Lehigh lands nine on All-Patriot League football teams
11/26/2013 11:06:00 AM | Football
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Nine members of the Lehigh football team have been named to the All-Patriot League teams announced Tuesday. The Mountain Hawks placed six student athletes on the first team and three more on the second team. Seven of Lehigh's nine honorees were recognized for the first time.
Leading the way for Lehigh's offensive selections were senior captains Lee Kurfis and Keith Sherman. Kurfis was one of three wide receivers named to the first team after setting a new school record with 99 receptions. He finished with 1,351 yards and nine touchdowns. The nation's leader in receiving yards per game, Kurfis had seven 100-plus yard receiving games in 2013 including two 200-yard efforts in Lehigh's first two games.
Sherman became Lehigh's first 1,000 yard rusher since 2002 finishing with 1,064 yards on 176 carries, an average of six yards per carry. He also ran for eight touchdowns. Sherman also caught 22 passes for 311 yards and four touchdowns. He rushed for 100 or more yards in five games this season including four of the final five, highlighted by a 184-yard effort in a win at Colgate.
Also representing the Lehigh offense on the first team is junior Ned Daryoush, who moves up to the first team after earning second team honors last year. Daryoush has started 22 straight games for the Mountain Hawks at left tackle.
Defensively, junior lineman Tim Newton and senior safety Tyler Ward were first-team selections. Newton registered 58 tackles to rank fourth on the team, and led the Mountain Hawks with 5.5 sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss. Ward emerged as Lehigh's leading tackler with 98 stops and the team captain added a pair of interceptions.
Senior punter Tim Divers also garnered all-league recognition. Divers averaged a career-best 41.2 yards per punt in 2013 and placed 16 of his 39 kicks inside the opponents' 20 yard line. He had nine punts of 50 yards or longer including a season-long 64 yarder against Columbia that led to Patriot League and Sports Network national Special Teams Player of the Week honors.
Three seniors were named to the all-league second team: quarterback Brandon Bialkowski, center Matt Lippincott and linebacker Nigel Muhammad.
Bialkowski was recognized despite missing the last three games due to injury. He made the most of his eight game run before the injury, completing 64 percent of his passes for 2,647 yards and 18 touchdowns compared to just ten interceptions. Bialkowski set a school record with 42 completions while throwing for 430 yards in Lehigh's come-from-behind win at Princeton. He threw for 300 or more yards in Lehigh's first six games and fell one yard short in the seventh. Bialkowski still finished second in the league in total passing yards and would rank among the national leaders in completions and passing yards per game had he not been injured.
Lippincott started all 11 games at center for the Mountain Hawks and paved the way for a Lehigh offense that ranked in the top 20 nationally. He anchored a line that excelled in both run blocking and pass protection, setting the table for Sherman's rushing success and passing game's solid start to the season.
One of the emotional leaders of the Lehigh defense, Muhammad recorded 59 tackles, good for third on the Mountain Hawks, along with two sacks and five tackles for loss. Muhammad secured his first career interception against Holy Cross which set up a key touchdown in a 34-20 Lehigh victory. He garners second team honors for the second straight year.
Fordham captured three of the four major awards with quarterback Mike Nebrich named Offensive Player of the Year, linebacker Stephen Hodge named Defensive Player of the Year, and Joe Moorhead named Coach of the Year. Holy Cross quarterback Peter Pujals was named Rookie of the Year.
Lehigh finished the 2013 season with an 8-3 mark. Currently ranked 24th nationally in both polls, the Mountain Hawks have gone 39-9 over the last four seasons and own the third best winning percentage among FCS teams since 1998.
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Leading the way for Lehigh's offensive selections were senior captains Lee Kurfis and Keith Sherman. Kurfis was one of three wide receivers named to the first team after setting a new school record with 99 receptions. He finished with 1,351 yards and nine touchdowns. The nation's leader in receiving yards per game, Kurfis had seven 100-plus yard receiving games in 2013 including two 200-yard efforts in Lehigh's first two games.
Sherman became Lehigh's first 1,000 yard rusher since 2002 finishing with 1,064 yards on 176 carries, an average of six yards per carry. He also ran for eight touchdowns. Sherman also caught 22 passes for 311 yards and four touchdowns. He rushed for 100 or more yards in five games this season including four of the final five, highlighted by a 184-yard effort in a win at Colgate.
Also representing the Lehigh offense on the first team is junior Ned Daryoush, who moves up to the first team after earning second team honors last year. Daryoush has started 22 straight games for the Mountain Hawks at left tackle.
Defensively, junior lineman Tim Newton and senior safety Tyler Ward were first-team selections. Newton registered 58 tackles to rank fourth on the team, and led the Mountain Hawks with 5.5 sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss. Ward emerged as Lehigh's leading tackler with 98 stops and the team captain added a pair of interceptions.
Senior punter Tim Divers also garnered all-league recognition. Divers averaged a career-best 41.2 yards per punt in 2013 and placed 16 of his 39 kicks inside the opponents' 20 yard line. He had nine punts of 50 yards or longer including a season-long 64 yarder against Columbia that led to Patriot League and Sports Network national Special Teams Player of the Week honors.
Three seniors were named to the all-league second team: quarterback Brandon Bialkowski, center Matt Lippincott and linebacker Nigel Muhammad.
Bialkowski was recognized despite missing the last three games due to injury. He made the most of his eight game run before the injury, completing 64 percent of his passes for 2,647 yards and 18 touchdowns compared to just ten interceptions. Bialkowski set a school record with 42 completions while throwing for 430 yards in Lehigh's come-from-behind win at Princeton. He threw for 300 or more yards in Lehigh's first six games and fell one yard short in the seventh. Bialkowski still finished second in the league in total passing yards and would rank among the national leaders in completions and passing yards per game had he not been injured.
Lippincott started all 11 games at center for the Mountain Hawks and paved the way for a Lehigh offense that ranked in the top 20 nationally. He anchored a line that excelled in both run blocking and pass protection, setting the table for Sherman's rushing success and passing game's solid start to the season.
One of the emotional leaders of the Lehigh defense, Muhammad recorded 59 tackles, good for third on the Mountain Hawks, along with two sacks and five tackles for loss. Muhammad secured his first career interception against Holy Cross which set up a key touchdown in a 34-20 Lehigh victory. He garners second team honors for the second straight year.
Fordham captured three of the four major awards with quarterback Mike Nebrich named Offensive Player of the Year, linebacker Stephen Hodge named Defensive Player of the Year, and Joe Moorhead named Coach of the Year. Holy Cross quarterback Peter Pujals was named Rookie of the Year.
Lehigh finished the 2013 season with an 8-3 mark. Currently ranked 24th nationally in both polls, the Mountain Hawks have gone 39-9 over the last four seasons and own the third best winning percentage among FCS teams since 1998.
Like Lehigh Football on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive updates throughout the season.
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