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Three Football Players Honored By New England Football Writers
Nov. 29, 2005 ORONO, Maine - Seniors Jermaine Walker (Teaneck, N.J.), Ben Lazarski (New Windsor, N.Y.) and Jarrod Gomes (Bolton, Mass.) were named to the 2005 New England Football Writers I-AA All-Star Team on Tuesday. All three Black Bears and other members of the All-Star team will be honored at the annual New England Football Writers Captains and Awards Banquet on Thursday, Dec. 8, in Randolph, Mass. The selection for Lazarski marked the second-consecutive season the senior offensive lineman was named to the team. He was one of just five players on offense to be named to the team twice in his career. Lazarski concluded his career this season, while starting 39-consecutive games dating back to his sophomore season. He started all 11 games at center this season and helped to pave the way for Montell Owens to rush for 779 yards and nine touchdowns in his first season as the starting tailback. The award is Lazarski's second within the last week, as he was also named to the All-Atlantic 10 First-Team last Tuesday. Walker earned a spot on the team for the first time in his career. He recorded a career-high 114 tackles this season, which was the fourth-highest mark in the Atlantic 10 Conference. He also registered 9.5 tackles for loss for minus-33 yards, 3.5 sacks for minus-18 yards, three pass breakups, one forced and recovered fumble, one blocked kick and one interception. He also turned in a 14-tackle performance in the season-opener at Nebraska. Just like Lazarski, Walker was named to the All-Atlantic 10 First-Team last week. That nomination also was the first time he was named to the conference's first-team. Gomes rebounded from two-injury filled seasons to finish tied for 36th in the A-10 with 6.2 tackles per game this past season. He made 68 total tackles, including 48 solo stops, recovered a pair of fumbles and made two interceptions on the season. In Maine's 27-24 overtime win over Rhode Island on Nov. 12, Gomes turned in his finest performance of the season as he registered 11 tackles, one interception and a fumble recovery. The post-season award was the second for Gomes, as he was named to the All-A-10 Second-Team last week.
Members of the All-Star team were selected from 10 I-AA schools throughout New England. The team, which is comprised of 28 members, features players from three conferences including the Atlantic 10 (15 players), Ivy League (11 players) and the Patriot League (2 players).
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