9 Leopards Make All-Patriot League

Lafayette College placed nine student-athletes on the All-Patriot League Football Teams announced on Tuesday. The Leopards have three first-team selections and six second-team honorees with six players on offense and three on defense.

Senior wide receiver Mark Layton (Sanford, Fla./Lake Mary) capped a successful senior season with the second All-Patriot League First-Team selection of his career. Layton made 64 catches, fourth most in a season at Lafayette, for 748 yards and six touchdowns. He set a Lafayette single-game record for receptions with 13 vs. Holy Cross on Nov. 13. In that game, he finished with a career-best 175 yards and two touchdowns.

Layton's record-breaking performances also show up in the career receiving numbers. His 146 career receptions rank him fourth all-time at Lafayette while 1,780 career receiving yards place him sixth. Layton has 17 career receiving touchdowns, good enough for third place.

Senior placekicker Davis Rodriguez (St. Petersburg, Fla./St. Petersburg Catholic) joins Layton on the All-Patriot League First-Team offense after a second-team honor in 2008. Rodriguez was 14-of-20 on field goal attempts in 2010, including a career-long 50-yard field goal against Lehigh that was the third-longest kick in Lafayette history. Rodriguez made 22-of-23 PAT's this season. For his career, Rodriguez converted 122-of-129 PATs and 43-of-64 field goal attempts.

With 251 career points, Rodriguez leaves as the Patriot League's third all-time kick scoring leader, trailing only fellow Lafayette alums Jason McLaughlin '95 with 255 points and Jim Hodson '91 with 254 points. He also ranks fifth all-time in the Patriot League with 5.70 points per game.

Junior cornerback Brandon Ellis (Jeffersonville, Pa./Norristown) was the lone Lafayette selection on the All-Patriot League First-Team defense. Ellis finished fourth on the team with 65 tackles. He rang up a career-high 16 tackles in a win vs. Stony Brook and managed an interception in a victory at Bucknell. Ellis add All-Patriot League distinction to his ESPN Academic All-District Honors from early November.

 
Two seniors earned All-Patriot League Second-Team laurels on defense. Michael Schmidlein (Chester, N.Y./Chester) has been the team's top tackler the past two seasons. The 2010 team co-captain made 108 tackles to finish second in the Patriot League and earn Second-Team honors for the second straight season.

Doug Gerowski (New Hyde Park, N.Y./Chaminade) secured second-team honors at defensive tackle. Gerowski made 40 stops in his second season as a starter, managing a career-high nine tackles against eventual Ivy league champion Penn.

Offensively, the guys who do the work up front received a bulk of the All-League recognition, as two linemen, a tight end and a fullback garnered second-team looks.

Junior tight end Kevin Doty (Doylestown, Pa./Germantown Academy) fought through a rash of injuries to play in all 11 games with eight starts. He caught 19 balls for 206 yards and reeled in his lone touchdown reception of the season against Holy Cross.

Juniors Scott Biel (Bluebell, Pa./Wisshickon) and Anthony Buffolino (Jacksonville, Fla./Mandarin) collected All-Patriot League Second-Team plaudits at left guard and left tackle, respectively. Both finished their second seasons as starters on the offensive line after making the switch from the right side to the left side of starting quarterback Ryan O'Neil. Biel and Buffolino helped pave the way for the Lafayette offense to roll up 360 yards per game.

Freshman Pat Creahan (Hingham, Mass./Hingham/Avon Old Farms) is one of just two freshmen to earn All-Patriot League honors on either side of the ball. The second-team selection was the starting fullback from the beginning of the season, competing in all 11 games while starting five. In addition to his pass protection and run-blocking duties, he made 10 catches for 74 yards.

Colgate tailback Nate Eachus, the nation's leading rusher, was named Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year while Raiders' defensive end Zach Smith was the Defensive Player of the Year. Bucknell freshman quarterback Brandon Wesley garnered the Rookie of the Year award while Lehigh's Andy Coen was the Coach of the Year.

Lafayette finished the season 2-9, the Leopards' first losing season since 2003. Six of the Leopards' losses came by seven points or fewer.