Nov. 24, 2009
EASTON, Pa. - Following an 8-3 season that still has Lafayette ranked 24th in both Top 25 polls, the Leopards placed 13 players on the All-Patriot League teams announced Tuesday. Lafayette had five players earn first-team status and eight more achieve second-team honors.
Offensively, the Leopards had three first-team selections in senior TB Maurice White (Cleveland, Ohio/Benedictine/Wyoming Seminary), senior OT Ryan Hart-Predmore (Rochester, N.Y./McQuaid Jesuit) and junior WR Mark Layton (Sanford, Fla./Lake Mary). White returned for a fifth season for the Leopards and led the team in rushing with 135 carries for 622 yards and seven touchdowns. The Economics & Business major also made 17 catches for 146 yards and a touchdown. He leaves Lafayette with 1,622 career rushing yards and 17 rushing TD's.
While it was White's first All-Patriot League honor, Hart-Predmore earns first-team honors after a second-team selection in 2008. The senior tri-captain and Economics & Business major was the anchor for the offensive line and the quality protection for a passing unit that ranks 11th in the nation in passing offense and 17th in total offense.
Layton was the beneficiary of the Leopards' potent passing game. The junior Economics & Business major caught 65 passes (second in Lafayette single-season history) for 838 yards (seventh in single-season history) in 2009. He also pulled down 11 touchdowns, tying him for the second-best Lafayette single-season effort, and averaged 12.9 yards per catch and 76.2 receiving yards per game.
Defensively on the first team, Mark Leggiero (Bohemia, N.Y./Connetequot) earned his second straight All-Patriot League First-Team selection. Leggiero was the team's second leading tackler (98) and made 3.5 tackles for loss with 1.5 sacks. Leggiero also made the second interception of his career against Holy Cross and forced a fumble versus Penn. Leggiero was honored as the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 5 following a 12-tackle day in a win at Yale when Lafayette held the Bulldogs to 58 rushing yards.
The Engineering major was the 2009 Patriot League Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and had earned All-Patriot League Second-Team honors as a sophomore and was a four-year letterwinner.
Defensive tackle Ian Dell (Hummelstown, Pa./Lower Dauphin) had a standout year in the trenches for the Leopards. Dell made 45 tackles in the Leopards' 4-3 scheme, including 7.5 sacks and 12 tackles for loss. The Neuroscience major forced three fumbles and recovered another.
In a Patriot League season dominated by senior quarterbacks, two of whom have drawn attention of pro scouts, senior Rob Curley (Cinnaminson, N.J./Holy Cross/Kent School) forced his name into the discussion for Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year honors. Under the tutelage of offensive coordinator Mickey Fein, Curley set single-season records for passing yards (3,044), touchdowns (28) and completions (231). Ever efficient, Curley also established a single-season mark for completion percentage (68.8, 231-of-336) and career completion percentage (63.8, 429-of-672) and is currently ranked third in the nation in passing efficiency (165.2). He ranks fifth in career touchdown passes at Lafayette with 44.
In the final five games of the History major's senior campaign, Curley threw for 300+ yards in each contest. On Oct. 31, Curley completed 30-of-35 passes for 333 yards and three TD's in a win over Bucknell. Amazingly, he topped that a week later, throwing for a school-record seven touchdowns in a win over nationally ranked Colgate. In that game, he was 18-of-31 for a career-high 373 yards. Both efforts earned him Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week honors and the Colgate game handed him National Player of the Week honors from The Sports Network, College Sporting News and the ECAC.
Sophomore Mitchell Bennett (Orange, N.J./Paramus Catholic) was on the receiving end of 40 of Curley's tosses. Bennett caught touchdown passes in four different games and finished with 596 receiving yards. The Engineering major enjoyed his best game of the season against Fordham when he caught six balls for 93 yards, both career highs.
Two seniors complete the Leopard portion of the All-Patriot League Second-Team offense. Michael Wojcik (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) was Lafayette's starting center for the past three seasons. The Economics & Business major played in 31 games during his career, starting 30. Classmate Jeff Cumming (New Providence, N.J./New Providence) did not carry the ball frequently, but he was a crucial element in run-blocking and in pass protection. In the passing game, he reeled in four catches in 2009 with two touchdowns, including a 50-yard TD catch vs. Colgate and a six-yard TD catch in a win over Harvard.
Four players earn All-Patriot Second-Team Defensivive laurels. Junior linebacker Michael Schmidlein (Chester, N.Y./Chester Academy) led the team and ranks 23rd in the nation in tackles (100). The Economics & Business major recorded two sacks, had an interception and also forced a fumble in 2009. Schmidlein was the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 28 after stopping Penn 16 times.
Senior defensive tackle Andrew Poulson (Lincroft, N.J./Middletown, South) was part of the top defensive lines in the Patriot League. Poulson made 47 tackles, collected eight tackles for loss with four sacks and forced a fumble. The History major played in 40 games during his career, was a starter his final two seasons and leaves as a four-year letterwinner.
Sophomore Brandon Ellis (Jeffersonville, Pa./Norristown) was one of just two sophomores to earn All-Patriot League honors on the defensive side of the ball. Ellis played in all 11 games and was third on the team with 53 tackles. The Economics & Business major intercepted passes against Holy Cross and Bucknell, and Ellis' standout game (in terms of tackles) came against Colgate when he had a career-high 14 stops.
Junior Tom Kondash (State College, Pa./State College) represents the special teams' corps for the Leopards on the All-Patriot League Teams. The Leopards' starting punter for two seasons, Kondash averaged 36.0 yards per kick in 2009. Kondash, who majors in Mechanical Engineering, placed 11 punts inside the 20 and had three kicks of 50+ yards.
Lafayette finished the season 8-3 and is the only Patriot League program to have a winning record in each of the last six regular seasons while also being nationally ranked.
