IOWA FALLS, IOWA -- Adrian Palos, Xavian Andrews and Nigel Cheeks were named to the ICCAC All-Conference football teams announced this week.  All three Panthers standouts are sophomores and for Palos it's the 2nd straight All-Conference honor for his ECC career.

Palos, a linebacker from Rockford, Illinois, led the conference in tackles for the 2nd year in a row.  He had 91 stops this fall, a total that included 4.5 sacks and 15 tackles for loss.  Palos also had a forced fumble and an interception which he returned for 53 yards.  As a freshman, Palos averaged 9 tackles a game and had a pair of sacks.  He had a couple of huge games in '23 with 21 tackles against Garden City and 19 stops against Dodge City. 

Andrews, like Palos, was a 2-year starter for the Panthers.  The native of Gaithersburg, Maryland, registered 45 tackles in the 2024 season.  He had a sack, a forced fumble, an interception and 8 pass breakups.

Cheeks is the return specialist on the All-ICCAC squad.  The running back from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, averaged 23.9 yards on his returns and ran one of the kicks back 56 yards. 

The ICCAC also names a separate All-Region team for the 3 conference schools.  A total of 13 Ellsworth players were named to that squad.  They include Palos and running back Calvin Swinney, a sophomore, who were both chosen for the 1st team.  On the 2nd team are Cheeks, as a running back, and Andrews as a defensive back, along with sophomore offensive linemen Kendric Frank and Kemonte Myles, freshman defensive lineman Christian Slater and sophomore linebacker Caliel Long.

The Honorable Mention All-Region picks for Ellsworth are wide receiver Amir Nixon, a sophomore, as well as freshman tight end Shane Helmick, freshman defensive lineman David Pettway, sophomore defensive back Symon Stukes and freshman defensive back Jalen Riley. 

Palos, Swinney, Frank and Cheeks earned All-Region honors for the 2nd straight year.