Watson, Calabrese named Players of the Year
Case Western Reserve University senior defensive end Adam Watson and senior safety Dan Calabrese led 21 Spartans named to the 2012 All-University Athletic Association Football Team announced on Tuesday.
Watson becomes the second Spartan in as many years to be named the UAA’s Defensive Player of the Year. In 2011, then-senior defensive tackle Dale English earned the award. A three-time All-UAA selection for his career, Watson finished the season with 59 tackles and team-highs of ten tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks and five blocked kicks. He was also selected as UAA Defensive Player of the Week twice during conference play. For his career, Watson totaled 188 tackles, 33.5 TFL, 22 sacks, four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and six blocked kicks. He was a second-team All-UAA selection in 2010 and a first-team honoree in 2011.
Calabrese repeats as the UAA Special Teams Player of the Year. Also a first-team honoree at safety and kick returner as well as a second-team performer as punt returner, Calabrese recorded 53 tackles with a fumble recovery and a team-high-tying eight pass break-ups. Calabrese finishes his career as a three-time All-UAA safety with 159 tackles, seven interceptions, and four fumble recoveries. On special teams, he totaled a school-record 775 punt return yards and 916 kickoff return yards.
Joining Watson and Calabrese on the All-UAA First Team Defense is a senior duo of outside linebacker Ryan Ferguson and inside linebacker Wade Self.
Ferguson, the league’s top tackler for the second-straight season, earns first-team honors for the second year in a row. Ferguson finished with 112 tackles, including four for loss, with an interception, a forced fumble, and six pass break-ups. Ferguson also earned UAA Defensive Player of the Week honors in mid-October and finishes his career with 224 tackles, 11.5 TFL, and two interceptions.
Self, a second-team honoree last fall, racked up 84 tackles with six TFL, a forced fumble and a blocked kick. For his career, Self totaled 193 tackles, 11 TFL, four forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries.
Five Spartans also garnered first-team All-UAA honors on offense in senior tackle Cullen Dolan, senior center Andrew Berkebile, junior guard Jake Abbott, graduate wide receiver Vinny Bell and sophomore running back Manny Sicre.
Dolan started all ten games at right tackle, as did Berkebile at center and Abbott at guard. Dullan and Abbott were second-team honorees last fall, while Berkebile is a first-time honoree.
Bell was one of the league’s top receivers over the final three games of the season and finished with 14 receptions for 260 yards with a pair of scores. A two-time All-American for the Spartan soccer team from 2008-11, Bell was named the UAA Offensive Player of the Week following the season finale in which he caught seven passes for 180 yards and a score.
Sicre, last year’s UAA Rookie of the Year, led the team with 725 yards rushing on 191 carries with four TDs. Sicre also hauled in 26 receptions for 325 yards and two TDs.
The Spartans also produced two second-team selections on offense and another five on defense.
Junior tackle Garrett Hartig and sophomore wide receiver Sean Lapcevic were the offensive picks.
The defensive selections comprised of junior safety Jordan Banky, senior tackle Collin Desens, senior cornerback Cary Dieter, senior nose guard Michael Harris and senior inside linebacker Kevin Nossem.
Nossem, in his first season as a full-time starter, earned second-team status for the second straight year. He missed the season opener due to injury, but still posted 88 tackles and two forced fumbles. Nossem finishes his career with 163 stops, 9.5 TFL, four forced fumbles, and three interceptions.
Honorable mention status went to sophomore quarterback Billy Beecher, senior wide receiver Brian Rice, junior tight-end Drew Volbers, senior corner Brandon Flick and freshman placekicker Won Kun Park.
Beecher saw extensive time as the team’s “wildcat” quarterback during the second half of the season. Overall, he rushed for 247 yards with four TDs and threw for 150 yards with a pair of scores. The second-year signal caller rushed for three of his TDs in the season finale.
During the past six seasons, Case Western Reserve University football has produced an overall record of 54-10 with four UAA Championships (2007-09, ’11) and three NCAA Playoff berths (2007-09).