Five Hope College football players have been awarded first team
all-conference honors by the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic
Association (MIAA).  In addition the league's scholar-athlete award
has been presented to a Hope player.

Hope's All-MIAA honorees are junior tailback Tim Elzinga of Grand
Rapids (Grand Rapids South Christian HS), junior wide receiver Kyle
Dietrich of Gobles (Gobles HS), sophomore offensive tackle Josh
Droppers of Kalamazoo (Portage Northern HS), junior linebacker Zach
Jones of Three Rivers (Three Rivers HS), and junior defensive back
Kyle Warren of Grandville (Hudsonville Unity Christian HS).

Senior Neil Droppers of Maitland, Fla. (Winter Park HS) was named the
recipient of the Pete Schmidt Memorial Scholar-Athlete Award.  The
award honors the legacy of the late Pete Schmidt who coached at
Albion, leading the Britons to a national championship in 1994. He
died of cancer in 2000. Droppers is the third Hope recipient since the
award was created in 2001, joining Phillip Morse (2004) and George
Klupchak (2007). He is an exercise science major with a pre-med emphasis.

A family tradition of excellence in Hope football came to the
forefront with the recognition of Josh Droppers. He is the fourth
member of his family to receive All-MIAA honors joining his
grandfather Don "Doc" Van Hoeven (1955), his father Kurt (1978), and
his brother Jacob [Jake] (2006). All have been honored as linemen.
Neil Droppers, a quarterback, is a cousin.

This season Tim Elzinga became just the eighth player in the 100-year
history of Hope football to rush for more than 1,000 yards. With pass
47 pass receptions, Dietrich surpassed 100 in his career (112).
Droppers keyed an offensive that ranked second in the MIAA in scoring
and rushing offense. Jones led the MIAA in tackles, averaging 12 a
game, while Warren ranked third at 10.3.

The Flying Dutchmen tied for third place in the MIAA standings with a
3-3 record and were 3-7 overall.

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