A pair of Lone Star Conference football standouts from Abilene Christian earned LSC Preseason Player of the Year recognition for the 2011 season league officials announced Tuesday.

   ACU quarterback Mitchell Gale was named LSC Offensive Player of the Year, while the Wildcats defensive end Aston Whiteside claimed the Defensive Player of the Year award. 

   The league’s preseason awards were selected by a vote of LSC head coaches and sports information directors, plus various media representatives from throughout the region.

   Gale, a 6-2, 220-pound junior from Alva, Okla., recorded the third-best passing efficiency (167.33) in the nation, while tossing 38 TD passes in 2010. He threw for the second-highest single-season total in ACU history with 3,595 yards to earn LSC South Division Offensive Back of the Year honors.

   With 20 votes, Gale was the clear choice ahead of Eastern New Mexico’s Wesley Wood (two) and Midwestern State’s Amini Silatolu (one).

   Whiteside, a 6-2, 260-pound senior from Vernon, Texas, was picked as the top defensive returnee for the second straight year. As a junior, he was named the LSC South Division Defensive Lineman of the Year for the second straight season after recording 28 tackles including seven sacks, two forced fumbles and three blocked kicks.

   Whiteside picked up the honor with 16 votes to finish in front of Texas A&M-Kingsville’s Johnny Tivao (three) and his Javelina teammate Marcus Sanders (two), with two others receiving one vote.