March 5, 2005
EASTON, Pa. (www.lafayette.edu) - Lafayette senior tailback Joe McCourt (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic), who received the Maxwell Football Club's Tri-State Player of the Year on Friday evening, was featured in today's edition of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
McCourt was honored at the 68th annual Maxwell Awards Banquet at Harrah's in Atlantic City. As a high school senior in 2000, McCourt was the recipient of the Jim Henry Award, presented by the Maxwell Club to the Philadelphia area's top high school player.
McCourt was named the Patriot League's Offensive Player of the Year in 2004 after helping guide Lafayette to its first postseason football berth in school history. He ran for 1,193 yards, his third straight 1,000-yard rushing season, and tied a school record with 16 rushing touchdowns. McCourt ran for more than 100 yards seven times in 2004, and tied a school-record with five touchdowns in Lafayette's 56-20 win over Holy Cross on Nov. 13.
McCourt finished his career as the second all-time leading rusher at Lafayette, amassing 4,474 yards on the ground. He is the school and league's all-time leading scorer, accounting for 326 points, and also set new school and league records with 50 rushing touchdowns. McCourt also ranks fourth all-time at Lafayette with 139 career receptions.
McCourt collected All-America honors from the American Football Coaches Association and CollegeSportsReport.com, and was an All-Atlantic Region selection by Football Gazette, for his performance in 2004.
Lafayette (8-4), ranked No. 19 nationally in both major final polls, claimed the Patriot League's automatic berth to the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs by virtue of its 24-10 win over Lehigh in the regular season finale on Nov. 20. The win secured Lafayette's first league championship since 1994, while the Leopards' eight wins were the most in one season since 1992.
