2015 WORCESTER AREA FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION

25th Annual Steve “Merc” Morris All-Star Team As Selected by the

Sports Information Directors

The Worcester Area Football Association has announced the 25th annual Steve “Merc” Morris All-Star Team as selected by the eight sports information directors of Worcester County who sponsor football.

The major award winners included junior wide receiver Brendan Flaherty (Beverly, MA) of Holy Cross as the Offensive Player of the Year while junior defensive back Jarrod Casey (Milford, MA) of Assumption was tabbed the Defensive Player of the Year.

Sophomore placekicker Cole Tracy (Camarillo, CA) of Assumption earned Special Teams Player of the Year and freshman teammate Deonte Harris (Baltimore, MD) was named Freshman of the Year. Bob Chesney of Assumption and Mike Litchen of Becker shared Coach of the Year honors.

Flaherty, a First-Team All-Patriot League honoree, broke the Crusader single-season record grabbing 106 receptions for 1,082 yards and 12 touchdowns. He ended his year second in the NCAA Division I FCS in receptions and receptions per game (9.6) while tying for tenth in total yardage.

Casey, who was a First-Team All-Northeast 10 pick and a nod to the Conference Commissioners Division II All-Super Region 1 football team. Casey compiled 130 tackles in 13 contests while topping the NE-10 in solo tackles (70). He also added three sacks, 13 tackles for a loss, two fumble recoveries, a pair of interceptions and a duo of blocked kicks.

In his first year of collegiate eligibility, Tracy impressed by leading the NCAA Division II in field goals made (22) while he was 51-of-53 on PAT attempts. The All NE-10 pick, New England Division II/III Football Writers selection and Fred Mitchell award finalist was near perfect from the 20 to the 29 yard line, going 10-for-11. He also went 10-for-12 between distances of 30 and 39 yards and connected on a 52-yard boot against LIU Post.

Harris shined for the Greyhounds copping a New England Division II/III Football Writers award and he was named the Northeast-10 Rookie of the Year. Harris hauled in a squad-best 82 receptions for 824 yards and nine touchdowns. As a dual threat in the return game, Harris led the NE-10 and finished the year 14th in Division II with 28.2 yards on 22 returns as he was only one of eight in the nation to bring back two or more kickoffs for scores.

Chesney tutored the Greyhounds to an overall mark of 11-2 (8-1 NE 10) en-route to the league championship and their first appearance in the NCAA Division II Tournament. In addition to being named the NE-10 Coach of the Year, Chesney was lauded as the Division II/III New England Coach of the Year by both the Greater Boston Gridiron Club and the New England Football Writers.

Under Chesney this season, the Greyhounds also eclipsed their previous single-season record for wins and rattled off 10 consecutive wins to establish a new standard.

Litchen helped the Hawks shatter the previous program record for wins with an overall record of 7-3 and 5-2 in the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference. After dropping their conference opener to eventual league champion Norwich, Becker won five of their last six games to end the campaign and he was recognized by his peers as the ECFC Coach of the Year.

Now celebrating its silver anniversary, the Worcester Area Football Association All-Star Team is named in memory of Steve “Merc” Morris, the longtime Assistant Director of Athletics for Media Relations and Assumption Hall of Famer. Morris was a 1972 graduate of Assumption and was a member of the athletics staff for 39 years before he passed away in January of 2011.

In addition to being the founder of the Worcester Area Association All-Star Program, Morris was a tireless supporter of collegiate athletics and had a key role in the lives of thousands of student-athletes.

#SMMJR

Worcester Area Team Selection Notes

Since 1992, Flaherty is the third wide receiver named Offensive Player of the Year and he is the sixth Holy Cross student-athlete...Casey is the eighth Assumption player in the last nine years to earn a Defensive Player of the Year award and 15th overall...Since the WAFA started selecting the Special Teams Player of the Year in 2011, Tracey becomes the second Assumption student-athlete and second placekicker...Harris is the 16th Assumption player tabbed Rookie of the Year, but he is only the second wide receiver chosen...Bob Chesney earns his second-straight nod as the Coach of the Year and Litchen takes home the honor for the first time in his career.

Full List of 2015 Steve "Merc" Morris All-Star Team

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