ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Inoke Moala's First Team selection on the defensive line highlighted four Indiana State players that were honored on the Missouri Valley Football Conference's postseason All-Conference team on Monday morning.
Moala (First Team), Dante Hendrix (WR, Honorable Mention), JJ Henderson (DB, Honorable Mention), and Wyatt Harwood (LS, Honorable Mention) were all honored on the team as voted on by the conference's head coaches, SID, and media members.
Moala put together one of the best seasons by an Indiana State defensive lineman in program history as the Mishawaka, Ind. native tied for the Missouri Valley Football lead in both sacks (8.0) and tackles for loss (13.0), while adding six quarterback hurries and a pair of forced fumbles. The redshirt senior had a stretch where he recorded a tackle for loss in seven of eight games at one point, while posting at least four tackles in four different games.
Moala put his mark on the season early as the Mishawaka, Ind. native came out of the gates with a 2.0 sack performance in the season opener against Eastern Illinois. He added to his totals tying a career-high with a 3.5 sack game with a forced fumble against Western Illinois to earn Defensive Player of the Week honors on October 10. Moala continued his onslaught on opposing backfields the following weekend with two more sacks and another forced fumble against Missouri State to highlight his 2021 season.
Hendrix earned Honorable Mention honors after bouncing back from an early season injury that saw the redshirt junior miss five games in the regular season. The Florence, Ky. native immediately made an impact in the lineup upon his returning posting 37 catches for 395 yards and three touchdowns over the final five games of the season with a pair of 10-catch contests coming against Missouri State and Southern Illinois. Hendrix added his first 100-yard game of the season in the contest against the Bears with 10 catches for 121 yards and a score.
Henderson put together a solid campaign in his lone season with the Sycamores as the Stetson transfer took on a starting cornerback role and leadership role in the defensive backs room. Henderson earned October 24 Defensive Player of the Week recognition after a two-interception game against Youngstown State and added a key pick against Illinois State in the season-finale win. He finished third in the conference with 12 pass breakups and fifth with three interceptions.
Harwood earned Honorable Mention honors for the first time in his collegiate career as the long-time long snapper closed out his time at Indiana State. He lined up 44 career games with the Sycamores and added a key two-point conversion in ISU's 2021 season finale win over Illinois State, while taking all the snaps on special teams.
Missouri State QB Jason Shelley has been named the Missouri Valley Football Conference Offensive Player of the Year and the league's Newcomer of the Year; UNI's Jared Brinkman has been tabbed the league's Defensive Player of the Year; Youngstown State's QB Demeatric Crenshaw is the conference Freshman of the Year; and coach Matt Entz has been tabbed the MVFC Coach of the Year. The league's specialty award winners highlight the 2021 MVFC all-league first-, second- and honorable-mention team units, announced Monday, Nov. 29.
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