-6 at the break.

The Red Men looked like they had some life on the opening possession of the second half, but after going 56 yards in 11 plays to the Viking four-yard line, the drive bogged down and Carthage lined up for a 21-yard field goal attempt. However, the snap was bad, holder Rick Loisi was dropped for a six yard loss and the Red Men came away empty.

A Rosset interception and 46-yard return set up the Vikings’ next score. Lee capped a two-play, 10-yard drive with an eight-yard touchdown pass to Jack Gilleland to make it 35-6 Augustana.

Carthage managed to sandwich a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns around a 1-yard touchdown run by Hoger to account for the final score of 42-20.

The Viking offense produced 307 rushing yards on 45 carries with Hoger (11 carries, 116 yards and two touchdowns) and Robert Wood (16-114) each eclipsing the 100-yard mark. Lee finished the night with 16 completions in 22 attempts for 138 yards and two touchdowns and added 33 yards and one touchdown rushing. Parke caught a team-high six passes for 51 yards.

On the defensive side of the ball, Augustana did a great job of containing a Carthage passing attack that entered the game averaging almost 400 yards a contest. Jones, who set several CCIW records last week in a loss to North Central, managed to connect on 42-of-56 passes for 327 yards, but could get the Red Men in the end zone just once while the game was still in doubt. Setchell led the effort with a season-high 19 tackles and broke up three passes as well. John Mago added 10 stops.

The Titans opened with an impressive drive that was eventually stopped by the Vikings.  On fourth down, Illinois Wesleyan kicker Michael Fenger missed a 28-yard field goal attempt wide left.  However, IWU got a second chance on a running into the kicker penalty against Augie.  Passing on another field goal attempt on the ensuing fourth-and-two, Titan head coach Norm Eash gambled and picked up the first down.  A few plays later Brien Rooney, the Titan’s signal caller hit Michael Sloboda in the back of the end zone for the only score of the game.

Augustana fought back with an impressive opening drive of their own, but the momentum was abruptly ended as running back Robert Wood coughed up the football towards the end of an impressive run that would have put the Vikings in Illinois Wesleyan territory.

The game quickly became a chess match at that point as one promising IWU drive was snuffed out by an Andrew Rosset interception.  Neither team picked up a first down for the remainder of the first half and the teams entered the locker room at 7-0 in favor of the Titans.

The start of the second half looked promising for the Vikings as the opening kickoff was fielded by linebacker Eric Meyer and brought out to the Augie 42.  Five straight runs picked up significant yards and Augustana appeared to be rolling.  But then Jake Parke fumbled crossing over the Titan 20 yard line and Illinois Wesleyan recovered to again abruptly end a Viking drive.

The offensive stalemate continued as the next nine possessions (five by IWU & four by Augustana) yielded only one first down per team.  Augie had a chance to put three points on the board mid-way through the fourth quarter but a Ryan Gibbons’ field goal attempt was blocked.  The Vikings had only one more possession in the game that ended in a David Lee interception with 24 seconds left in the contest.

While the Viking offense moved the ball on occasion, it hurt itself with four turnovers. IWU, likewise, had some success, mostly through the air with Rooney completing 16-of-20 passes, but for just 145 yards. Augustana was more successful on the ground. Wood led the way with 76 yards on 16 carries while Lee struggled, completing just 4-of-15 passes for 30 yards while being intercepted twice and sacked four times. For the game, the Vikings produced just 135 yards and six first downs. Augustana’s defense limited IWU to just 75 rushing yards on 40 carries and intercepted Rooney twice.

The loss was Augustana’s first at home to IWU since 2000 and drops the Vikings to 3-3 overall and 1-2 in CCIW play.