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Fourteen Scot Gridders Selected to All-NCAC Team
» 2002 All-NCAC Team (.pdf file) WOOSTER, Ohio - The College of Wooster football team had 14 of its players, one short of the school record, named to the All-North Coast Athletic Conference Team, announced the league office on Monday after it compiled votes from the NCAC's 10 head coaches. Wooster, which improved four games in the win column from 4-6 in 2001 to 8-2 this fall and finished third in the conference, had three first-team All-NCAC selections led by senior Nick Hajjar (Prospect, Ohio / Marion Pleasant) at two different positions - defensive back and return specialist. Hajjar, at 5-10 and 180 pounds, has now earned all-conference honors three times as a cornerback, including back-to-back first-team recognition. This season, he ranked seventh on the team in total tackles with 45, including 40 solo stops, and had the most pass breakups on the squad with nine, despite only having the ball thrown on his side of the field 40 times. Hajjar also made two of the Scots seven interceptions, which he returned for 11 yards, and two fumble recoveries, tying for the team lead in each category. As a returner, Hajjar rewrote the school's record book in 2002 en route to his first postseason honor at that spot. In his second year as the primary returner, Hajjar wound up second in the NCAC in punts (11.9 yards per return) with a Wooster single-season high of 439 yards and fifth in kickoffs (22.0 avg.). One of the punts he returned, Hajjar brought back for a score, a 64-yarder at Allegheny College.
Joining Hajjar on the All-NCAC First Team were senior offensive lineman Jon Spragg (Collins, Ohio / Western Reserve) and sophomore running sensation Tony Sutton (Akron, Ohio / Archbishop Hoban). At left tackle, Spragg, who was a second-team all-league player in 2001, anchored a Scot line that helped clear the path for a school-record 2,357 rushing yards this fall. Spragg led his unit with 39 "knockdown blocks" while 11 of Wooster's rushing touchdowns were run over left tackle and only one defensive end on his side got a sack all year. As a team, the Scot backs averaged 4.9 yards per carry - a full 2.0-yard improvement over a season ago - and held the opposition to 14 sacks - 17 less than in 2001. Sutton burst on to the NCAA Div. III scene this fall after transferring from Div. II University of Findlay. The 5-9, 185-pound tailback finished the regular season ranked fifth in the country in rushing (157.6 yards per game) with a school-record 1,418 yards in nine games, while also rating 12th in Div. III in all-purpose yardage (175.3 ypg) and tying for 15th in scoring (10.7 points per game). Those marks put him atop the league ledger in running and all-purpose yardage, and second in scoring. Sutton's average of 6.6 yards per carry was the third-best in school history, as were his 15 rushing touchdowns. Seven Wooster players were awarded with second-team all-conference honors - linebacker Tim Cline (Gambier, Ohio / Mt. Vernon), defensive interior linemen Drew Fay (Walnut Creek, Calif. / Northgate) andċċċċ Joe Kearney (Weymouth, Mass. / Weymouth), kicker Richie McNally (Westerville, Ohio / St. Francis DeSales), tight end Matt Ralls (Westlake, Ohio / Westlake), safety Kevin Rooker (Uniontown, Pa. / Laurel Highlands), and offensive lineman Jim Wallace (Solon, Ohio / Solon). Cline, a repeat honoree after receiving honorable mention on the 2001 All-NCAC Team, paced the Scot defense with 94 total tackles this year, despite having to fight through various injuries. Fifty-five of his tackles were of the solo variety, while seven went for losses, including 3.0 sacks for 18 yards. Cline also forced a fumble, broke up two passes, and was credited with four quarterback hurries as a sophomore. Fay, who effectively made the switch from defensive end to defensive tackle this fall, picked up the third All-NCAC honor of his career and second on the second team. He made 54 total stops (33 solos and 21 assists), which was best among Wooster's linemen and fourth overall on the unit, and led the team in sacks with 6.5 for 39 yards. Fay missed out on several others, as his 11 quarterback hurries were the most on the squad as well, and he also forced two fumbles, recovered another, and broke up a pass this fall. Kearney, a 6-4, 310-pound defensive tackle, had a breakout year for the Scots, starting all 10 games and producing 43 tackles (25 solos and 18 assists) - eighth-most on the team and second among linemen. He registered a squad-high 10.0 tackles-for-loss, four of which were sacks for 29 yards, and also swatted three passes at the line of scrimmage for breakups and intercepted one that he rambled back 23 yards. McNally, a 6-0, 170-pound sophomore placekicker and backup wide receiver, established a new Wooster best with 39 extra points in 2002, misfiring on just two for a percentage of .951. He knocked through 5-of-8 field-goals, highlighted by a long of 42 yards against Case Western Reserve University, for a total of 56 points - third-highest among NCAC kickers this fall. Ralls, a junior, developed into a key part of the passing game as well as an effective blocker in his first full season at tight end en route to his first postseason honor. The 6-2, 215-pounder made for a big target, hauling in 13 passes - fourth-most on the squad - for 237 yards and three touchdowns, only finishing behind likely first-team All-American Ryan Short from Wabash College as the league's top tight end. Rooker was the Scots' starting strong safety and the 6-0, 200-pound senior finished second on the team in total tackles for the second season in a row with 86. He made a Wooster-leading 59 solo hits, while 5.5 of his tackles went for losses, including 1.5 sacks for eight yards. A force in all facets of the game, Rooker added eight pass breakups and two forced fumbles, as well as one interception and one fumble recovery. Wallace, a sophomore, notched the first conference postseason honor of his young career in 2002. After being voted the team's most outstanding first-year offensive player and starting four games on the offensive line last fall, Wallace started all 10 games at left guard this year. He was a key cog of a unit that helped set the school record for rushing yards in a season (2,357) and limited the opposing defenses to a total of 14 sacks - 17 less than during the 2001 campaign.ċċċ Garnering honorable mention were the senior offensive backfield trio of quarterback Jeff Spraggins (Garfield Hts., Ohio / Garfield Hts.), tailback Scott Jones (Uhrichsville, Ohio / Tuscarawas Central Catholic), and fullback Rob Hooper (Mt. Vernon, Ohio / Mt. Vernon), as well as classmate Scott McManamon (Bay Village, Ohio / Bay) at linebacker. In his second season as the full-time starter at quarterback, and first in which he completed it injury-free, Spraggins received his first All-NCAC honor. The 6-1, 215-pound signal caller completed 100-of-199 passes for 1,609 yards and 19 touchdowns with just 10 interceptions, giving him 139.6 efficiency rating - third-best in the conference and among the top-40 in Div. III. His 1,609 passing yards were the eighth-most for a year in Wooster history, while his 19 passing touchdowns rated No. 3 all-time in the school annals. Jones put a cap on his career, which saw the 6-0, 205-pound running back, become the eighth Scot to go for over 2,000 rushing yards, with 710 yards on 153 attempts for a 4.6 yards-per-carry average. He also scored seven touchdowns on the ground, giving him 23 total scores and 138 points for his career, and caught 10 passes out of the backfield for 78 receiving yards. Hooper, who has had lingering knee problems throughout his career including missing all of last year, came back to start all 10 games at fullback in 2002, serving as the lead blocker for Jones and Sutton, and also producing when he got his own hands on the ball. Hooper grounded out 138 yards on 31 carries in 2002 and was the team's third-leading receiver with 16 catches for 229 yards and five touchdowns. McManamon, a two-year starter at outside linebacker, ranked third on the team in tackles this fall with 67 stops - 46 solos and 21 assists. The 6-0, 210-pound senior also posted 2.5 sacks for 15 yards, four quarterback hurries, two pass breakups, one interception, one forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries, one of which he returned for 14 yards. |
