MEIER NAMED 2012 D3FOOTBALL.COM ALL-AMERICAN
D3football.com All-American Teams
Utica, NY (12/18/2012) – Senior wide receiver Jeremy Meier (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) of the Utica College football team was named to the 2012 D3football.com All-America Third Team Friday.
Meier is the first player in the program’s 12 year history to earn a spot on one of the four D3football.com All-America teams. He is also one of just three players from the Empire 8 to be honored with All-American status.
Meier, who was also an Empire 8 All-Conference first teamer and a D3football.com All-East Region selection, will graduate as the most accomplished receiver in program-history.
This past season he led the Empire 8 in touchdowns (15), receptions (73), yards (1,212), yards per game (121.2), and yards per catch (16.6). He also finished the year ranked ninth in the country in yards receiving per game.
He became the first Pioneer in school history to record over 1,000 yards (1,212) receiving in a single-season and also broke the college’s all-time record in yards (2,472) and receptions (187).
Meier will graduate as the College’s all-time leading scorer with 194 career points scored. He scored a school-record 32 career touchdowns. His yards, receptions, and touchdown catches this past year were both single-season records for UC.
This past season he helped guided the program to new heights, as UC tied the school-record for wins in a single-season (6) and the Pioneers set a new record for Empire 8 Conference victories (4).
He helped give UC a legitimate shot at an automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Tournament as they played nationally-ranked Salisbury in Week 9 with a chance at the Conference title hanging in the balance. Headed into their week 9 contest the Pioneers were receiving votes in both the AFCA and D3football.com national polls for the first time in program-history.
UC PLACES 11 ON EMPIRE 8 ALL CONFERENCE TEAMS
2012 Empire 8 All-Conference Teams
Utica, NY (11/21/2012) – The Utica College football team set another school-record by placing four athletes on the Empire 8 All-Conference First Team and senior quarterback Andrew Benkwitt (Mamaroneck, NY/Mamaroneck) was the first player in program-history to be named the Conference’s Offensive Player of the Year as the conference office released the major post-season award winners and the all-conference teams on Tuesday. Benkwitt was also a first-team selection alongside offensive teammates Jeremy Meier (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy), Matt Dunn (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place) and offensive lineman Tom Dyer (Rochester, NY/Greece Olympia).
UC placed 11 athletes on the all-conference list (second most in program-history), just one shy of the 2005 edition of the Pioneers. Junior running back Jesse Baldassare(Mt. Sinai, NY/Mt. Sinai) earned second-team status for his work in the all-purpose game, while offensive lineman Zach Hunnewell (Nashua, NH/Nashua North) also garnered a second-team selection. Senior defensive end Michael Herberger (Amherst, NY/Williamsville North) was a second-team selection alongside linebacker Dana Christofferson (Richford, NY/Dryden). Freshman placekicker Thomas Woodburn (West Islip, NY/West Islip) and punter Dakota Peel (Alden, NY/Alden) each earned an honorable mention for their special teams play.
Senior captain Genaro Scampone (Utica, NY/Proctor) was named the Pioneers representative on the Sportsman of the Year team for distinguishing himself and consistently exhibiting the critical traits of an outstanding sportsman.
This group of Pioneers has guided the program to new heights, helping UC tie the school-record for wins in a single-season this past year (6) and they also set a new record for Empire 8 Conference victories (4). They helped give UC a legitimate shot at an automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Tournament as they played nationally-ranked Salisbury in Week 9 with a shot at the Conference title hanging in the balance. Headed into their week 9 contest the Pioneers were receiving votes in both the AFCA and D3football.com national polls for the first time in program-history.
This group played a role in helping UC break 20 different team-records this past season including: pass attempts (414), pass completions (274), passing yards (3,404), passing touchdowns (33), pass completion % (66.2), total offensive yards (4,650), touchdowns responsible for (79), total offense per game (465.0), total offense per play (6.30), all purpose yards (5,600), all purpose yards per game (560.0), pass reception yards (3,404), pass receptions (274), pass reception touchdowns (33), receptions per game (27.40), pass efficiency (156.2), average yards per pass (8.2), average yards per game (340.4), and sacks (28).
Benkwitt will graduate as the College’s most prolific and decorated passer in program-history. The senior captain, who started every game of his career at the quarterback position (40 consecutive games started), broke 18 different individual school-records during his tenure. He finished his senior campaign (regular season) ranked 11th nationally in total offense per game and 25th nationally in passing efficiency. He guided the Pioneers’ offense to a national ranking of eighth in passing offense, 23rd in total offense and 47th in scoring offense. Benkwitt finished the year ranked first in the Empire 8 Conference in passing efficiency, total offense and passing offense. He also led the Empire 8 in passing attempts, completions, yards and touchdowns for the second consecutive year.
Meier led the Empire 8 in touchdowns (15), receptions (73), yards (1,212), yards per game (121.2), and yards per catch (16.6). He also became the first Pioneer in school history to record over a 1,000 yards (1,212) receiving in a single-season and also broke the college’s all-time record in yards (2,472) and receptions (73).
Dunn, making his second straight appearance on the first-team, had 42 catches for 612 yards and four TDs. He averaged 61.2 yards per game and 14.57 yards per catch while starting all ten games for the Pioneers.
Senior Tom Dyer (Rochester, NY/Greece Olympia) and sophomore Zach Hunnewell (Nashua, NH/Nashua North) guided an offensive line that helped UC average 23.2 points per contest. They led Utica to 243 first downs, 4,650 total yards of offense, and a 50% third down conversion rate. They helped UC outscore its opponents 342-285 over the course of ten games.
Baldassare earned second team status after grabbing 39 balls for 332 yards. He also was the Pioneers’ leading rusher with 175 carries for 896 yards and seven touchdowns. He averaged 133.89 all-purpose yards per game.
Christofferson led the team with 81 tackles, including 32 solo, 4.5 tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks. He also had two fumble recoveries.
Herberger played in all ten games for UC while totaling 39 tackles, 12 of which were for loss, and had 6.5 sacks causing a loss of 49 yards. He also had one forced fumble.
Freshman kicker Thomas Woodburn (West Islip, NY/West Islip) earned honorable mention status after scoring 52 points for the Pioneers. He was 8-for-11 on field goal attempts, to go along with a season-long 39 yarder. Woodburn also added 28 PATs.
Sophomore punter Dakota Peel (Alden, NY/Alden) was also an honorable mention after tallying 1387 yards on 37 punts. He averaged 37.49 yards per punt and had two of 50 yards or more. His season long was a 57 yarder and he also played runningback for the Pioneers.
Senior Genaro Scampone (Utica, NY/Proctor) was the College’s representative for Sportsman of the Year. Scampone ranked fourth on the team with 53 tackles. He had 6.5 tackles for loss and four sacks as well as one interception and two forced fumbles.
