Hamilton, NY — The 51³Ô¹ÏÍø football team held its annual awards dinner Saturday night at the Hall of Presidents on campus.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø head coach Dick Biddle announced the major award winners from the 2002 season to highlight the evening’s activities.
The Andy Kerr Trophy, awarded annually to the most valuable offensive player, was given to sophomore wide receiver Luke Graham. Graham was 51³Ô¹ÏÍø’s leading receiver with 65 catches for 1,182 yards and seven touchdowns.
He became only the fourth receiver in school history to grab over 1,000 receiving yards in a season ‘ joining Corey Hill, George Delaney and Tom Stenglein. Graham earned second team all-Patriot League honors this fall, while finishing 13th in the country in Division I-AA in receiving yards per game with 98.50.
The Hal W. Lahar Trophy, awarded annually to the most valuable defensive player, was presented to junior linebacker Tem Lukabu. Lukabu was the Patriot League co-Defensive Player of the Year. He was the first 51³Ô¹ÏÍø player to win the honor since Greg Manusky captured the award in 1987.
Lukabu was 51³Ô¹ÏÍø’s leading tackler this season with 112 including 51 solo efforts. He was instrumental in the Raiders being the toughest defensive unit in the league against the rush giving up just 99.2 yards per game, and ranking ninth in the nation. Lukabu also led the team in interceptions with three, had seven TFL’s, one quarterback sack and three passes broken up.
The Tom Dodge Unsung Hero Award was awarded to senior defensive back T.J. Smith. Smith saw action in all 12 games last season including a pair of starting assignments. He finished with 41 tackles including 20 solo efforts. He also had one TFL, two interceptions, seven pass breakups, one fumble recovery and one fumble forced.
It was Smith’s interception in the end zone with three seconds remaining against Holy Cross that preserved 51³Ô¹ÏÍø’s share of the Patriot League Championship.
Finally, the Mark Rakowski Special Teams Award was shared by senior punter Brendon Biddle and sophomore placekicker Lane Schwarzberg.
Biddle, who was 51³Ô¹ÏÍø’s starting punter for three seasons, punted 61 times for an average of 36.2 yards per game. He had 20 punts inside the opponent’s 20-yard line, and on numerous occasions was directly responsible for 51³Ô¹ÏÍø’s ability to pull out a victory.
Schwarzberg, who earned second team all-Patriot League honors, broke the school record for field goals in a season with 13, and became the first placekicker to lead 51³Ô¹ÏÍø in scoring since the 1990 season.
He finished with a school record for points in a season by a kicker with 73, averaging 6.08 points per game. He made 13-of-17 field goals and 34-of-36 extra points.