Cohen garners major award; 9 named All-League
11/24/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Senior captain Matt Cohen was named the 2009 Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year on Tuesday and was joined by eight other Mountain Hawks on the All-League teams. Cohen was joined on the First Team by fellow captain BJ Benning and junior Jarard Cribbs on defense, while senior Anthony Fossati and junior Will Rackley were the offensive selections. Lehigh’s Second Team picks included juniors Jay Campbell, Ricky Clerge and John Kennedy on offense and senior Troy Taylor and Kennedy, who made the team as a defensive back and return specialist, on defense.
For the second consecutive season Matt Cohen led the Patriot League in sacks (9.0) and tackles-for-loss (13.5). The Allentown native is the first Mountain Hawk to win a major award from the Patriot League since Jason Leo in 2006 and the first Lehigh player to earn the Defensive Player of the Year honor since Abdul Byron in 2001. Cohen garnered Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week honors on October 12 following his performance in Lehigh’s win over league rival Georgetown where he totaled six tackles, including four-for-loss and three sacks. A supply chain management major, Cohen finished this season with 63 total tackles, including a season-best ten versus Central Connecticut State in the opener, and he registered two or more sacks in three games.
Cohen wraps up his Lehigh career with 177 total tackles, 18.5 sacks and 44 tackles-for-loss. He was a Second-Team All-League pick in 2007 and a First-Team selection each of the last two seasons.
Joining Cohen on the First-Team defense was fellow captain BJ Benning who ranked second in the P.L. with 7.5 sacks and eighth in the league with 9.0 tackles-for-loss. The Maryland native earns his second consecutive First Team nod after finishing the season with 47 total tackles and one fumble recovery. Benning posted a career-best 12 tackles versus Central Connecticut State and had at least one sack in six games in 2009. For his career Benning totaled 111 tackles, including 17.5-for-loss and 14.5 sacks.
Jarard Cribbs also earns his second consecutive All-League nod after being a Second Team pick in 2008. The speedy defensive back recorded 45 tackles, including two-for-loss, picked off two passes and ranked among the league leaders with nine pass breakups. Cribbs posted six games of five or more tackles and he broke up a season-best three passes in the game versus Yale. Cribbs also returned 38 punts for 311 yards this season with a long of 60 at Fordham. For his efforts in the Bronx, Cribbs was named the P.L. Special Teams Player of the Week.
Anthony Fossati earns his first career All-League selection after helping pave the way for a Lehigh offense that averaged 124.5 rush yards per game and hit the century mark in eight consecutive games, including a season best 235 at Fordham. A New Jersey native Fossati carried the ball just twice this season, both times coming in the victory over rival Lafayette, with one of those carries going for the fullback’s first career touchdown. Fossati also caught a career-best six passes this season for 52 yards.
One of the most dominant offensive linemen in the entire Patriot League, Will Rackley has now been a First Team All-League pick the past two seasons. The 310-pounder helped clear the way for a Mountain Hawks’ offense which rushed for 100+ yards in eight straight games for the first time since 2001 and passed for more than 193 yards per game. Rackley’s selection to the First Team makes it six consecutive seasons in which Lehigh has placed an offensive lineman on the All-League First Team. He has started nearly every game he’s been healthy for over the last three seasons.
Jay Campbell led the Brown and White in rushing this season with 659 yards on 139 carries, good for an average of 4.7 yards per rush. A mechanical engineering major, Campbell eclipsed the 100-yard mark three times this season, including a career-best 155 in a win over Fordham. Campbell also completed an 18-yard pass to classmate Alex Wojdowski for a touchdown in the Mountain Hawks meeting with eventual league champion Holy Cross. Campbell, who missed the Bucknell game due to injury, averaged 97.4 yards during league contests and all three of his 100+ yard efforts came versus league foes.
One of the members of Lehigh’s O-line leading the way for Campbell was Ricky Clerge, who earns his first career All-League selection. Clerge helped clear the way for a Mountain Hawks’ offense which rushed for 100+ yards in eight straight games for the first time since 2001 and passed for more than 193 yards per game. Clerge and the Lehigh line also posted three games where they gave up one or fewer sacks.
A 2007 All-League selection as a return specialist, John Kennedy returns to the All-League teams this year as a return specialist and a defensive back. A native of Philadelphia, Kennedy led the Patriot League in kick returns this season, as he averaged 25.0 yards on 31 returns, including a 92-yarder that he took to pay dirt in the opener versus Central Connecticut State. Kennedy posted two games of 100+ return yards, including a season best 110 versus Princeton. On the other side of the ball Kennedy joins his classmate and fellow defensive back Cribbs on the All-League squad. Kennedy totaled 34 tackles, including one-for-loss, as well as one fumble recovery and an interception. His season high in tackles was five which came versus Georgetown and again versus Holy Cross.
Lehigh’s other Second Team pick on defense was Troy Taylor who wound up leading the Mountain Hawks in tackles this season with 69 stops, including 8.0 for-loss and two sacks. After coming back from a knee injury suffered in 2008 Taylor started the season slowly, but picked up steam as the year went along posting back-to-back double digit tackle performances in Lehigh’s final two games. Taylor was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Week after he recorded 11 tackles and a sack in the Mountain Hawks win at Fordham. Taylor registered 46 tackles in the final five games alone including both of his sacks.
With wins in its last two games Lehigh finished the 2009 season with a 4-2 record in the Patriot League, which put the Mountain Hawks in a three-way tie for second place.
