Bucknell University Athletics
Five Bison Named to Regional Academic All-America Football Teams
11/9/2000 7:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 9, 2000
LEWISBURG, Pa. --- Bucknell University placed five players on the 2000 Verizon Academic All-District 2 Football teams, including three first team selections for the second straight year. The Bison tied with Lafayette College for the most players on the team overall, and tied for the most on the first team with Duquesne University and Towson University.
Senior strong safety Dave Evans (Kulpmont, Pa./Mount Carmel), senior free safety Kevin Eiben (Delta, British Columbia/Vancouver College), and senior linebacker Eric Higgins (Kulpmont, Pa./Mount Carmel) were all named to the District's first team. Sophomore fullback Matt Kawczenski (Wilkes Barre, Pa./Hanover) and sophomore linebacker Dane Helsing (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk) were chosen to the second team.
The District 2 team includes players from schools in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and Washington D.C. By virtue of their selection to the first team, Evans, Eiben and Higgins will be included on the national Academic All-America ballot. Those honors will be voted on and released on December 5. Evans, a repeat selection to the first team, carries a 3.75 grade-point-average as a civil engineering major at Bucknell. A perennial member of the Dean's List and a member of the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll, he has one of the highest GPA's on the team. The 5-9, 185-pound senior has been an integral member of the Bison special teams units the past two seasons and sees plenty of action in Bucknell's nickel defense. Earlier this season he made his first career interception a memorable one, returning it a school-record 82 yards for a touchdown against Lafayette. He currently ranks third in the team with two interceptions for 115 return yards. Evans has made 28 tackles this season, including 13 solo hits and tackle for a loss of seven yards. He also has three pass breakups and has recovered a fumble.
Eiben makes his first appearance on the first team and his second overall after garnering second team honors as a sophomore in 1998. The senior free safety, who is also an all-conference outfielder on the Bison baseball team, is having a career season. He has already set three school records, was named the national Defensive Player of the Week following his four-interception performance in the Duquesne win, and has been featured on ESPN's Thursday Night Football Hidden Video segment.
Eiben currently leads the team and the Patriot League with eight interceptions, and ranks tied for fifth in Division I-AA with 0.89 interceptions per game. He has set a new school mark for interception return yardage with 150, and is just two interceptions shy of tying the mark for thefts in a single season. The 6-0, 205-pound native of Delta, British Columbia ranks second on the team with 61 tackles and leads the club with nine pass breakups. In addition, he leads the team and ranks third in the Patriot League with a 10.4-yard average on 21 punt returns. With two games remaining in his gridiron career, Eiben currently ranks tied for fourth on the school's all-time interceptions list with 13 and has totaled 258 tackles (163 unassisted) during his four years with the Orange and Blue. He has already set the school record for career punt return yardage with 479 yards on 42 returns (11.4), and his 219 yards this year ranks as the eighth-best single season total.
A management major with minor in computer science, Eiben carries a 3.23 GPA.
Higgins makes his first appearance on the Academic All-District 2 squad. A bio-chemistry/pre-med major with a 3.69 GPA at Bucknell, he has been on the Dean's list six times and on the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll twice. Higgins is a member of both the Alpha Lambda Delta and Phi Sigma Biology Honor Societies, and is a volunteer tutor for biology, chemistry and physics.
The current roommate and former high school teammate of Evans, Higgins has made a successful return to football after missing his sophomore season with head injuries. A starter at outside linebacker, he has recorded 23 tackles (10 unassisted) including four behind the line of scrimmage.
Kawczenski is also making his first appearance on the all-district team. The sophomore fullback has a 3.29 GPA as a civil engineering major at the university and is a member of the Dean's List.
A key member of the Bucknell special teams unit, it was a special teams play that ended his 2000 season prematurely. On a kickoff in the third game of the season he tore his ACL, ending what was looking to be a promising campaign. The 6-0, 223-pound back had just earned a starting role following the season-ending injury to teammate Jason Marrow, and was the integral lead blocker of the Bison rushing attack. Prior to his injury, he carried the ball once for four yards.
Helsing, who also makes his initial appearance on the all-district team, has played in eight of the nine games this season as a backup linebacker and a member of the special teams unit. He has started twice this year and has recorded eight tackles, including one for a loss of yardage.
A biology major with a 3.46 GPA, Helsing is a member of the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll.
