Nine named All-League, including 7 First-Teamers
11/25/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh placed nine student-athletes on the 2008 All-Patriot League football teams, it was announced on Tuesday. The Mountain Hawks had seven selections on the First-Team, including five members of its defense, which led the Patriot League in sacks, and ranked second in scoring defense and rushing defense. The seven First-Teamers were the second most in the Patriot League, behind only league champion Colgate’s eight selections. Among the First-Team honorees were offensive lineman Will Rackley, punter Jason Leo, defensive linemen BJ Benning and Brian Jackson, linebackers Tim Diamond and Matt Cohen, and safety Quadir Carter. The Mountain Hawks pair of Second-Teamers included offensive lineman Kevin Bayani and defensive back Jarard Cribbs.
Following a solid sophomore season, BJ Benning had a breakout junior campaign along the D-line for the Brown and White. The Maryland native totaled 35 tackles, including 5.5-for-loss and his six sacks ranked second in the Patriot League. Benning was a key cog of Lehigh’s rush defense, which allowed less than 110 yards per game, good for second in the league. His three sacks in a win over Fordham were a career-high, and his eight-tackle performance in the Mountain Hawks 31-15 victory over archrival Lafayette was also a career-best.
Playing alongside Benning was preseason All-American Brian Jackson. The senior biology major battled through injuries and constant double teams all season long, but still managed to record 49 tackles, including 10-for-loss and three-and-a-half sacks. The New Jersey native began the season with seven tackles in a win over Drake, and saved his best for last, with a season-high eight tackles and career-best three-and-a-half sacks in Lehigh’s win over rival Lafayette in Easton. Jackson finishes his career with 139 tackles, including 20-for-loss and nine sacks.
Diamond earns First-Team accolades for the second consecutive season after leading the Patriot League in total tackles with 104. Diamond is the first Mountain Hawk since Ian Eason in 1996 and 1997 with back-to-back 100 tackle seasons. The supply chain management major registered ten or more tackles in four games this season, including a season-best 15 in a win over Bucknell. Diamond earned Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week honors following his performance versus nationally ranked Villanova in September in which he totaled 14 tackles, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and an interception. Diamond finishes his career in the Brown and White with 231 tackles, 15-tackles-for-loss and 10 games of double digit tackles.
While Diamond led the Patriot League in total tackles in 2008, his linebacker running mate Matt Cohen paced the league in both sacks and tackles-for-loss. A 2007 Second-Team All-League choice, Cohen totaled 17 stops behind the line of scrimmage and six-and-a-half sacks this season, and earned League Defensive Player of the Week honors following a five tackle performance versus Bucknell, which also included a fumble recovery that he returned for a touchdown and an interception. Cohen registered two or more tackles-for-loss in five games, including a career-best three at Harvard. Cohen ended the year with 53 total tackles and a team-leading three interceptions.
Senior Quadir Carter closed out his career in style, finishing second on the Mountain Hawks with 81 tackles. A native of Bethlehem, Carter registered 5.5 tackles-for-loss, one sack, two interceptions and three pass breakups in 2008. The third Mountain Hawk who earned Defensive Player of the Week honors from the Patriot League this season, Carter was honored following his two-interception, 13-tackle performance at Holy Cross. Carter posted double digit tackles in four games this season, and had just one game of fewer than five stops.
Jason Leo once again had an incredible season punting the football. The Pennsylvania native becomes one of only ten student-athletes in Patriot League football history to earn All-League accolades in each of his four seasons. Leo was a Second-Team punter as a freshman, a First-Team kicker and the Special Teams Player of the Year in 2006, a Second-Team punter and honorable mention All-American last season, and a First-Team punter this year. Leo totaled 1,890 yards on 44 punts in 2008, good for a league leading 43.0 yard per punt average, which ranks seventh in the nation. 15 of Leo’s punts were downed inside the opponents’ 20-yard line, while 12 were fair caught. Leo booted a career-long 75-yard punt in a win over Bucknell earlier this season.
Sophomore Will Rackley makes it five consecutive seasons that Lehigh has placed an offensive lineman on the All-League First Team. Rackley started all 11 games for the Mountain Hawks this season, helping lead Lehigh to an average of 25.6 points and 216.7 pass yards per game. A native of Georgia, Rackley has started nearly every game of his career along the O-line for the Mountain Hawks.
Captain Kevin Bayani makes his first appearance on the All-League teams, following a senior season in which he battled through injuries to lead a young Mountain Hawks offensive line. Bayani and the Lehigh “O” led the Patriot League in red-zone offense, scoring on 87.9-percent of their opportunities inside the opponents’ 20-yard line. Bayani appeared in every game in which he was healthy for over the course of the last three seasons, and started every game during the last two years.
Joining Bayani on the Second-Team is sophomore defensive back Jarard Cribbs. Cribbs led the Patriot League in passes defended and tied with Matt Cohen for the league and team lead in interceptions with three. Cribbs ended the year with 38 tackles, and doubled as Lehigh’s punt returner. He led the Patriot League in punt return average, which included an electrifying 84-yard return for a touchdown versus Cornell in early October.
Lehigh finished the 2008 season with a Patriot League record of 4-2, which included a 31-15 victory over archrival Lafayette in Easton. The 4-2 mark placed Lehigh in third place in the league standings; the Mountain Hawks were picked to finish fifth in the preseason poll.
