Puryear makes all-conference

ANDY PURYEAR

For the second consecutive year, former Ricebird football player Andy Puryear was named to the American Southwest Conference All-Conference First Team.

A linebacker for the Texas Lutheran University Bulldogs, Puryear led the conference in total tackles and accumulated some strong stats in his senior season.

He made 57 solo tackles and 49 assisted for a 106 tackle total, including 14 behind the line of scrimmage for a total loss of 33 yards. Puryear had 2.5 sacks for a total 6-yard loss, forced one fumble, recovered one fumble and picked off a pass for an interception in the first game of the year. He returned the interception 32 yards to the opposing 8 yard line and set up a touchdown two plays later.

Puryear's 106 total tackles established a new university record for the 1998-2007 non-scholarship era.

He was named as one of four linebackers on the first team.

Through his career at Texas Lutheran, Puryear made a total 279 tackles in 40 games to finish as the Bulldogs' second leading tackler in the non-scholarship era.

He was joined by three other Bulldogs: seniors Casey Wedding, a defensive lineman and kicker Holt Storrie, and junior defensive back Dwight Bonner.

Contributed Photo Hard Hitter El Campo 1998 graduate Andy Puryear, (42) makes one of his team-leading 106 tackles for the Texas Lutheran University Bulldogs.

Senior tight end Michael Janak and sophomore running back Anthony Smith were named to the second team while junior center Josh McNeil made honorable mention.

The Bulldogs finished the season with an overall record of 2-8 and a 2-6 run in conference play to finish seventh in the nine-team conference.