It was a historic season for the Luther College football team on several accounts. The Norse closed the 2022 season on the highest note possible, upending Nebraska-Wesleyan 35-21 on Saturday, November 12, earning their first home win since 2019. After its best season in five years, Luther saw four student-athletes receive All-Conference honors, the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) announced Friday afternoon.
Fifth year offensive lineman Darby Johnson (Parker, Colo. / Ponderosa) was voted Second Team All-Conference by the A-R-C head football coaches, becoming the first Norse offensive player to earn First or Second Team All-Conference honors since 2018. Teammates Beau Cornwell (Iowa City, Iowa / West Branch), Sam Feine (Andover, Minn. / Andover) and Blake Storby (Lake Mills, Iowa / Lake Mills Community) were named All-Conference Honorable Mention in Friday's release. The four honorees are the most for Luther since the 2017 season when seven Norse were honored.
Luther Football All-Conference award winners:
Darby Johnson (Parker, Colo. / Ponderosa): Second Team Offensive Line
Johnson earned Second Team All-Conference honors for the first time in his career after anchoring the Norse offensive line for the majority of the 2022 season. A fifth year senior, Johnson appeared in eight of Luther's 10 games in 2022 as the starting right guard and helped the offense gain 3461 total yards of offense during the season, 2376 receiving and 1395 rushing. In Johnson's return to the starting line up against Buena Vista on September 24, the offensive lineman helped the Norse offense set program records for individual and team passing yards per game (417) and individual single-game total offensive yards (471), and led Luther to its highest point total since the 2015 season.
Beau Cornwell (Iowa City, Iowa / West Branch): Honorable Mention Punter
Cornwell made plenty of headlines in 2022 and earned All-Conference Honorable Mention honors for his play as Luther's punter. A two-position player, Cornwell racked up 4316 total yards between the two positions, 2316 passing and 1930 punting. As a member of the Norse special teams unit, Cornwell averaged 37.12 yards per punt, including a season-long 66 yard punt, in 52 attempts. He additionally tallied nine punts of over 50 yards during the year and broke multiple records throughout the course of the season. As a punter, Cornwell led the A-R-C in 50+ yard punts, ranked third in yards punted, punt attempts and average yards/punt and ranked fourth in average yards per punt. As a quarterback, Cornwell tallied 2316 passing yards, completing 204 of 379 passes with 19 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. He closed the 2022 season with a QBR of 114.94.
Sam Feine (Andover, Minn. / Andover): Honorable Mention Defensive Line
Feine put together a season to remember in 2022, as he was a force to be reckoned with on the Norse defensive line. Feine ranked ninth on the team in total tackled, closing the season with 31.0, and ranked second on the team in tackles for loss, racking up seven in 2022. The senior additionally tallied one sack, two pass break ups, two quarterback hurries and two forced fumbles during his final season, making him one of the most prolific defensive threats for Luther. In the final home game of his career, Feine led the Norse to a 35-28 victory over Nebraska-Wesleyan with one of the best games of his career, tallying seven total tackles including 4.5 tackles for loss. He additionally forced a fumble on the Prairie Wolves first offensive play of the game, which eventually resulted in a Luther touchdown. Feine would close the game with seven tackles, one sack, two forced fumbles, two break ups and two quarterback hurries.
Blake Storby (Lake Mills, Iowa / Lake Mills Community): Honorable Mention Tight End
Storby was one of Cornwell's top targets throughout the 2022 season, closing as one of the best receiving tight ends in the A-R-C. Storby ranked fourth on the team in receiving yards, racking up 234 as the Norse tight end. More impressive were his numbers in the end zone. Storby tallied five total touchdowns during the 2022 season, which ranked second behind Andre Atkins (East Palo Alto, Calif. / Junipero Serra) nine. Storby additionally ranked top-20 amongst all receivers in the A-R-C in touchdowns and his 12.3 yards/catch average ranked in the top-25.
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