Louisville, Ky. - The receiving duo of Matt Barbour and Jason Lovett highlight the 2009 UVa-Wise football All-Mid-South Conference East Division honorees.  The two top all-time pass catchers returned to the All-East first team for the fourth and third times for their careers as part of seven Highland Cavaliers recognized.

Joining the two receivers, quarterback Brad Robbins, center Brian Pisani and defensive back Jahmal Potter make their first appearances on the All-Conference first team.  Defensive end Josh Weaver and defensive back James Haley round out the contingent as All-East Honorable Mention selection.

The four seniors of the group have helped the Cavs record 30 victories over the last four seasons and three winning seasons.  UVa-Wise faltered at the last two weeks of the 2009 season to a 5-6 final record but finished second (4-2) in the Mid-South East Division.

Barbour of Naruna, Va. has been ‘Mr. Consistency' over the past four seasons for the Cavs offense.  The senior became the program's first four-time All-Mid-South East first team awardee.  He averaged 53 receptions for 833 yards over the last four years and finished his UVa-Wise career as the only receiver to surpass 200 catches (213) and 3,000 yards (3,333).

In 2009, Barbour pulled in 50 passes for 687 yards and five touchdowns while rushing nine times for 22 yards.  He had his highest total of the year to finish the season with nine receptions for 167 yards and first rushing score of his career at Faulkner in last weekend's season finale.

Along with his solid numbers this season, Barbour started his career with 48 receptions for 729 yards and four scores in 2006 and 52 grabs for 898 yards with five touchdowns as a sophomore.  Last year, he became the second 1,000-yard receiver for a season with 1,019 yards on 63 balls with five scores.

Lovett claimed his third All-East first team acclaim in the past three seasons.  The senior slot back led the Mid-South in receiving yards per game (98.4 yds/gm) and second in receiving yards (984) while third in both receptions (54) and receptions per game (5.40 rec/gm) despite missing one whole game and half of two other contests.  He led the Cavs with 11 receiving touchdowns and ran the ball seven times for 76 yards and complete one 10-yard pass.

The Spotsylvania, Va. native finished his tenure on the Cavs roster as the leader in receiving touchdowns with 45 in three seasons, he was a running back as a freshman.  Jason's 171 receptions rank second to Barbour on the career list while just missing reaching the 3,000-yard mark at 2,851 yards, third most.  Lovett did set the single season records for receptions (74), yards (1,058) and 17 touchdowns (both 2007 & 2008).  He added 42 receptions for 799 yards and 17 scores in the 2008 season.

The signal-caller firing the ball to the two wideouts was senior Brad Robbins.  The Powell Valley High product earned first team status in his first and lone season as the main Cavs quarterback.  Robbins of Big Stone Gap, Va. wrapped up the campaign as the Mid-South's top passer by averaging 276.1 yards through the air per contest while second in total offense (263.0 yds/gm).

On the year, Robbins completed 206 passes in a school record 368 pass attempts for 3,037 yards with 22 touchdowns, the second UVa-Wise passer for 200 completions and over 3,000 yards passing.  His top passing game came in the season opener at Seton Hill where he connected on 31 of 49 attempts for 459 yards while passing for three scores against both Union College and Campbellsville.  After being a backup to the school's all-time leading passer his first three years, Robbins finished with 3,468 yards on 234 of 416 passes with 26 touchdowns.

Center Brian Pisani picked up his first all-conference honors.  The three-year starter out of Nanesmond River High has been part of the offensive lines for UVa-Wise that scored more points and amassed more yards than any four-year period in Cavs football program history.  The senior from Suffolk, Va. helped the Cavs finish second in the Mid-South in passing offense per game (285.1 yds/gm) and passing offense (3,316 yds.) this season.

On the defensive side, sophomore Jahmal Potter was the lone Mid-South East first teamer.  The second-year defensive back ranked second in the conference in passes defended at 1.3 per contest while being in the top five in both interceptions (4) and interceptions per game (0.4/gm).  The Virginia Beach, Va. native paced the Cavs defense with 10 pass breakups to go with his four pickoffs, 54 tackles and a blocked kick.  He returned one of his four interceptions 67 yards for a score against 12^th-ranked University of the Cumberlands.

In two seasons, Potter ranks fifth in the school record books with eight interceptions and 115 interception return yards.  He has 81 stops and 17 pass breakups.

Defensive end Josh Weaver made the East Honorable Mention members with his second solid campaign on the defensive front.  The junior from Alexandria, Va. ranked fourth in sacks per game (0.5/gm) and fifth in tackles for loss per contest (1.1/gm) in the Mid-South.  For UVa-Wise, Weaver led the squad with 15 tackles for loss of 40 yards and five sacks to go with 61 tackles, three fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles and a pair of passes batted down at the line.  In his two seasons, Weaver has totaled 110 tackles, 25 tackles for loss and eight sacks.

The final honoree and other defensive honorable mention selection was senior James Haley.  The defensive back returns to the all-conference teams for the third time after being picked to the defensive first team in both 2007 and 2008.  The senior from Gladys, Va. finished 2009 with 33 tackles, four tackles for loss, a sack and four pass breakups.  In his four seasons in Wise, Haley recorded 205 tackles and 14 tackles for loss.