ELON, N.C. – In balloting of the league’s coaches, a pair of Elon University football players have earned All-CAA Football honors as announced by the conference office on Tuesday, Nov. 22. Senior linebacker John Silas and senior kicker John Gallagher were both named as second-team honorees.
For Silas, a native of Powder Springs, Ga., this is his second consecutive all-conference honor as he was a third-team pick a year ago. Silas led Elon with 83 total tackles in 2016 and concluded the regular season ranking eighth in the league with 7.5 tackles per game. He recorded 3.5 tackles for a loss, forced one fumble, broke up three passes and tallied three quarterback hurries. Against New Hampshire, Silas intercepted the first pass of his career. In the Phoenix’s victory at eighth-ranked William & Mary, Silas notched a season-best 12 total tackles. He concluded his career with a 10-tackle outing against fifth-rated James Madison. For his career in the maroon and gold, Silas recorded 360 tackles, the fifth-most in program history.
Gallagher’s honor was the first of his career. The Caldwell, N.J., native connected on 12 of his 14 field goals on the season, including a long of 44 yards in a win over Fayetteville State. In that victory, Gallagher tied a personal best with four field goals made. He accounted for nine points (two field goals and three extra points) in the win at William & Mary. His 85.7 field goal percentage led CAA Football and rated fifth in the country at the conclusion of the regular season. Gallagher was a perfect 14-of-14 in extra point tries, giving him a team-best 50 points in 2016. Over his four seasons at Elon, Gallagher made 47 field goals, the third-most in the history of the program. He accounted for 218 points in his career.