Guilford Pair Land NFF Hampshire Honor Society Recognition

GUILFORD’S KUES AND LaPLACA NAMED TO HAMPSHIRE HONOR SOCIETY

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Guilford College seniors Jake Kues (Manchester, Md./North Carroll) and David LaPlaca (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury) recently received honors from the National Football Foundation (NFF) as members of the 2011 Hampshire National Honor Society.

The Hampshire Honor Society is comprised of college football students who succeed both in the classroom and on the playing field. In 2010, 671 students from 241 schools qualified for membership in the society’s fifth year. The NFF recognizes scholar-athletes who play football at over 700 college and universities nationwide. Honorees held a cumulative grade point average of 3.2 throughout their academic career, have been a starter or an important substitute in their last year of eligibility and met all NCAA-mandated progress towards degree requirements.

Kues appeared in six games for the Quakers before suffering a season-ending injury. A linebacker, Kues tallied eight total tackles, half of which were solo stops. His best performance came when Guilford played Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Washington and Lee University Oct. 2. He had a career-high four tackles, two solo.. For his career, Kues posted 12 total tackles in 15 appearances. He played mostly on special teams and as a reserve defensive end. A two-time Academic All-ODAC Selection and six-time member of Guilford’s Student-Athlete Honor Roll, Kues graduated earlier this month with a degree in accounting with a minor in criminal justice.

A 6-0, 220-pound linebacker, LaPlaca started in all 10 of the Quakers’ games this season. The team’s lone captain, he recorded a career-high 67 tackles on the season, (37 solo), which ranked second on the team and seventh in the ODAC. His best performance came against Randolph-Macon College Oct. 23 when he recorded 10 tackles, nine solo. He also performed well against Methodist University where he had a 11 career-high stops and a fumble recovery. It was one of three games in which he led the team in tackles.

For his career, LaPlaca played in 27 games and compiled 106 total tackles (54 solo) with 6.5 tackles for loss. He also had seven deflected passes, one assisted sack, and two fumble returns in his career. LaPlaca graduated in May 2011 with a double major in sport management and economics and a minor in business.

Guilford finished with a 0-10 overall record. The Quakers could return as many as 55 letter winners in 2011.