Nine Mustangs earn NJAC Football All-Conference accolades
By Brandy Thurston, Director of Sports Information
(Morrisville, NY – Nov. 21, 2014) The New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) has announced its 2014 All-Conference selections in football, naming nine from Morrisville State to its first, second and honorable mention teams.
In total, 83 student-athletes garnered all-conference recognition, as voted on by the league’s head coaching staff.
Four earned first team offense honors for Morrisville State, including senior quarterback Lemar Johnson (Ossining, N.Y.), senior wide receiver Josh Powell (Yonkers, N.Y.), junior offensive lineman Fahraad Johnson (Westbury, N.Y.) and senior offensive lineman Ryan Mogensen (Westernville, N.Y.).
Junior running back Cristian Pena (Ridgewood, N.Y.) and senior offensive lineman Adrian Cabrera (New York, N.Y.) each took home second team offense honors, while junior Anthony Gray (Smallwood, N.Y.), junior offensive lineman Ken Maryon (Kingston, N.Y.) and junior linebacker Colton Evans (West Winfield, N.Y.) were named to the honorable mention team.
Johnson competed 179-of-308 passes on the season for 2,280 yards and 22 passing scores, while adding 1035 net yards rushing on 159 attempts for another 12 touchdowns, assisting Morrisville State to a program best 8-2 NCAA Division III record, and 6-1 NJAC stint to claim a share of the conference title. He led the conference in passing yards on the year, and topped the passer efficiency for all quarterbacks conference wide (138.7), while leading the NJAC in total offense (331.5 per game).
Powell led the conference with a best 760 yards receiving on 54 catches for eight touchdowns on the season. On the year he averaged 76.0 yards per game receiving, 14.1 yards per catch, and became the first Mustang wide receiver to cross the 2,000 yard career mark in his final regular season game. Powell also broke the scoring record for wide receivers, registering 22 touchdowns throughout his four year career.
Fahraad Johnson and Mogensen started and appeared in all 10 games for the Mustangs throughout the season, along with second team selection Cabrera and honorable mention recipient Maryon. All anchored the offensive line that sat at the top of the NJAC in scoring (36.5 points per game), total offense (485.5 per game), rushing offense (243.3 per game) and first downs (26.2 per game). Their ability to hold the line brought the Mustangs national attention, ranking 16th in all of Division III in total offense, and fifth overall in first downs.
Pena ranked fourth overall in the conference in rushing, averaging 88.6 yards per game behind his season total 797 yards on 157 carries. Pena scored 11 touchdowns for the high powered offensive unit, adding 158 yards to his tallies on the season in the passing game on 14 receptions for two additional scores.
Gray was second on the team and fourth overall in the NJAC in receiving yards on the season as a wide receiver for the Mustangs, posting 661 yards total on 53 receptions for six touchdown scores. Gray averaged 66.1 yards per game.
Evans was the lone defender selected to the all-conference teams for Morrisville State. The junior linebacker had a stellar regular season for the Mustangs, totaling 78 total tackles, 50 of which were solo stops, and adding a team best 17 tackles for a loss and a team high 10 sacks. Evans also posted an interception, forced two fumbles and blocked a kick. His efforts on the defensive side of the ball ranked him tied for seventh in the NJAC in total tackles, ranking first in sacks and second in tackles for a loss.
Johnson named NJAC Offensive Player of the Year
By Brandy Thurston, Director of Sports Information
(Morrisville, NY – Nov. 21, 2014) The New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) has announced its Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year awards today, naming Morrisville State College senior quarterback, Lemar Johnson (Ossining, N.Y.) the 2014 Offensive Player of the Year for a second straight season.
Johnson competed 179-of-308 passes on the season for 2,280 yards and 22 passing scores, while adding 1035 net yards rushing on 159 attempts for another 12 touchdowns, assisting Morrisville State to a program best 8-2 NCAA Division III record, and 6-1 NJAC stint to claim a share of the conference title.
He led the conference in passing yards on the year, and topped the passer efficiency for all quarterbacks conference wide (138.7), while leading the NJAC in total offense (331.5 per game). Johnson also ranked third overall in the conference in rushing yards per game, averaging 103.5 yards per outing.
His efforts on the field have assisted Morrisville State to a fifth overall ranking in the NCAA Division III in first downs offense (262), a 27th overall ranking nationally in rushing offense (243.3 yards per game), and 16th overall ranking in total offense (485.5 yards per game).
Morrisville State sat atop the NJAC statistics in scoring (36.5 points per game), total offense (485.5 per game), rushing offense (243.3 per game) and first downs (26.2 per game).
Johnson himself holds several top rankings within the conference, but also has garnered national recognition with a 10thoverall ranking in all of Division III in points responsible for (210) and points responsible for per game (21.4), while ranking 14th overall nationally in total offense (331.5 yards per game).
Named a USA College Football Second Team Pre-Season All-American, Johnson has earned several weekly accolades throughout the season, including being named the NJAC Offensive Player of the Week six times, ECAC Corvias Southeast Offensive Player of the Week four times, and Dream Bowl Player of the Week at quarterback twice.
The senior is a two-time first team all-conference selection at quarterback for the NJAC, also earning D3football.com All-Region and ECAC All-Star accolades last season.
A graduate of Ossining High, Johnson is majoring in criminal justice at Morrisville State. He is the son of Esther Barrett of Ossining.
** Note: Action photo credit to Steve Samoyedny, Four Seasons Photography.
Toure named NEAC Men’s Basketball Player of the Week
By Brandy Thurston, Director of Sports Information
(Morrisville, NY – Dec. 1, 2014) The North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) has announced its student-athlete of the week selections in men’s basketball, naming Morrisville State College junior transfer, Ibrahima Toure (Brooklyn, N.Y.) the Player of the Week.
Toure scored a team-high 22 points in the Mustangs 74-72 nonconference win over SUNY Geneseo last Tuesday, including the game winning basket with 36 seconds left that lifted the Mustangs to the win.
He also hit 5-of-6 free throw attempts in the second half, en route to 12 points during that frame, while finishing the contest with seven rebounds, a team best two blocks and a steal.
Toure, a transfer from SUNY Delhi, is an individual studies major at Morrisville State. He is the son of Mohamed Toure of Brooklyn.