LaMarque, LiCata and Reed earn Hero Sports football All-America honors
Three Empire 8 football student-athletes team have been awarded All-America honors by Hero Sports.
Hero Sports, an on-line publication of collegiate sports news, released its Division III football
All-America teams recently. Alfred University senior left tackle
Kevin LaMarque (Holliston, MA/Holliston) and Hartwick junior wide receiver
Koree Reed (Baldwinsville, NY/Central Conn. St. Univ.) were named to the First Team, while Alfred junior outside linebacker
A.J. LiCata (Lake View, NY/Frontier) earned Second Team recognition.
LaMarque anchored an offensive line that helped the Saxons produce a school single-season record 5,745 yards of total offense, including 2,842 yards rushing, another school single-season mark. The Saxons also set school single-season records for rushing touchdowns (33) and points (484).
LaMarque, an Empire 8 Conference First Team All-Star, D3football.com East Region First Team pick, and an Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) North First Team All-Star, had the highest coaches' grade of all AU offensive linemen.
Reed was a prolific receiver for the Hawks this season as he accumulated 1,606 yards on just 58 catches. As a result, he would set a pair of NCAA Division III records for highest average gain per reception. Reed averaged 27.69 yards per catch to top Marty Redlawsk's (Concordia Chicago) mark of 26.9 (min. 35 recep.) set in 1985 and Derek Stanley's (Wisconsin-Whitewater) average of 25.5 (min. 50 recep.) in 2005.
In eight of the Hawks' 10 games this season, Reed registered at least 140 yards receiving and two touchdowns. He topped 170 yards five times and reached the 200-yard mark twice. Over a three-game span against UMass Dartmouth, Brockport, and Cortland, he averaged 182 yards per game. Reed would top it over the final three games of the season against Buffalo State, St. John Fisher, and Utica with 579 receiving yards and an average of 193 per contest.
LiCata, the Empire 8 Conference Defensive Player of the Year and a First Team E8 All-Star, finished the 2016 season with 153 tackles, just one off the school single-season record. He had 11 ½ tackles for loss, 4 ½ sacks, an interception and a forced fumble. He was one of 10 semifinalist for the 2016 Gagliardi Trophy, awarded annually to the top player in Division III.
LiCata had previously been named an American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) First Team All-American and Associated Press Third Team Little All-American (awarded to Division II, Division III and NAIA players) and was the ECAC North Defensive Player of the Year and First Team ECAC All-Star.