Individual awards keep flooding in for players on the best Winston-Salem State football team in school history.
Senior rover Alton Keaton was named a first-team selection Friday on The Associated Press Little All-America team, which honors players from NCAA Division II and Division III teams and from the NAIA, and running back Nic Cooper made the second team.
Keaton, a 5-foot-8, 180-pound spark plug, also was named the CIAA's defensive player of the year.
He led the 13-1 Rams in tackles with 104.
The All-America honor came as news Friday to Keaton when he was reached by telephone at his hotel room in Atlanta, where he's preparing for Sunday's HBCU All-Star Game.
"It's a great accomplishment, and it's a great feeling to know my hard work paid off," he said.
Keaton played a key role on a defense that allowed just 16 points a game and helped WSSU to the semifinals of the Division II playoffs. He finished with two sacks, two interceptions, seven pass breakups, two blocked kicks and a fumble recovery.
Keaton learned in July 2007 that he had sarcoma, a type of cancer that affects muscles and tissues. He went through surgery and four months of radiation treatment, was back on the football team for the 2008 season and became a mainstay for four seasons.
"I've definitely come a long way since that summer," Keaton said. "It's just a blessing for me to be here now, and I can't say enough about how much this means to me to win an award like this. I'm just thankful for the opportunity Winston-Salem State gave me and how it all turned out."
In addition to the All-America honor and preparation for the all-star game, Keaton finished his degree requirements in accounting this week. Keaton said his future could include graduate school.
Coach Connell Maynor of the Rams said Keaton's determination set him apart.
"It's a great honor for him and coming back from beating cancer and never giving up, it's just a testimony to him, and I think it's a good lesson for others," Maynor said Friday. "No matter what your size or whatever other odds are against you, Alton didn't let any of that bother him, and he did it and became successful.
"He's living proof of what you can overcome, and now he's an All-America, he's graduated and was on a championship team."
Also named to the first team was running back Jonas Randolph of Mars Hill, who led Division II in rushing with 2,170 yards.
Cooper, a redshirt junior, ran for 1,808 yards and scored 24 touchdowns this season. He was the only area player on the second team.
Third-team selections from in-state schools were running back Travis Daniels of UNC Pembroke and offensive lineman Chandler Rearden of Lenoir-Rhyne.
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