2014 WORCESTER AREA FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION

24th Annual Steve “Merc” Morris All-Star Team

As Selected by the Worcester Area Sports Information Directors 

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

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

Offensive Player of the Year - Kemani Jones, Worcester State, Jr, RB

Jones is the 12th running back and eighth Worcester State student-athelte to claim Offensive Player of the Year honors.

Scamering for a school-record 1,275 yards and 13 touchdowns, Jones'  6.0 average yards per rush led the MASCAC. He still ranks among the top 15 in the NCAA Division III in all-purpose yardage (172.9 YPG) and the top 20 in rushing (127.5 YPG).

Jones finished with eight 100-yard rushing games in 10 contests and he earned a spot on the Division II/III New England Writers Team.

Defensive Player of the Year - Derrick Mann, Assumption, Jr., DE

Mann, who earned Northeast 10 Defensive Player of the Year accolades, becomes the 14th player from Assumption to cop Defensive Player of the Year laurels since 1992.

He paced the Greyhounds with 70 tackles, 19.5 tackles for a loss, 14.5 sacks, five forced fumbles and three recoveries. His sacks are currently fifth in the NCAA Division II and his TFLs are inside the top 15.

Mann was recognized for the second consecutive year on the Division II/III New England Writers team and he was one of six in New England nominated for the Cliff Harris Award which is handed out to the best small college defensive player in the country. 

Special Teams Player of the Year - De'Ontray Johnson, Assumption, Sr., RET

Beuchert becomes the second return specialist to cop Worcester Area Special Teams Player of the Year accolades since the award was established starting with the 2011 season.

Johnson, who earned a spot on the Daktronics Division Region 1 Second-team honors, led New England with an average of 30.8 yards per kickoff return as he added 431 yards and two kickoffs returned for scores.

His 107.9 yards per return was also third in the Northeast-10.

Freshman of the Year - Ashton Grant, Assumption, WR

Grant becomes the 15th Assumption student-athlete to earn Freshman of the Year laurels since 1992. On the long list of stellar rookies, he is only the second wideout ever to be recognized as the top first-year player by the Worcester SIDs.

An All-Northeast-10 Rookie Team honoree, Grant was second on the squad with 29 receptions for 446 yards. He also hauled in three touchdowns while averaging 15.4 yards per catch.

Co-Coach of the Year - Bob Chesney, Assumption

Coach Chesney becomes Assumption's second Worcester Area Coach of the year and first since 2009 when Corey Bailey earned the accolade.

In just his second season at the helm, Chesney guided the Greyhounds to a 7-4 mark (6-3 Northeast-10) which tied for third in the regular season standings.

Assumption claimed bragging rights to third-place outright by defeating New Haven, 16-7, on championship weekend for the exclamation point on a second consecutive winning campaign.

Co-Coach of the Year - Brien Cullen, Worcester State

2014 marks the 13th year since 1992 that Coach Cullen has been honored as the Worcester Area Coach of the Year.

Cullen helped pilot the Lancers to a 7-3 slate and a 5-3 MASCAC record. In his 32nd season at the helm, WSU was third overall in the conference and featured a five-game winning streak at the midway point of the season.

For the third consecutive season the Blue and Gold were among the top three passing offenses in New England (275.5 YPG) while also leading the region in sacks (41) and tackles for a loss (92).

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