BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – Ten members of the Carleton College football team collected all-conference recognition as the MIAC handed out its end-of-season awards on Monday. Leading the way for the Knights was quarterback Jack Curtis, who was selected by the conference coaches as the MIAC Offensive Player of the Year.
 
Wide receiver Jaxon Watson, tight end Rye Storrs, and offensive lineman Declan Schwab joined Curtis on the offensive portion of the All-MIAC Team. Defensive backs Owen Detmer and Eric Lail were voted to the All-MIAC defensive unit. The four Knights that received All-Conference Honorable Mention were offensive lineman Issac Mouacheupao, defensive lineman Spencer Goetz, linebacker Jacob Ventura, and kicker Marcus Merkelbach.
 
Curtis is the first Knight in program history to be named MIAC Offensive Player of the Year, and the first Carleton football player to receive one of the conference's top individual postseason honors since former All-American quarterback Tim Nielson was named MIAC MVP in 1988.
 
Curtis earned his first All-MIAC nod after being tabbed All-Conference Honorable Mention last fall. This season, he led the MIAC with 2,918 passing yards and 28 touchdowns in conference games. He broke the MIAC single-season record with 254 completions and tied the MIAC record with seven 300-yard passing performances in conference play. His yardage total is the third-most ever by a MIAC passer during the conference slate of contests. He threw six touchdowns while totaling a career-high 478 yards against Macalester on Sept. 20 and added a 401-yard, six-TD game in the Homecoming victory over Hamline on Oct. 18.
 
Overall this fall, Curtis was 284-for-392 (72.45% completion rate) for 3,120 passing yards with 29 passing touchdowns as he broke Carleton single-season records for completions, completion percentage, and passing yards and had the second-highest passing touchdown total. Over four seasons with the Knights, he went 824-of-1216 (67.8 percent) for 8,599 yards and 83 TDs as he smashed the program records for career completions, completion percentage, passing yards, and passing touchdowns.
 
He ranks eighth in MIAC history—spanning more than 100 years—for passing yards (all games) and fifth with 6,986 yards in conference contests. His 83 touchdown tosses rank ninth in conference history (all games), and he is 6th with 67 TD passes in MIAC games. These feats were accomplished despite the fact that he underwent biweekly chemotherapy throughout the season after being diagnosed with late-stage 2 "unfavorable" Hodgkin's lymphoma in June.
 
Watson had 52 catches for 639 receiving yards and six scores during conference games, ranking him sixth, seventh, and tied for seventh, respectively, among MIAC players. He saw six games with at least 70 receiving yards and surpassed 100 receiving yards twice on the year. He had a nine-catch day at Gustavus Adolphus on Oct. 14, totaling a career-best 126 yards. Watson added a two-touchdown, 111-yard performance against Augsburg on Nov. 1. He set overall career highs with 55 receptions for 658 yards and six touchdowns on the season.
 
Storrs had 55 catches for 658 yards and seven touchdowns in MIAC play, ranking him first among conference tight ends in scores and second for both receptions and yardages. Among all MIAC players, regardless of position, he was fifth in receptions, sixth in yards, tied for fifth in touchdowns, and ninth in receiving yards per conference game (72.5). Storrs twice surpassed 100 receiving yards, led by a 140-yard, two-touchdown performance in the Oct. 18 victory over Hamline. He also had six catches for 131 yards and a score in the season finale vs. Concordia-Moorhead. Thanks to a 10-catch day at current No. 11 UW-Whitewater, Storrs finished season with new overall career bests of 65 catches for 725 yards and eight touchdowns. That reception total ranked second among tight ends across the nation and tied for 25th among all players, regardless of position. Storrs was third among the nation's tight ends in receiving yards and touchdowns.
 
After missing the second half of the 2024 campaign due to injury, Schwab returned to the starting lineup for all 10 games this season at left guard. He did not surrender a sack and helped Carleton average 336.1 passing yards per game, a figure that increased to 350.8 during conference contests (second in the MIAC). The Knights ranked second for time of possession (31:09) in MIAC games and were third in the conference for scoring (33.8 points per game), total offense (419.1), third-down conversions (46.3 percent), and fourth-down conversions (52.2 percent).
 
Detmer was tops among MIAC defensive backs with 80 total tackles, 42 solo stops, and 65 tackles for loss in MIAC games, ranking third and fourth, respectively, in the conference regardless of position. He had five games this season with double-digit tackles—including a career-high 14 stops at then-No. 4 Bethel University on Nov. 8—and finished the season with 92 total tackles (46 solo) overall, ranking seventh among DBs across NCAA Division III.
 
Lail tied for fifth in the MIAC with 72 tackles during conference games and ranked seventh with 38 solo stops. Both figures ranked second behind Detmer among conference defensive backs. Lail added two interceptions, tied for sixth in the MIAC this fall. He had 80 total tackles on the season (41 solo) to tie for 20th among D-III defensive backs. He had two games of 10-plus tackles, including a career-high 15 stops at then-No. 4 Bethel.
 
Mouacheupao started all 10 games at center for the Knights and made every offensive line protection call. He helped the offense rank second in the MIAC in passing yards and time of possession and third in scoring, total offense, third-down conversions, and fourth-down conversions.
 
Goetz started every game at defensive end and ranked third in the conference with 6.5 sacks during MIAC games and tied for third in the league with 8.5 tackles for loss. He was credited with seven additional quarterback hurries on the season and forced two fumbles, tied for second in the MIAC. Goetz totaled 27 tackles on the season.
 
Ventura appeared in nine games at linebacker the season, finishing third on the roster with 52 tackles, including 25 solo stops. He had at least five tackles in six contests, including a season-best nine stops against both UW-Whitewater and Hamline. Ventura's year included 1.5 sacks plus an interception at then-No. 4 Bethel.
 
Merkelbach received some level of All-Conference recognition for the third consecutive year. He made 44-of-46 (95.7 percent) on PATs this fall and went 6-of-7 (85.7%) on field goals, the highest success rate among MIAC kickers to attempt more than five field goals this season. Merkelbach finished his career 111-of-116 (95.7 percent) on extra points and went 19-of-23 (82.6 percent) on field goals, the highest career PAT total in recorded team history and tied for the most field goals made in recorded team history. His field goal accuracy is highest in recorded program history. Additionally, Merkelbach averaged 56.4 yards per kickoff and handled punting duties again, averaging 37.1 yards on 34 punts this fall with eight punts inside the 20-yard line and four punts of at least 50 yards.