Liberty League announces 2014 Football Award Recipients
2014 Liberty League Football Awards:
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
Mike Lefflbine, Sr., QB, St. Lawrence
St. Lawrence University senior quarterback Mike Lefflbine shared Liberty League Offensive Player of the Year honors. A captain for the Saints, Lefflbine had one of the best seasons ever by a St. Lawrence University quarterback. He led the league in completions (173), yards (2,075), touchdowns (21) and yards per game (207.5). Lefflbine broke Kirk Dempsey's single-season touchdown record with 21 passing touchdowns this fall. He helped guide St. Lawrence to back-to-back 7-wins seasons, the first since 1977/1978 and the first 8-win campaign since 1982.
Ali Marpet, Sr., OT, Hobart
Hobart College senior left tackle Ali Marpet shared Liberty League Offensive Player of the Year honors with Mike Lefflbine. The only unanimous All-Liberty League selection among the offensive linemen, Marpet anchored a unit that averaged a league-leading 33.3 points per game and scored at least 28 points in every game. Hobart averaged 5.2 yards per rush, second in the league, while rushing for 224.6 rushing yards per game. The Statesmen also averaged 170.4 passing yards per game while allowing a total of six sacks all season. Individually, Marpet has not allowed a sack this season. Hobart was the only Liberty League team to average more than 20 first downs per game and also led the league in third- and fourth-down conversion percentage - a credit to its offensive line play.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Tyre Coleman, Sr., DE, Hobart
Hobart College senior defensive end Tyre Coleman earned Liberty League Defensive Player of the Year honors for the third straight season. The league leader in both sacks (11) and tackles for loss (19.5), Coleman ranks third in NCAA Division III history in career sacks with a Hobart record 48. He ranks seventh in NCAA Division III history in career tackles for loss with a Hobart record 85.5. Coleman's current tackle for loss total is fourth on Hobart's single-season list while his sack total ranks sixth on the school's single-season list.
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Andrew Franks, Sr., PK/P, RPI *
RPI senior placekicker and punter Andrew Franks was a unanimous selection as Liberty League Special Teams Player of the Year. Arguably the top placekicker in Division III, Franks made at least one field goal in every game and had multiple field goals in four games. He currently ranks first in the Liberty League and third in Division III in field goals per game. He has the two longest field goals in Division III this season with kicks of 54 and 52 yards. His 54-yarder was a school record while the 52-yarder was a Stagg Field (Springfield) record. His 30 touchbacks on kickoffs easily led the league. Franks, who also finished second in the league in punting average, was a five-time selection as Liberty League Special Teams Player of the Week.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Dan Bronson, Fr., QB, Rochester
University of Rochester freshman quarterback Dan Bronson was selected Liberty League Rookie of the Year. Despite not assuming a starting role until the fifth game of the season, Bronson finished fourth in the Liberty League in both passing yards (1,093) and passing touchdowns (10) while ranking 10th in rushing yards (415). He won three of his first four games as starting quarterback after coming off the bench in the first four games. Bronson was responsible for eight touchdowns - three rushing and five passing - in his first four starts. The team averaged 437.8 yards per game in total offense with Bronson as the starting quarterback.
COACHING STAFF OF THE YEAR
Hobart - Mike Cragg, Head Coach
Hobart head coach Mike Cragg and his staff earned Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year honors after leading the Statesmen to a third consecutive undefeated regular season and a fourth straight Liberty League championship. The Statesmen rank either first or second in the league in scoring offense, scoring defense, total offense and total defense. Hobart, which hosts Ithaca in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Football Championship, is currently ranked in the top 10 in both the D3football.com and AFCA polls. Cragg is assisted by Kevin DeWall, Nick Grange, Aaron Backhaus, Jack Daniels, Jon Drach, Tom Elder, Michael Green, John Manley, Pat Martin, Kyle O'Laughlin, Marc Tapscott and Matt Dorn.
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE FIRST TEAM OFFENSE
QB - Mike Lefflbine, Sr., St. Lawrence
RB - Myles Allen, So., Rochester
RB - Darnel Thomas, Sr., Union *
FB - Dominique Ellis, Sr., Hobart
WR - Kyle Reynolds, Jr., Union *
WR - Brandon Eccher, So., WPI
TE - Mitch Gallagher, So., St. Lawrence
OL - Joe Cianciolo, Sr., Springfield
OL - Ali Marpet, Sr., Hobart *
OL - Bruce McKenty, Jr., Rochester
OL - Ryan Schmidt, Sr., St. Lawrence
OL - DeAndre Smith, Sr., Hobart
OL - Jay Yaskanich, Sr., RPI
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE FIRST TEAM DEFENSE
DL - Chyron Brown-Wallace, So., St. Lawrence
DL - Tyre Coleman, Sr., Hobart *
DL - Troy Johnson, Sr., Hobart
DL - Nate Martel, Sr., WPI
DL - Casey Muse, Sr., Union
LB - Alec Dietsch, So., St. Lawrence
LB - Marcus Jemison, So., Hobart *
LB - Brian Murtagh, So., WPI
LB - Max Nacewicz, Sr., Springfield *
LB - Trayvon Toney, Jr., Hobart *
DB - Nick Borkowski, Sr., RPI
DB - James Holley-Grisham, So., St. Lawrence *
DB - Fajri Jackson, Sr., Hobart
DB - Phil Lanieri, Jr., RPI
DB - Leondre Simmon, Jr., St. Lawrence
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE FIRST TEAM SPECIALISTS
ATH - Matthew McDaniels, Jr., QB, Merchant Marine
PK - Andrew Franks, Sr., RPI *
P - Vinny Tavernelli, Jr., WPI
RS - James Holley-Grisham, So., St. Lawrence
* Unanimous selection
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE SECOND TEAM OFFENSE
QB - Patrick Conlan, Sr., Hobart
RB - Alex Furtado, Jr., Hobart
RB - Conner Hartigan, Jr., Hobart
FB - Keith Rodman, Jr., Springfield
WR - Farid Adenuga, Jr., Rochester
WR - Elvin Souffrant, Sr., Hobart
TE - Mike Berkowitz, Sr., Hobart
OL - Sean Carey, So., Union
OL - Jacob Margrey, Sr., Merchant Marine
OL - Steve Mills, So., RPI
OL - Patrick O'Connell, So., Hobart
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE SECOND TEAM DEFENSE
DL - Max Ford, Sr., Springfield
DL - Julian Gendels, Sr., Union
DL - Matt Mender, Jr., Rochester
DL - Kashdan Naraine, Jr., Springfield
DL - Chris Ohnsman, Sr., RPI
DL - Anthony Pilla, Jr., RPI
LB - Jake LaRovera, Jr., Union
LB - Thomas Marone, Jr., Rochester
LB - Jacob Stanley, Jr., Hobart
DB - R.J. Borgolini, Jr., Rochester
DB - Todd Collier, So., Hobart
DB - Patrick Keyes, So., Merchant Marine
DB - Evan Lapice, Jr., St. Lawrence
DB - Sean Murphy, Jr., WPI
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE SECOND TEAM SPECIALISTS
ATH - Reggie Colas, Gr., RPI
PK - Sean Kirshe, So., Hobart
PK - David Pope, Jr., Union
P - Andrew Franks, Sr., RPI
P - Parker Thelander, Jr., Hobart
RS - Reggie Colas, Gr., RPI
HONORABLE MENTION ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE OFFENSE: Dan Bronson (QB), Rochester; Dante Cioffi (QB), Union; Mario Colangelo (FB), Merchant Marine; Kevin Dean (OL), St. Lawrence; Logan Gaddar (WR), RPI; Matt Lane (RB), RPI; Andres Martin (WR), Springfield; Mike Serricchio (OL), Springfield; Nick Testani (OL), Hobart.
HONORABLE MENTION ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE DEFENSE: Matt Cragg (DB), Hobart; Jack Downey (DL), WPI; Chris Carbone (DB), Union; Thomas Hayes (LB), Union; Dillon Knight (DL), St. Lawrence; Eric Lacroix (DB), WPI; Danny Macalena (LB), Springfield; Joey Racciopi (DB), Springfield; Isaiah Smith (DL), Rochester; Colby Tragni (LB), RPI; Nick Welsh (DB), Springfield.
HONORABLE MENTION ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE SPECIALISTS: Sean Cunningham (RS), Hobart; Connor Kinzelmann (RS), Union.