Lehigh University Athletics
Lehigh looks back at championship season at annual banquet
2/24/2011 6:06:00 PM | Football
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The 2010 Lehigh football banquet was held Saturday, February 19th at Lehigh's Iacocca Hall on the Mountaintop Campus. The Mountain Hawks looked back on their 2010 season in which Lehigh won ten games and captured the program's Patriot League leading ninth football championship. The Mountain Hawks defeated UNI in a first round NCAA playoff game for the program's first playoff win since 2001.
Over 300 players, parents, alumni, friends, coaches and support staff were on hand for the event. There were 17 awards presented at the banquet by the coaches that honored individual performances during Lehigh's outstanding championship winning season.
Senior linebacker Al Pierce received two different accolades on the night, taking the Outstanding Athlete award and the Archibald Johnston Cup for the Most Outstanding Player. Pierce hails from Moorestown, N.J. and is Architecture major. The co-captain led the team in tackles for a loss (12) and was second on the team in tackles (110) and sacks (five). Pierce was a three year starter in a career that featured a game winning interception against rival Lafayette in 2009 and an MVP performance in the 2010 Lehigh-Lafayette game.
Fellow senior co-captain Will Rackley also received multiple awards on the night. Rackley was awarded the Alexander G. Hahalis Award for the outstanding lineman, in addition to the Best Offensive Lineman award. The Georgia native received All-American honors for the second year in a row. He has been named to the All-League first team in each of the past three years. Rackley participated in the East-West Shrine Game in January and is currently in Indianapolis taking part in the NFL Scouting Combine.Senior Guard Ricky Clerge won the Department Coaches Award and the All Football Award, which is also known as the James P. McConologue award. This Psychology major was a two-time All-Patriot League selection, earning first team honors in 2010.
Kicker Tom Randazza took the Department Scholar Athlete Award home. The senior from Gibsonia, Pa. was one of Lehigh's 25 Patriot League Academic Honor Roll students in the fall with a grade point average of 3.68 as an Information and Systems Engineering major. Randazza, who owns a 3.78 cumulative GPA, was second on the team in points with 51, making 10 of his 11 field goal attempts on the season.
Senior Casey Eldemire was awarded the Best Defensive Back Award. Eldemire intercepted two passes for the second consecutive year and had 49 tackles in the defensive backfield.
Mechanical Engineering major Jay Campbell and Political Science major John Veniero received the Barry Fetterman Award, given to the player(s) who best exemplify loyalty, dedication, and unselfishness. Campbell finished the year with 652 rushing yards and five touchdowns, while Veniero finished with 52 tackles and three interceptions from his free safety position.
Quarterback Chris Lum earned the Best Offensive Back award, following a first-team All-League season in his first year as the full-time starter. He lead the league in total offense with an average of 231.5 yards per game and also lead the league in passing yards with an average of 221.6 per game. Lum completed 58 percent of his passes and threw for 19 touchdowns for the Mountain Hawks.
Sophomore wide receiver Ryan Spadola received the Best Receiver award. During the 2010 season Spadola led Lehigh in receiving with 1,130 yards. The Business major also scored nine touchdowns last season, and averaged 14.5 yards/catch. A third team Sports Network All-American, Spadola tied a school record with 14 receptions in Lehigh's 21-19 comeback win at Harvard.
Junior Mike Groome earned the Best Linebacker award on the night after earning an All-American selection from Phil Steele. Groome was the Patriot League's leading tackler with 131, including 16 stops in Lehigh's win over rival Lafayette.Junior Finance major Andrew Knapp received the team's Best Defensive Lineman award after posting 35 tackles, eight of which were for a loss, and 2.5 sacks on the season.
Senior John Kennedy took home the Special Teams award. Kennedy was integral to the field position game for the Mountain Hawks averaging 28.8 yards per kick return on the season, which ranked him among the national leaders in kickoff returns.
The Nick Timko Awards (Engineer Effort Award) went to Sergio Fernandez-Soto and Nigel Muhammad. Fernandez-Soto received the Scout Team Offense award and is a freshman enrolled in the business school. Muhammad won the Scout Team Defense award and is a freshman enrolled in the college of arts and sciences.
The John C. Whitehead "Big LU" award, given to the player who shows the most leadership and performance was awarded to senior defensive back Jarard Cribbs. A first team Sports Network All-American, Cribbs led the Patriot league in interceptions with seven, including his first career interception return touchdown. Cribbs' seven interceptions were the most by a Lehigh player since 1986.
The annual Lehigh football banquet was made possible by the Lehigh Athletics Partnership program, whose mission is to promote interest in Lehigh Athletics, to encourage and provide financial support to the program and to enhance relations with all former participants, fans, friends, and parents of Lehigh student-athletes.
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