DG
Derek Giesking
  • Criminology
  • Class of 2014
  • Cedar Rapids, IA

Hefty Headlines Quintet of Peacocks on 2014 All-Region Teams

2014 Dec 18

Lucas Hefty headlines a group of five Peacock football players that have been named to one or more of the three All-Super Region 3 Teams. Upper Iowa's starting tight end was named as a first team performer by all three super region team presenters including Daktronics, Don Hansen's Football Gazette and the Beyond Sports Network.

Alex Wahl was named to the Beyond Sports Network first team and the Daktronics second team. Chris Smith earned a spot on the second team from Don Hansen's Football Gazette and Beyond Sports Network, while Chayz Holt was selected as a third team corner back by the same two presenters. Derek Giesking was the final Peacock named to a team as the wideout claimed a third team honor from the Beyond Sports Network.

All five UIU players were named as All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference South Division performers following the season. Hefty, Wahl, Smith and Giesking all landed on the division's first team, while Holt earned second team honors in 2014.

The Peacocks finished their 2014 season with a 6-5 overall record and a 2-5 mark in the NSIC South Division. Upper Iowa's 4-0 record against the NSIC North Division, which included a win on the road at St. Cloud State University, propelled the team to a second straight winning season for the first time since 1963 and 1964 when the team won 6 and 8 games in consecutive years. The half dozen victories also included a Homecoming Weekend victory over Augustana College as the team pushed their record to 5-0. A loss to Winona State University at home came in between a pair of three-point losses on the road to Southwest Minnesota State University and Concordia University, St. Paul in overtime. UIU earned their sixth win of the season in an impressive victory over Wayne State College on senior day putting 59 points on the scoreboard at Harms-Eischeid Stadium. The Peacocks closed out their season with losses on the road to the nationally-ranked University of Sioux Falls and Minnesota State University, Mankato. Minnesota State will play on Saturday, Dec. 20, against the ThunderWolves of Colorado State University-Pueblo in Kansas City, Kan. for the NCAA Division II Championship.

The six victories this season mark the 17th time a football team at UIU has reached the 6-win mark in the program's 120-year football history. The Peacocks, who have only had five winning seasons prior to 2013 since 1966's 8-2 campaign, wrapped up just their 36th winning season in their history.

Hefty, who spent the season battling injuries, played through his pain to catch 63 passes for 737 yards, 11th most among all NSIC receivers, and 4 touchdowns as UIU's starting tight end. In his four years with UIU, the Traer, Iowa native snared 176 passes for 2,213 yards and 23 touchdowns. Hefty's biggest games of the season came in the team's home opener against Minnesota State University Moorhead (8 rec., 116 yds, 1 TD), on senior day against Wayne State (9 rec., 113 yds., 1 TD) and at #17 Sioux Falls (7 rec., 135 yds). He finished his career in third place all-time at UIU in receiving touchdowns, seventh place all-time in total touchdowns and sixth all-time in career receptions and all-time receiving yards. Hefty also recorded the 6th most career receptions in NSIC history as well as the sixteenth-most receptions per game all-time in the Northern Sun games.

Wahl led the Peacock defense from his linebacker position recording 127 tackles including 80 solo tackles. He accumulated 18.5 tackles for loss and 5 sacks, defended 6 passes, forced 4 fumbles and blocked a kick as well. His total tackles, solo tackles, and tackles for loss are all new high marks, while his forced fumbles tie the high mark during Upper Iowa's 10 years of play at the NCAA Division II level. In the rankings, Wahl's total tackles rank 15th in all of NCAA Division II and 2nd in the NSIC, while his solo stops are 4th best in the nation and tops in the conference. His tackles for loss are ranked 22nd in the country and 1st in the NSIC. The Elgin, Ill. native played the final three games of the season with a cast on his hand and will need surgery following the season to repair the injury.

Smith, UIU's all-time leader in career rushing yards with 4,347 yards, also had to battle through injuries during the second half of his senior season. The Brown Deer, Wis. product was on his way a second-straight historic season out of the backfield, but injuries stole two full games and countless other snaps during the final two games this season. Through the first five games, Smith had racked up 837 yards (167.4 yards/game) and 15 touchdowns (3 TD's/game). The great start included 247 yards at home against Bemidji State University, with one scamper starting at UIU's 1-yard line and ending in the end zone after a 99-yard run, and 208 yards rushing at St. Cloud State. Smith battled through an initial injury prior to the team's sixth game to pick up 104 yards and a score against Southwest Minnesota State University, but endured a new injury that kept him from suiting up the next two games against Winona State and Concordia-St. Paul. Smith ran with the support of an energetic Senior Day crowd against Wayne State for 148 yards and 3 touchdowns giving Peacock fans one last day to remember the sensational running back in true form. For the year, Smith ran for 1,144 yards on 182 carries for averages of 127.1 yards/game and 5.9 yards/carry and 19 touchdowns, the second-most scores in a season in Peacock history. Warren Pierce scored 20 times during the 1966 campaign. Smith also caught 26 passes for 191 yards. His 19 scores this season push his program record in career touchdowns to 45 over his 35 games played (9 missed due to injury).

Holt wrapped up his two-year stint with Upper Iowa in fine fashion grabbing the most interceptions in a season for UIU during the 10 years of play in NCAA Division II. His 8 interceptions, which ranked 6th in nation and 2nd in the conference, came in 6 different games and included three against Augustana in UIU's first-ever win over the Vikings. The Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. native recorded 50 tackles this season including 38 solo stops and 1 tackle for loss. Holt defended 18 passes, the 11th highest mark in the country and 2nd best in the NSIC, and forced 1 fumble. Since transferring to Upper Iowa from Riverside community College, Holt has posted 97 tackles with 73 solo tackles and intercepted 11 passes from his corner back position.

Giesking, who earned All-NSIC Honorable Mention honors after a breakout season in 2013, picked up right where he left off in 2014. After missing the first game of the season, the redshirt senior went on a tear pulling in 93 catches, a new single-season Peacock record, and eclipsing the all-time receptions mark at Upper Iowa with 208 in his career including 158 in the last two seasons. Giesking set two individual game records this season as well when he pulled in 15 receptions in back-to-back games setting the new high-mark for UIU receivers in a single game and in consecutive weeks (30). The Cedar Rapids, Iowa product grabbed 6 touchdowns while averaging 9.3 receptions per game, ranked 3rd in the NCAA Division II and 1st in the NSIC, and 91.4 yards per game (35th NCAA, 4th NSIC). In his career, Giesking has 208 receptions for 2,067 yards and 13 touchdowns.