Football Earns Worcester All-Area Honors
The Worcester Area Football Association has announced the 23rd Annual Steve “Merc” Morris All-Star Team as selected by the eight sports information directors of Worcester County.
Haverty and Dellechiaie top honorees with Coach/Freshman of the Year accolades
WORCESTER, Mass. (December 5, 2013) – The Worcester Area Football Association has announced the 23rd Annual Steve “Merc” Morris All-Star Team as selected by the eight sports information directors of Worcester County.
The major award winners included senior running back Robert Small (Sleepy Hollow, NY) of Anna Maria as the Offensive Player of the Year and junior defensive end Derrick Mann (Sharon, MA) of Assumption who was tabbed as the Defensive Player of the Year.
Senior placekicker Tad Beuchert (Danvers, MA) earned Special Teams Player of the Year honors while freshmen quarterbacks Garrett Dellechiaie (Leominster, MA) of Fitchburg State and Peter Pujals (Glenview, IL) shared Freshman of the Year laurels
Beuchert has booted an eye-popping 15 field goals in 11 games for the eighth-highest total in Division II – including seven which have gone for 35 yards or greater. He was also 34-of-35 on PATs and netted 79 points to lead the Northeast-10 in kick scoring
Dellechiaie and Pujals were both recognized as the Rookie of the Year in their respective conferences.
Dellechiaie led the MASCAC with a school-record breaking 25 passing touchdowns to go with 1930 yards and a .598 completion percentage. Pujals impressed with both the second highest passing yardage total (2,261) and scores through the air (19) in the Patriot League as he converted a remarkable .636 percent of his throws.
For his efforts in guiding Fitchburg State to a 6-4 mark, a four win improvement from the 2012 campaign, head coach Pat Haverty was recognized as the Coach of the Year. Haverty, the Champion MASCAC Coach of the Year, guided the Falcons to a 5-3 MASCAC mark which was good for a tie for third in the final season standings and their first winning season since 2005.
The Worcester Area Football Association All-Star Team is named in memory of Steve “Merc” Morris, the longtime Assistant Director of Athletics for Media Relations and Assumption Hall of Famer. Morris was a 1972 graduate of Assumption and was a member of the athletics staff for 39 years before he passed away in January of 2011.
In addition to being the founder of the Worcester Area Association All-Star Program, Morris was a tireless supporter of collegiate athletics and had a key role in the lives of thousands of student-athletes.