Brentwood, TN - (Sports Network) - Eastern Illinois redshirt junior wide receiver Erik Lora was named the Ohio Valley Conference's offensive player of the year and Southeast Missouri State senior linebacker Blake Peiffer gained defensive player of the year honors Tuesday.
Lora, a Walter Payton Award finalist, has set an FCS record for receptions in a season with 124 heading into Eastern Illinois' playoff game on Saturday. He also leads the FCS with 1,531 receiving yards and has caught 12 touchdowns.
Peiffer, a Buck Buchanan Award finalist, had 117 tackles, eight tackles fo loss, two forced fumbles and a pass breakup this season.
The same schools combined to win the other two honors. EIU's Dino Babers was named the Roy Kidd Coach of the Year, while SEMO quarterback Scott Lathrop earned the freshman of the year award.
Tennessee State led the way with six All-OVC first-team selections, including five on the offensive side of the ball.
2012 All-OVC First Team
Offense
QB - Casey Brockman, Murray State
RB - Matt Denham, Eastern Kentucky
RB - Trabis Ward, Tennessee State
WR - Erik Lora, Eastern Illinois
WR - Quentin Sims, UT Martin
TE - A.C. Leonard, Tennessee State
C - Sherman Carter, Tennessee State
OG - Collin Seibert, Eastern Illinois
OG - Kadeem Edwards, Tennessee State
OT - Aaron Adams, Eastern Kentucky
OT - Rogers Gaines, Tennessee State
Defense
DL - Artavious Dowdell, Eastern Illinois
DL - Robert Knowles, Eastern Kentucky
DL - DeMitrio Tyson, Jacksonville State
DL - Montori Hughes, UT Martin
LB - Anthony Brown, Eastern Kentucky
LB - Blake Peiffer, Southeast Missouri
LB - Ben Johnson, UT Martin
DB - Nick Beard, Eastern Illinois
DB - Brooklyn Fox, Eastern Kentucky
DB - Tylor Brock, Southeast Missouri
DB - Steven Godbolt, Tennessee State
Specialists
PK - Cameron Berra, Eastern Illinois
P - Chad Zinchini, Tennessee Tech
RS - Walter Powell, Murray State
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