10 members of the University of Rochester football team were awarded All-Liberty League status on Tuesday. Three players earned 1st Team honors, three made the 2nd Team and four others earned Honorable Mention status in the voting done by the league's coaches.
Overall, Rochester had all four classes represented with six seniors, one junior, two sophomores and one freshman receiving the accolades. UR's 10 selections were good for third in the conference behind Hobart (21) and St. Lawrence (14). RPI also earned 10 All-League selections.
This season the Yellowjackets finished with a 5-4 record and ranked 3rd in the conference standings with a 3-3 Liberty League finish.
Dean Kennedy (sr., QB, Scituate, MA/Canterbury School): 1st All-League selection; Was the top QB in the conference, throwing for 1,921 yards and 13 TDs…Completed 171-302 (56.6%) of his passes while also being the 6th leading rusher in the conference with 645 yards and 6 TDs on 115 carries…Averaged 5.6 yards per carry and 71.7 yards rushing per game…Led the league in total offense with 2,566 yards, over 1,000 yards over 2nd place and also set new UR single season UR record in that category…Broke single game mark for total offense vs. Hobart with 61 plays and 404 total yards…Engineered two game-winning drives in final seconds, throwing TD pass with 0:15 left, then running for 2-point conversion vs. Thiel and two weeks later, threw TD pass with 0:00 left and UR scored 2-point conversion to top Springfield…Coach credits team's success to Kennedy's leadership, toughness, and will to win…Kennedy finished fifth in career completions (359) and yards (4,337), tied for fourth in TD passes (30).
Thomas Hayes (sr., WR, Syracuse, NY/Solvay): 3rd All-League selection (2012 2nd Team, 2011 H.M.); Rochester top receiver in his last year on the River Campus, hauling in 52 receptions for 591 yards and 5 TDs, all leading the team…Averaged 73.9 yards per game and 11.4 YPC…Ranked 1st in the Liberty League in receptions (6.5) and yards per game…Finished career with 123 catches, 1,709 yards and 12 receiving TDs, ranking in the top 10 in UR history in all three categories.
Tony Ortega (sr., LB, Rochester, NY/McQuaid Jesuit): 4th All-League selection (2012, 2011 1st Team, 2010 H.M.); Capped off a stellar career with his fourth All-Conference selection and third straight on the 1st Team…Led the Yellowjackets with 81 tackles (70 solo) while also stuffing the stat sheet with 11 TFL, 2.5 sacks, 5 pass break-ups, 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery…Was asked to serve as blocking back on short yardage plays and scored first offensive career TD on pass reception vs. Hobart…Had season high 17 tackles in home victory over Springfield on Sept. 28…Ranked 1st in the conference in tackles per game (10.2) and 4th in TFL…Excelled as a leader, playing on special teams when needed and taking reps with scout team to help younger players develop.
2nd Team:
Bruce McKenty (so., OL, Fairport, NY/McQuaid Jesuit): 1st All-League selection; Started all nine games on the offensive line for Rochester, his second straight year starting every game…Helped the 'Jackets amass over 3,700 yards of offense for an average of 416 per game which sets a new school record…Anchored an offensive line that surrendered just 18 sacks of QB
Dean Kennedy.
James Barrett (jr., DL, Chicago, IL/Greenwich (CT)): 1st All-League selection; Had a breakout junior year in which he started all nine games for the Yellowjackets…Amassed 52 total tackles (45 solo), 12 tackles for loss and team high 8 sacks…Had stretch of four straight games with two sacks and ended season on 5-game streak with a TFL…Also, added 3 forced fumbles, 2 recoveries, 4 QB hurries and 3 breakups on the season…Ranked 2nd in the Liberty League in sacks, 4th in TFL and forced fumbles and 27th in tackles per game.
Jordan Honjiyo (sr., DB, Honolulu, HI/Punahou School): 1st All-League selection; Started all nine games for the Yellowjackets at cornerback, ending the season with 42 tackles (32 solo), 2 tackles for loss, 1 interception and 5 pass breakups…Ended career with 108 total tackles and four interceptions…Helped anchor secondary that only surrendered 1,281 total passing yards (142.3 per game) which ranked 2nd in the league.
Honorable Mention:
Myles Allen (fr., RB, Bethesda, MD/Landon School): 1st All-League selection; Was UR's top running back as a freshman, rushing for 444 yards and a team high 7 TDs on 106 attempts…Finished 2nd on the team in rushing…Averaged 4.2 yards per carry…Ranked 10th in the conference in rushing and was in the top-10 in scoring...Had seasons best game on Oct. 19 at RPI where he rushed 29 times for 135 yards and added two TDs including a long rush of 57 yards.
Willie Ruiz (sr., OL, Buffalo, NY/Canisius): 1st All-League selection; Was a key member of the Yellowjacket offensive line, helping the team set a new school record with 416 yards of offense per game…Played the difficult tackle positions and was on a line that allowed 18 sacks during the year…Senior leadership was key of a relatively young offensive group in the trenches.
Derek Wager (so., WR, Palmyra, NY/Palmyra-Macedon): 1st All-League selection; One of QB
Dean Kennedy's favorite targets as a sophomore…Had 31 receptions for 501 yards and 5 TDs…Recorded an 80 yard TD catch on the first play from scrimmage of the homecoming win over Alfred State on Oct. 12…Averaged 16.3 yards per catch this season, which ranked 1st on UR and 3rd in the Liberty League …Ranked 5th in the conference in receptions, 4th in yards and 3rd in TD's…Caught TD pass with no time left on the clock in UR's win over Springfield on Sept. 28.
Zach Cicero (sr., LB, Fairport, NY/Penfield): 3rd All-League selection (2012 2nd Team, 2011 H.M.); Key member of UR's linebacking core ended season with 62 tackles (49 solo), 1 interception, 2 QB hurries and 1 pass breakup…Ended Yellowjacket career with 214 tackles (138 solo)…Was 2nd on the Rochester in tackles and ended up ranking 13th in the Liberty League in stops per game (6.9).
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Steven Webb, Sr., QB, Hobart College
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Tyre Coleman, Jr., DE, Hobart College
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Andrew Franks, Jr., K/P, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR:
Alec Dietsch, Fr., LB, St. Lawrence University
COACHING STAFF OF THE YEAR:
Hobart College – Head Coach: Mike Cragg; Assistant Coaches: Kevin DeWall, Nick Grange, Aaron Backhaus, Jon Drach, Art Garvey, Andrew Klindera, John Manley, Kyle O'Laughlin, Jim Ryan, Marc Tapscott.
Full All-Liberty League Teams
