Liberty League unveils 2016 Football Awards and All-League Teams
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Shane Sweeney, Jr., QB, Hobart College
Hobart College junior quarterback Shane Sweeney earned Liberty League Offensive Player of the Year honors following a season in which he threw for 3,145 yards and recorded 33 touchdowns. He led the league in pass completions (237), pass attempts (385), passing yards, passing touchdowns and touchdown to interception (33:4). He also broke the Hobart single-season records for pass completions, pass attempts, passing yards and passing touchdowns. Sweeney is the first Statesmen to throw more than 3,000 yards in a season at quarterback and he was the first to throw for more than 400 yards in more than one game (two—against Brockport and Merchant Marine).
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Chyron Brown-Wallace, Sr., DL, St. Lawrence University
St. Lawrence University senior defensive linemen Chyron Brown-Wallace was selected as the Liberty League Defensive Player of the Year. He led the Saints in sacks and tackles-for-loss while the team led the league in total defense (246.1 yards per game) and scoring defense, allowing opponents to score only 11 points per game. On the season, Brown-Wallace recorded 18 tackles-for-loss, ranking among national leaders at 18. He also had a team-best seven sacks for 40 yards. In addition, he tied for a team-best forced fumbles (2) and he recorded 52 total tackles (30 solo, 22 assists) despite being double-teamed on every play.
CO-SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Austen Lauricella, Jr., P/KR, St. Lawrence University
St. Lawrence University junior punter/kick returner Austen Lauricella was selected as the Liberty League Co-Special Teams Player of the Year. Lauricella led the league in punting and kick returns. He had 42 punts on the year and 23 of those (54.7%) were inside the 20-yard line. He averaged 32.6 yards per punt, including a long kick for 55 yards. On kick returns, he led the league in yards per kick return (26). His longest return this season was for 57 yards and he totaled 442 yards in 17 total kick returns.
CO-SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Rio Schmidt, Jr., P, Hobart College
Hobart College junior punter Rio Schmidt was selected as the Liberty League Co-Special Teams Player of the Year. Schmidt paced the league in punting with a league-best 41.2 yards per punt. He totaled 1812 in 44 punts. 14 of those were inside the 20-yard line, eight were for fair catch and seven were for touchbacks. As a team, the Statesmen led the league in punting and were ranked 23rd among national leaders.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Sean McAllen, RB, WPI
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) freshamn Sean McAllen was named the Liberty League Rookie of the Year after his first season with the Engineers. He was second in the league in rushing attempts (170), fifth in yards (701) and ninth in average yards per game (70.1). He ran for a season-best 215 yards on 29 carries with a pair of touchdowns and a 74-yard touchdown in the season opener at MIT. Within the Liberty League, McAllen totaled 114 yards on 25 rushes to go with a touchdown pass, he also recorded touchdowns against RPI, Hobart and Rochester.
COACHING STAFF OF THE YEAR: Hobart College – Mike Cragg, Head Coach
Hobart College head coach Mike Cragg earned Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year honors after leading the Statesmen to the 2016 Liberty League co-championship and the league’s 2016 NCAA Division III championship bid. The Statesmen return to the NCAA tournament for the fifth time in six seasons after posting a 6-1 mark in league play and compiling an overall record of 9-1. As a team, Hobart led the league in scoring offense (32.5 points per game), passing offense (317.0 yards per game), pass efficiency (156.0), punting average (39.3 yards per punt) and sacks (31). The coaching staff orchestrated five game-winning drives in the final three minutes of the fourth quarter for the Statesmen this season.
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE FIRST TEAM OFFENSE
QB- Shane Sweeney, Jr., Hobart
WR- Jack Pfohl, Sr., Hobart
WR- Brandon Shed, Jr., Hobart
RB- Connor Kinzelmann, Jr., Union
RB- Rodrick Payne, So., St. Lawrence
TE- Mitch Gallager, Sr., St. Lawrence
FB- Wiley Martin, So., Merchant Marine
OL- Sean Carey, Sr., Union
OL- Parker Johnson, Sr., Merchant Marine
OL- Steve Mills, Sr., RPI
OL- Thomas O’Grady, So., St. Lawrence
OL- Nick Testani, Sr., Hobart
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE FIRST TEAM DEFENSE
DL- Chyron Brown-Wallace, Sr., St. Lawrence
DL- Nick Giorgio, So., Springfield
DL- James Hedger, Sr., Hobart
DL- Malik Joseph, Sr., RPI
LB- Alec Dietsch, Sr., St. Lawrence
LB- Alex Greenidge, Sr., RPI
LB- Marcus Jemison, Sr., Hobart
LB- Brian Murtagh, Sr., WPI
DB- Ryan Buss, Sr., RPI
DB- Sean Egan, Jr., RPI
DB- James Holly-Grisham, Sr., St. Lawrence
DB- Patrick Keyes, Sr., Merchant Marine
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE FIRST TEAM SPECIALISTS
ATH- Brice Moore, Jr., Merchant Marine
PK- Blaine Bursey, Sr., WPI
P- Rio Schmidt, Jr., Hobart
RS- James Holley-Grisham, Sr., St. Lawrence
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE SECOND TEAM OFFENSE
QB- Sean Richardson, Jr., St. Lawrence
WR- Brandon Eccher, Sr., WPI
WR- Vincenzo Ferraro, Jr., St. Lawrence
RB- Sean McAllen, Fr., WPI
RB- Mike Tivinis, Jr., RPI
TE- Robert Baker, Sr., Merchant Marine
TE- Zach Withers, Jr., Hobart
FB- Jordan Wilcox, Jr., Springfield
OL- Cody Brown, Sr., Springfield
OL- Chad DellaPorta, Sr., WPI
OL- John Deveney, So., Hobart
OL- Chris Neu, So., RPI
OL- Trevor Robinson-Gray, Sr., Rochester
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE SECOND TEAM DEFENSE
DL- Ryan Byrne, So., St. Lawrence
DL- Kelsey Graham, Sr., Union
DL- Dereck Pacheco, Jr., WPI
DL- Joel Sodeinde, Jr., Springfield
LB- Almamy Conde, Jr., Hobart
LB- Jake Lombardo, Jr., Union
LB- Skyler Williamson, Jr., St. Lawrence
LB- Josh Woodburn, Sr., Merchant Marine
DB- Brian Alebiosu, Sr., Union
DB- Matt Cragg, Sr., Hobart
DB- Tom D’Antonio, Jr., Hobart
DB- Jason Lamb, Sr., WPI
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE SECOND TEAM SPECIALISTS
ATH- Austen Lauricella, Jr., St. Lawrence
PK- Christian Kapp, Jr., RPI
P- Tyler Barnes, Jr., Union
P- Paul Mokrzycki, Fr., Rochester
RS- Conor Davies, So., RPI
HONORABLE MENTION ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE OFFENSE: Dan Bronson (QB), Rochester
; Dan Eckler (QB), WPI
; Keaton Ackerman (WR), RPI
; Kyle Allegrini (WR), Rochester; Alex Domond (WR), WPI; Tynard Barfield (RB), Hobart; Bradley Burns (RB), Hobart; Jermaine Carn (RB), Union; Steven Thulin (FB), WPI; Michael Fisher (OL), St. Lawrence; Chris Hayden (OL), Springfield; Alex Helm (OL), Hobart; Robert Heyward (OL), Merchant Marine; Mitch McDade (OL), RPI; Matthew McDonough (OL), St. Lawrence; Milton Michel (OL), Union; Will Pope (OL), WPI
HONORABLE MENTION ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE DEFENSE: Luca Cerasani (DL), WPI; Diego Cuitino (DL), RPI; AJ McFarlane (DL), Hobart; Conor O’Malley (DL), Union; Jedh Downey (LB), Hobart; Jayson Leigh (LB), St. Lawrence; Sam Malafronte (LB), WPI; Jack Reilly (LB), Union; Dominic Traversa (LB), Springfield; Todd Collier (DB), Hobart; Taumeras Howard (DB), Springfield; Evan Lapice (DB), St. Lawrence; Marlowe Scott (DB), Springfield
HONORABLE MENTION ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE SPECIALISTS: Johnny Ramsdell (ATH), RPI; Sean Kirshe (PK), Hobart; Erik Swayne (P), Merchant Marine; Joe Vitelli (RS), Merchant Marine