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smallcollegefbfan
November 21st, 2006, 11:24 AM
ATLANTIC 10 FOOTBALL CONFERENCE ANNOUNCES POSTSEASON HONORS

Steve Baylark of Massachusetts and New Hampshire’s Ricky Santos Share Atlantic 10 Football Offensive Player of the Year Honors; Akeem Jordan of James Madison Chosen Defensive Player of the Year; Rob Zarrilli of Hofstra Tabbed Special Teams Player of the Year; Richmond’s Eric Ward and Luke Bonus of Hofstra Named Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Year; Don Brown of Massachusetts Honored as Coach of the Year

PHILADELPHIA, PA - Running back Steve Baylark of Massachusetts and New Hampshire quarterback Ricky Santos have been named the Atlantic 10 Football Conference Offensive Players of the Year and linebacker Akeem Jordan of James Madison has been named Defensive Player of the Year in voting conducted among the league’s head coaches.

In the same vote, Hofstra placekicker Rob Zarrilli was selected as the Atlantic 10's Special Teams Player of the Year, Richmond quarterback Eric Ward garnered Offensive Rookie of the Year honors and linebacker Luke Bonus of Hofstra earned Defensive Rookie of the Year honors. Massachusetts’ Don Brown was chosen as Coach of the Year.

One of four players in I-AA history to rush for more than 1,000 yards in four straight seasons, Baylark leads the A-10 in rushing yards (1,308) and ranks second with 10 rushing touchdowns. The Apopka, FL, native shares the league lead with six 100-yard rushing performances and has 13 receptions for 123 yards and three touchdowns. One of 16 candidates for the Walter Payton Award, which is presented to the most outstanding player in I-AA, Baylark led the Minutemen to the Atlantic 10 North Division title with an 8-0 record and an overall mark of 10-1. UMass is ranked third in The Sports Network top 25 poll and is the third overall seed in the 2006 NCAA Division I Football Championship. He joins Gary Wilkos (1990) as the lone players in program annals to be named the Conference’s Offensive Player of the Year.

Santos becomes the fourth player in league history and first since former Villanova and current Philadelphia Eagles running back Brian Westbrook (2000-01) to earn Offensive Player of the Year honors in successive seasons. The junior signal caller enters this weekend’s NCAA Division I Football Championship opening round contest at Hampton ranked in the top 10 nationally in completions (22.7 pg. - fourth), total offense (278.7 ypg. - sixth) and passing yards (2,681 - seventh). The Bellingham, MA, resident and Walter Payton Award candidate has tossed a league-high 23 touchdown passes and shares the league lead with four 300-yard passing performances. A three-time Offensive Player of the Week selection in 2006, Santos has rushed for 385 yards and his 12 rushing touchdowns are the most of any A-10 quarterback. With Santos at the helm, the Wildcats ended the season 8-3 overall and 5-3 in the A-10. UNH was ranked first nationally for five weeks this season.

Jordan has collected a league-leading 126 tackles, including 16 behind the line of scrimmage in anchoring a JMU defense which ranks fourth nationally in rushing (84.0 ypg.) and 11th in scoring (15.1 ppg.). The senior from Harrisonburg VA, has registered 5.5 of the Dukes’ nation-leading 47 sacks along with three pass breakups, an interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. One of 16 candidates for the Buck Buchanan Award, presented to the most outstanding defensive player in I-AA, Jordan is the fourth player in program history and second in as many years to earn the Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year award. JMU junior safety Tony LeZotte garnered the honor last season. The Dukes claimed the A-10 South Division title with a 7-1 ledger and 9-2 overall record. James Madison visits Youngstown State on Sat. at 7:30pm in the opening round of the 2006 NCAA Division I Football Championship.

Zarrilli coverted a league-high 18 of his 21 field goal opportunities and 14-of-16 extra point attempts to share the team scoring lead with 68 points. Named to the All-Conference first-team for the second consecutive year, Zarrilli ranks second nationally in field goals per game (1.64). A native of Orlando, FL, the junior placekicker made at least two field goals in five of Hofstra’s 11 contests and was 6-for-7 on field goal attempts of 40 or more yards.

Ward completed 132-of-221 attempts for 1,424 yards with 11 touchdowns and six interceptions. The Atlanta, GA, resident was a two-time A-10 Rookie of the Week selection and rushed for 130 yards and a pair of scores.

Bonus led Hofstra with 97 tackles, the most of any freshman in the Atlantic 10. Twice named the A-10 Rookie of the Week, the linebacker reached double digits in tackles in five of the Pride’s 11 games and tallied 8.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage. The Medford Lakes, NJ, native recorded four pass breakups, two sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

Among those on the All-Conference first-team offense include Walter Payton Award candidate wide receiver David Ball of New Hampshire, who ranks second nationally in receptions (82) this season and holds the I-AA record for career touchdown receptions with 56; Delaware senior Ben Patrick, whose 64 receptions are the most of any tight end in the country; and Massachusetts senior offensive lineman Alex Miller, who earned first-team honors for the second consecutive year.

The first-team defense includes three-time first-team honoree Tony LeZotte of James Madison; Buck Buchanan Award candidate Matt King of Maine, who leads the A-10 in sacks (11.5) and tackles for loss (18); and Richmond senior linebacker Adam Goloboski, a three-time All-Conference and two-time first-team selection.

Brown earns his second Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year honor for leading Massachusetts to the North Division title with a mark of 8-0 in league play, the first undefeated season in Conference play since Villanova in 1997. Riding a program-record nine-game winning streak and boasting a 10-1 overall record, UMass is the third overall seed in the 2006 NCAA Division I Football Championship and hosts Lafayette on Saturday at 12:00pm. The Minutemen rank second nationally in scoring defense (11.3 ppg.) and 19th in scoring offense (28.9 ppg.) and currently hold the third spot in The Sports Network top 25 poll. Under Brown’s direction, a league-record 20 student-athletes were named to the 2006 All-Conference team.

Now in his third season in Amherst, Brown owns a 75-36 overall record and 23-10 at Massachusetts. Named the 2002 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year while at Northeastern, Brown joins Jim Reid as the only coaches in league history to lead two different teams to Conference titles and earn Coach of the Year honors at two different schools. Brown guided the Huskies to the 2002 league crown.

smallcollegefbfan
November 21st, 2006, 11:33 AM
2006 ATLANTIC 10 FOOTBALL ALL-CONFERENCE OFFENSE
First-Team School Pos. Cl. Ht. Wt. Hometown Stats
Ricky Santos New Hampshire QB Jr. 6-2 215 Bellingham, MA 250-366, 2681, 23 TD, 147.8 eff.
Steve Baylark Massachusetts RB Sr. 6-0 225 Apopka, FL 238 att., 1308 yds, 5.5 avg, 10 TD
Eugene Holloman James Madison RB Jr. 5-11 170 Virginia Beach, VA 172 att., 996 yds, 5.8 avg, 8 TD
Joe Casey Rhode Island FB/HB So. 5-10 200 Syracuse, NY 191 att., 874 yds, 4.6 avg, 6 TD
David Ball New Hampshire WR Sr. 6-2 200 Orange, VT 82 recpt, 990 yds, 12.1 avg, 11 TD
Brandon London Massachusetts WR Sr. 6-4 210 Charlottesville, VA 35 recpt, 598 yds, 17.1 avg, 7 TD
Eric Yancey Towson WR Sr. 5-9 165 Germantown, MD 68 recpt, 826 yds, 12.1 avg, 10 TD
Ben Patrick Delaware TE Sr. 6-4 270 Savannah, GA 64 recpt, 639 yds, 10.0 avg, 6 TD
Matt Austin Massachusetts OL Jr. 6-5 285 Reading, MA
Jermon Bushrod Towson OL Sr. 6-5 325 King George, VA
Corey Davis James Madison OL Sr. 6-4 325 Hampton, VA
Christian Gaddis Villanova OL Sr. 6-1 300 North Miami Beach, FL
Alex Miller Massachusetts OL Jr. 6-2 290 Fairfax, VA
Tucker Peterson New Hampshire OL Sr. 6-2 310 Clarendon, VT
Rob Zarrilli Hofstra PK Jr. 6-0 193 Orlando, FL 18-21 FG, 14-16 PAT, 68 pts
Rashaad Woodard Delaware KR Sr. 5-9 200 Germantown, MD 21 KR, 548 yds, 26.1 avg, 0 TD
L.C. Baker James Madison PR Jr. 5-7 155 Richmond, VA 19 PR, 259 yds, 13.6 avg, 0 TD

2006 ATLANTIC 10 FOOTBALL ALL-CONFERENCE DEFENSE
First-Team School Pos. Cl. Ht. Wt. Hometown Stats
Johnny Campbell Richmond DL Sr. 6-5 275 Richmond, VA 16 UT, 18 AT, 34 TT, 3.0 sacks, 0 INT
Mike DeVito Maine DL Sr. 6-3 298 Wellfleet, MA 12 UT, 16 AT, 28 TT, 7.0 sacks, 0 INT
Matt King Maine DL Sr. 6-3 242 Stoughton, MA 27 UT, 33 AT, 60 TT, 11.5 sacks, 0 INT
Kevin Winston James Madison DL Sr. 6-3 230 Beltsville, MD 26 UT, 36 AT, 62 TT, 11.0 sacks, 0 INT
Isaiah Dottin-Carter James Madison LB Sr. 6-2 205 Somerville, MA 19 UT, 50 AT, 69 TT, 5.0 sacks, 0 INT
Adam Goloboski Richmond LB Sr. 6-0 220 Hereford, MD 56 UT, 55 AT, 101 TT, 0.5 sacks, 0 INT
Jason Hatchell Massachusetts LB Jr. 6-1 224 Mullica Hill, NJ 47 UT, 60 AT, 107 TT, 1.0 sack, 0 INT
Akeem Jordan James Madison LB Sr. 6-0 235 Harrisonburg, VA 62 UT, 64 AT, 126 TT, 5.5 sacks, 1 INT
Gian Villante Hofstra LB Jr. 6-1 224 Wantagh, NY 34 UT, 58 AT, 92 TT, 1.0 sack, 0 INT
Manauris Arias Maine CB Sr. 5-8 175 Union City, NJ 19 UT, 11 AT, 30 TT, 0 sacks, 1 INT
Tracy Belton Massachusetts CB Sr. 5-11 175 Landover, MD 33 UT, 23 AT, 56 TT, 2.0 sacks, 2 INT
Allyn Bacchus Villanova S Sr. 6-0 205 Hampton, VA 62 UT, 41 AT, 103 TT, 0 sacks, 2 INT
James Ihedigbo Massachusetts S Sr. 6-1 202 Amherst, MA 28 UT, 26 AT, 54 TT, 5.0 sacks, 1 INT
Tony LeZotte James Madison S Jr. 6-0 200 Augusta, GA 30 UT, 43 AT, 73 TT, 0 sacks, 2 INT
Christian Koegel Massachusetts P Sr. 6-0 185 Deerfield Beach, FL 37 punts, 1498 yds, 40.5 avg

umassfan
November 21st, 2006, 12:08 PM
20 UMass players on the 3 teams. Talk about domination.

UNH SUPERFAN
November 21st, 2006, 04:52 PM
20 UMass players on the 3 teams. Talk about domination.
You guys dominate the arrest report also.

JMU2004
November 21st, 2006, 05:27 PM
20 UMass players on the 3 teams. Talk about domination.


JMU had 16.....UMass had the most, but not by much

UNH_BLUE
November 21st, 2006, 05:45 PM
You guys dominate the arrest report also.


ha ha. Sweet.

Uncle Buck
November 21st, 2006, 06:25 PM
Everytime i feel like maybe i'll pull for UMass out of the north, a umass fan opens their mouth and turns me off.

blukeys
November 21st, 2006, 06:37 PM
Everytime i feel like maybe i'll pull for UMass out of the north, a umass fan opens their mouth and turns me off.

You aren't alone.

Maverick
November 21st, 2006, 06:42 PM
Call it U assfan syndrome after the one man who has almost poisoned the AGS board against UMass. Seems some are adopting his style rather than avoiding it.
Well it could be worse, they could have a coach who wears his sunglasses at night. Course the way that coach has got his program headed the last two years, he might have to wear sunglasses and a fake beard when he is out in public.

:nod: :nod: :nod: xlolx xlolx xlolx :eek: :eek: :eek:

89Hen
November 21st, 2006, 07:37 PM
Everytime i feel like maybe i'll pull for UMass out of the north, a umass fan opens their mouth and turns me off.
That's why I had to go with the CAA logo this playoff season. Normally I put up a helmet, but I'm having a tough time rooting for any of the three from our conference this year.

saint0917
November 21st, 2006, 07:49 PM
Everytime i feel like maybe i'll pull for UMass out of the north, a umass fan opens their mouth and turns me off.

Come and I'll give you a hug, will that make you feel better? Come on pull for Umass :thumbsup: xsmoochx

saint0917
November 21st, 2006, 07:52 PM
That's why I had to go with the CAA logo this playoff season. Normally I put up a helmet, but I'm having a tough time rooting for any of the three from our conference this year.

89, put on your Umass logo, you know deep down you love Umass. :nod: Come on 89 show me the love. xsmoochx

Maroon&White
November 21st, 2006, 08:28 PM
Congrats to everyone who made the lists.

Naturally people on here can't be happy for the players, they just have to continually bitch about UMass.

mainejeff
November 21st, 2006, 10:10 PM
7 from Maine on defense and only 1 on offense......sounds about right.

JMU_MRD'03-'07
November 21st, 2006, 11:51 PM
You guys dominate the arrest report also.

Comon, don't take that title away from Miami or FSU!!

umassfan
November 21st, 2006, 11:54 PM
Comon, don't take that title away from Miami or FSU!!
Or UConn xlolx

umassfan
November 21st, 2006, 11:57 PM
JMU had 16.....UMass had the most, but not by much
JMU has 15 players in 16 spots. I didnt mean anything by my post but how often has a team had only 5 starters not on the all conference awards when you include all special teams play.

Congrats to all players on the lists.

BDKJMU
November 22nd, 2006, 12:44 AM
I always thought an all conference team should have 11 on each side of the ball, plus a punter, a kicker, a punt returner, and a kick returner. That should be 26 total 1st team spots, 26 2nd team, and 26 3rd team, 78 in total. I noticed that the 1st team and 2nd team offense have 14 regular players (6 o-linemanxidiotx ), with the 3rd team having 13. In addition all 3 have have a place kicker, punt returner, and kick returner. On the defensive side its the same. The 1st 2 teams have 14 regular players (5 line backersxidiotx , 3 safetysxidiotx ) with the 3rd team having 13. In addition all 3 have a punter. That adds up to 94 players. 16 too many in my book. If there's 11 regular (non special team) players on the field at once, thats what each 1st, 2nd, and 3rd team offense and defense should be limited too. I've never seen another all conference team with 94 players named. I can see adding on extras if there is only a 1st team or maybe just a 1st and 2nd team, but here you have almost 1/3 of the starters get all conference honors. Just kind of dilutes it too much IMHO.

th0m
November 22nd, 2006, 04:07 AM
That's why I had to go with the CAA logo this playoff season. Normally I put up a helmet, but I'm having a tough time rooting for any of the three from our conference this year.

Awww c'mon 89... You know you love us :)

Umass74
November 22nd, 2006, 08:33 AM
I have a couple of teams I don't like, but I keep my mouth shut and don't keep saying negative things about them.

I root for all A10 teams in the playoffs.

As for the all All-A10 players, the most exciting thing for UMass fans is that 11 of our 20 selections are underclassmen. :hurray:

I think the UMass haters will be gnawing on their own entrails for a couple more years. xlolx

umassfan
November 22nd, 2006, 10:42 PM
JMU had 16.....UMass had the most, but not by much
UMass set a conference record with their 20 players on the post season awards list.