WORCESTER ALL-AREA COMPLETE TEAM
WORCESTER, Mass. – Senior Deonte Harris (Middle River, Md. / Archbishop Curley) has been named the Worcester Area Football Association Offensive Player of the Year and was one of ten Hounds to be recognized as part of the 28th annual Steve "Merc" Morris All-Star Team, as selected by the sports information directors within Worcester Country who sponsor football.
For Harris this marked the second consecutive year he was honored as the Offensive Player of the Year and his fourth straight year as a member of the team. The senior was also a First-Team selection as both a wide receiver and returner. Harris led the NE10 in kickoff (29.5) and punt (19.0) return average, while returning a pair of kicks for touchdowns, though teams actively kicked away from him. Harris was also active on offense, leading the team with 41 catches for 751 yards and eight touchdowns. He concluded his Assumption career as the all-time NCAA leader in return touchdowns with 14.
In addition to Harris, Quentin Hall (Plymouth, Mass. / Thayer Academy), Joe Bruno (Old Forge, Pa. / Old Forge), Kaleb Silva (Revere, Mass. / Revere) and Seamus Wallace (Pawcatuck, Conn. / Stonington) were also named to the First Team. Cody Williams (Wilbraham, Mass. / Springfield Central), Jason Rice (North Andover, Mass. / North Andover), Michael McDonald (Quincy, Mass. / Boston College), Ray Sarkodieh (Worcester, Mass. / St. Peter Marian) and Jacob Tondel (Webster, Mass. / Shepherd Hill Regional) were Second-Team selections.
Hall earned his first career All-Conference nod earlier this year after starting at left tackle for all ten games this past year. He helped the Hounds lead the NE10 in scoring at 37.2 points per game, while rushing for 186.1 yards and passing for 229.8 yards per game.
Bruno earned All-Conference and Worcester All-Area honors for the third straight season. He led all linemen with 55 tackles and ranked third on the team. He also added three sacks and was sixth in the NE10 with 11 tackles for a loss, along with three pass break ups.
Silva finished second on the team with 64 tackles, including 5.0 tackles for a loss, one forced fumble and a pair of interceptions. This is his second straight Worcester All-Area First-Team selection and he had at least eight tackles in five different games this year while concluding his career with 181 tackles, four sacks and 12 tackles for a loss.
Wallace was a First-Team honoree for the second straight year as a punter. This year he averaged 37.3 yards on his 42 punts, with nine going inside the 20. He was key in Assumption ranking seventh nationally in punt return defense. The team gave up just 2.81 yards per return, as just 16 of his punts were returned all season.
Williams was named to the Second Team after ranking fourth in the NE10 with 1,840 passing yards and third with 17 touchdowns. He also rushed 92 times for 377 yards and seven touchdowns. Rice started all ten games on the right side of the line for Assumption while McDonald served as center. Both helped to anchor the highest-scoring offense in the conference, one which surpassed 50 points three times during the season.
Sarkodieh earned All-Area honors second straight year. He finished the year with 34 total tackles, including 2.5 sacks and 5.0 tackles for a loss. He also added a pair of pass breakups while finishing his career seventh in program history with 21.5 sacks. Tondel was came through for the Hounds in his first season with the team. He ranked fifth in the conference in scoring, and first among kickers, with 64 total points. He finished the year 5-for-8 on field goals and made all 49 extra points for the Hounds.
The Worcester Area Football Association Steve "Merc" Morris All-Star Team, founded by its namesake from Assumption 27 years ago, is one of five awards currently voted on by sports information directors in Worcester County, including Division I Holy Cross and Division II Assumption. Morris is a member of the Assumption Athletics Hall of Fame and served as Assumption's SID for nearly 40 years before he passed away in 2011.