.png&width=60&height=60&type=webp)
Fourteen Brown Players Earn All-Ivy Football Honors
11/23/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Providence, Rhode Island - Fourteen players from Brown's second place Ivy League football squad have been named to the All-Ivy Team, as selected by the Ancient Eight head football coaches. The group helped the Bears to a 5-2 Ivy League record and a 6-4 overall mark. Senior offensive tackle Patrick Conroy (Leesburg, VA), senior wide receiver Alexander Tounkara (Staten Island, NY), and sophomore defensive back AJ Cruz (Lake Forest, CA) earned first team All-Ivy honors for the Bears.
Additionally, senior offensive guard Brian Ellixson (Havertown, PA), senior defensive tackle Jeremy Raducha (Bristol, CT), senior linebacker Andrew Serrano (Phoenix, AZ), junior safety Steve Peyton (Woodland, CA) and freshman kicker Alexander Norocea (Hermosa Beach, CA) were second team All-Ivy honorees. Earning honorable mention All-Ivy honors are senior linebacker Chimso Okoji (Silver Spring, MD), junior offensive center Jack Geiger (Whitefish Bay, WI), sophomore tailback Mark Kachmer (Wheaton, IL), junior wide receiver Jimmy Saros (Grosse Park Point, MI), junior defensive end Clay McGrath (Longmeadow, MA) and junior punter Nate Lovett (East Providence, RI).
One of Brown's team captains, Conroy helped Brown's passing offense lead the Ivy League with 244.3 yards per game, and was part of an offensive line that allowed only 10 sacks all season. A two-year starter, he was also named a first team ESPN Academic All-Americn, posting a 3.88 GPA in Business and Economics.
A second team All-Ivy selection a year ago, Cruz came on strong at the end of the season after playing through injuries in the early going. He made 33 tackles, led the Bears with eight pass break-ups, and tied for the team lead with two interceptions. Cruz, a COE concentrator, also returned kickoffs for the Bears, with 13 kickoff returns for 295 yards, including a 45 yard return against Princeton.
Tounkara ranked among the nation's top wide receivers with 61 receptions, 18th best in the country and second in the Ivy League. His 84.20 yards per game were also second in the Ivy League and 19th nationally. An International Relations/Economics concentrator, Tounkara made 12 catches for 160 yards in Brown's season opening win over Stony Brook. He also made two touchdown receptions against Cornell, and hauled in a 61-yard touchdown pass against Rhode Island.
Norocea, the Ivy League's kick-scoring leader with 7.1 points per game, connected on 15 of 21 field goals and 26 of 27 extra points in his inaugural season with the Bears. He ranked seventh nationally in field goals with 1.50 per game. His 15 field goals are second best in Brown football history, and seventh in the Ivy League record book, while his 71 kick-scoring points are 15th in Ivy history. Additionally, Norocea's 12 field goals in Ivy games are second best in Ivy history. A two-time Ivy League Rookie and Special Teams Player of the Week, Norocea kicked a season long 45-yard field goal against Cornell, and had field goals of 44-yards against Harvard and Dartmouth.
A mainstay of the Bears' offensive line for the last two years, Ellixson is a standout guard. Geiger came on strong as the season progressed and is the third Brown offensive lineman to earn All-Ivy honors in 2010. Both Ellixson, COE-Organizational Studies concentrator, and Geiger, an Economics/Literary Arts concentrator, helped Brown's passing offense to an Ivy League leading 244.3 yards per game.
A captain of the 2010 Brown team, Serrano was second on the Bears' squad and 10th in the Ivy league with 76 total tackles, while tying for the team lead with two interceptions. He also had two tackles for a loss of 23 yards, including two quarterback sacks. He was named the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week for leading a Brown defensive effort that held Harvard's offense in check all night, limiting the Crimson to 112 total yards, including minus-16 yards rushing. Up until Harvard's final possession, the Crimson had just 76 total yards. A COE-Tech Management concentrator, Serrano had a season high 12 tackles against Harvard, Rhode Island and Yale.
Peyton was Brown's top defensive player with 79 total tackles, 7th best in the Ivy League. A Human Biology concentrator, Peyton had some big Ivy League games, with 10 tackles against Dartmouth, and 12 total hits against Penn. Peyton was named the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week for his dominating play against Rhode Island, where he seemed to be everywhere on the field, leading the Bears with a career high 20 tackles in the battle for the Governor's Cup.
Considered Brown's most versatile performer, Kachmer led the Bears with 557 yards on the ground, while making 19 receptions for 131 yards. He was spectacular on kickoff returns, twice scoring touchdowns, first on a 91-yard return, and then an 85-yard return against Penn. His 460 kickoff return yards rank eighth best in Brown football history. Kachmer, a Biology/Economics concentrator, rushed for a season high 89 yards in Brown's win over Harvard.
A second team All-Ivy selection in 2009, Lovett ranked second in the Ivy League with an average of 42.1 yards per punt. He had four punts of 50 or more yards, including a season long 57 yard boot against Harvard and 55-yards against Princeton. An American History concentrator, Lovett's strongest game came against Dartmouth where he punted for a 45.2 yards per punt average, with a 53-yard boot.
Raducha, who was fifth on the Bears' squad with 42 total tackles, ranked third in the Ivy League with 11 tackles for a loss of 53 yards, including four quarterback sacks, fifth best in the league. A Biology concentrator, Raducha came up with two tackles for a loss of five yards against Stony Brook, and added two tackles for loss vs. Rhode Island. His four sacks came against Harvard, Rhode Island, Holy Cross and Columbia.
A Political Science concentrator, Okoji ranked third on the Brown squad with 57 total tackles, including 6.5 for a loss, also third on the Brown squad. Recognized as one of the hardest hitters on the Brown team, Okoji intercepted passes against Princeton and Columbia and had six quarterback hurries. He registered a season high 10 tackles against Penn, and made eight tackles against Stony Brook.
McGrath was a major defensive force for the Bears, leading the Ivy League in tackles for a loss with 13.5 for a loss of 41 yards. His 6.0 sacks for the season led the Brown team and ranked third in the Ivies. McGrath was fifth on the Brown team with 42 total tackles. A History concentrator, McGrath finished the season on a strong note with 3.5 tackles for a loss against Dartmouth and four more tackles for loss vs. Columbia. He registered a season high seven tackles against Rhode Island.
Saros developed into a top level Ivy League receiver with 42 receptions for 481 yards. He also scored four touchdowns for the Bears, four via the air and one on the ground. A COE-Organizational Studies concentrator, Saros made a season high nine catches for 69 yards against Penn, and added six receptions and a touchdown against Rhode Island.
2010 Ivy League Football Postseason Awards
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
QB -- Jeff Mathews, Cornell*
FIRST TEAM ALL-IVY
Offense
OL -- Patrick Conroy, Brown
OL -- Jeff Adams, Columbia
OL -- Ryan O'Neill, Dartmouth
OL -- Joe D'Orazio, Penn
OL -- Luis Ruffolo, Penn
OL -- Greg Van Roten, Penn
QB -- Sean Brackett, Columbia
QB -- Billy Ragone, Penn
RB -- Nick Schwieger, Dartmouth
RB -- Gino Gordon, Harvard
FB -- Luke DeLuca, Penn
WR -- Alexander Tounkara, Brown
WR -- Tim McManus, Dartmouth
WR -- Trey Peacock, Princeton*
TE -- Andrew Kennedy, Columbia
Defense
DL -- Charles Bay, Dartmouth
DL -- Josue Ortiz, Harvard*
DL -- Brandon Copeland, Penn
DL -- Tom McCarthy, Yale
LB -- Alex Gross, Columbia
LB -- Erik Rask, Penn
LB -- Zack Heller, Penn
LB -- Jordan Haynes, Yale
DB -- A.J. Cruz, Brown
DB -- Calvin Otis, Columbia
DB -- Shawn Abuhoff, Dartmouth
DB -- Collin Zych, Harvard*
DB -- Josh Powers, Penn
DB -- Adam Money, Yale
Special Teams
PK -- Patrick Jacob, Princeton
P -- Drew Alston, Cornell
RS -- Shawn Abuhoff, Dartmouth*
SECOND TEAM ALL-IVY
Offense
OL -- Brian Ellixson, Brown
OL -- Austen Fletcher, Dartmouth
OL -- Chris LeRoy, Harvard
OL -- Kevin Murphy, Harvard
OL -- Ben Osborne, Harvard
OL -- Drew Luango, Penn
QB -- Patrick Witt, Yale
RB -- Trevor Scales, Harvard
RB -- Brandon Colavita, Penn
RB -- Alex Thomas, Yale
WR -- Andrew Kerr, Princeton
WR -- Chris Smith, Yale
TE -- John Gallagher, Dartmouth
TE -- Chris Blohm, Yale
Defense
DL -- Jeremy Raducha, Brown
DL -- Josh Martin, Columbia
DL -- Chucks Obi, Harvard
DL -- Drew Goldsmith, Penn
LB -- Andrew Serrano, Brown
LB -- Alex Gedeon, Harvard
LB -- Nick Hasselberg, Harvard
LB -- Jon Olofsson, Princeton
DB -- Steve Peyton, Brown
DB -- Emani Fenton, Cornell
DB -- Matthew Hanson, Harvard
DB -- Matt Hamscher, Penn
Special Teams
PK -- Alexander Norocea, Brown
P -- Joe Cloud, Princeton
RS -- Chris Smith, Yale
HONORABLE MENTION ALL-IVY
OL -- Jack Geiger, Brown
OL -- Jared Mollenback, Penn
OL -- Jake Koury, Yale
RB -- Mark Kachmer, Brown
RB -- Jordan Culbreath, Princeton
HB -- Kyle Juszczyk, Harvard
WR -- Jimmy Saros, Brown
WR -- Nico Gutierrez, Columbia
WR -- Michael Reilly, Dartmouth
TE -- Nicolai Schwarzkopf, Harvard
TE -- Luke Nawrocki, Penn
DL -- Clay McGrath, Brown
DL -- Brian Wing, Penn
DL -- Mike Catapano, Princeton
DL -- Sean Williams, Yale
LB – Chimso Okoji, Brown
LB -- Zack Imhoff, Cornell
LB -- Luke Hussey, Dartmouth
LB -- Brian Levine, Penn
LB -- Andrew Starks, Princeton
DB -- Adam Mehrer, Columbia
DB -- Bradford Blackmon, Penn
DB -- Drew Baldwin, Yale
PK -- Foley Schmidt, Dartmouth
PK -- Andrew Samson, Penn
P -- Nate Lovett, Brown
P -- Scott Lopano, Penn
RS -- Bradford Blackmon, Penn
*Unanimous Selection
Pictured: AJ Cruz '13
