Mount Union senior/offensive guard Derek Blanchard (Lake Zurich, IL) was named to the 2007 American Football Coaches Association Division III All-America Team, announced the AFCA on Tuesday, December 11.
Blanchard (6-2/298) has started every game (57) at left guard for the defending & nine-time National Champions (93, 96, 97, 98, 00, 01, 02, 05, 06) since his first game of his freshman season (2004). He was also a finalist for the Gagliardy Trophy.
In the quarterfinals of the playoffs, Blanchard broke the Raider record for starts set by consensus First-Team All-American linebacker Jason Hall (1994-98), who made 55 consecutive starts as a member of three Purple Raider National Championship squads (96, 97, 98). Blanchard also broke the Colleges mark for games played in (55) set by Hall and former Raider All-American cornerback Mike Miller (1999-2003).
Blanchard, a health & physical education major, is a 2007 ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA District 4 All-Academic First-Team member.
The AFCA Coaches All-America Team consists of only 25 players (11 offense/11 defense/3 special teams) chosen exclusively by Division III coaches.
The Raiders (14-0) finish up their season at the Division III National Championship Game on Saturday, December 15 against Wisconsin-Whitewater (13-1). The game can be seen live at 4 p.m. (EST) on ESPN.