The Empire 8 announced the 2014 Football All-Conference teams with St. John Fisher College quarterback
Tyler Fenti repeating as Offensive Player of the Year, Buffalo State’s
Marquis Artis being named the Defensive Player of the Year and Salisbury punter
Kyle Hamby was selected the Special Teams Player of the Year for the third consecutive season.
Ithaca College earned a pair of individual honors as part of the All-Conference Awards. Bomber’s
Kenneth Bradley was selected the Rookie of the Year while the Bomber coaching staff led by head coach Mike Welch was voted the coaching staff of the year for the second straight season.
Fenti is the Empire 8’s top-rated passer with a 166.1 rating as he led the league with 23 touchdown passes. He threw just four interceptions in 240 passing attempts and a completion percentage of 63.3% (152-of-240). He totaled 2,127 yards in 10 games as he guided the Cardinals to an average of 36.7 points per game. He threw for 300 yards on two different occasions and three or more touchdowns in four games this season.
Artis is the Bengals first Defensive Player of the Year honoree. The junior linebacker finished fifth in the E8 in tackles with 99 stops, including nine tackles for a loss. He came away with two interceptions, broke up seven passes and had six games of 10 or more tackles this season. Artis earned E8 Defensive Player of the Week for his 14-tackle one-interception performance against Brockport in the I-90 Bowl victory.
Hamby averaged 42.1 yards per punt, placing 11 of 45 punts inside the 20-yard line. He booted ten 50-yard-plus punts this season, including a season-high long of 65 against Albright. The Sea Gulls finished the year with a 7-4 record and the program's fifth Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Bowl victory, claiming the ECAC South Atlantic Bowl against Albright, 48-27.
Bradley put together a solid season in his first year for the Bombers. He racked up 81 tackles, including four for a loss. He helped Ithaca finish as the second ranked defense in the E8, allowing 17.2 points and 299.1 yards per game.
Welch and the Ithaca coaching staff guided the Bombers to a mark of 7-4 and its 19th NCAA tournament appearance. The Bombers won a share of the Empire 8 championship with a 6-2 record in league games and earned the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament by virtue of a tiebreaker. Ithaca averaged 332.5 of total offense per game en route to 25.5 points, while the defensive unit held opponents to under 300 yards per game. The Bombers received votes in each of the prominent national polls throughout the season. Ithaca’s highest national ranking this season came following the games of Oct. 4, when the Bombers were ranked 13th by the AFCA and D3football.com.
One member of each team was named that institution’s representative on the 2014 Football Sportsman of the Year Team. Empire 8 emphasizes that "Competing with Honor and Integrity" is an essential component of a student-athlete’s experience in conjunction with an institution’s educational mission. These honorees have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportsmen.
Empire 8 2014 Football All-Conference Teams
Offensive Player of the Year: Tyler Fenti, St. John Fisher College
Defensive Player of the Year: Marquis Artis, Buffalo State
Special Teams Player of the Year: Kyle Hamby, Salisbury University
Rookie of the Year: Kenneth Bradley, Ithaca College
Coaching Staff of the Year: Ithaca College