Brian Murtagh of Wayland, , Lands on Worcester Area Football Association All-Star Team

2014 Dec 11

Brian Murtagh was one of eight members of the WPI Football team to earn a spot on the 24th annual Steve "Merc" Morris All-Star Team as selected by the eight sports information directors of Worcester County.

The team is named in memory of Steve "Merc" Morris, the longtime Assistant Director of Athletics for Media Relations and Assumption Hall of Famer. Morris was a 1972 graduate of Assumption and was a member of the athletics staff for 39 years before he passed away in January of 2011.

The quartet of senior Nate Martel, junior Sean Murphy and sophomores Brian Murtagh and Brandon Eccher distinguished themselves by earning first team honors.

Also receiving recognition with second team accolades were seniors Zach Arnold, Jack Downey and juniors Vinny Tavernelli and Eric Lacroix.

Martel was credited with 23 tackles, including 18 solo stops. The defensive lineman registered 5.5 tackles-for-loss, including 2.5 sacks and a pass breakup. The senior was the Robert Pritchard Award winner as top lineman on Homecoming and was also tabbed Capital One Co-SIDA Academic All-District I selection earlier this month.

Murphy picked up first team All-Worcester Area honors for a second straight season. The junior recorded team-highs with four interceptions and six pass breakups despite seeing a limited amount of balls thrown to his side of the field. Murphy returned interceptions for touchdowns against Curry and Union and also returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown against Worcester State. The pick-six at Curry was named a GEICO Best of College Football Play of the Year finalst and aired twice on CBS late last month.

Murtagh, a New England Football Writers Division II-III all star, led the Liberty League in total tackles with 106 while his 75 solo tackles were 13 more than the second highest in the conference. The middle linebacker stuffed the stat sheets with three sacks, seven tackles for loss, three QB hurries, three interception, a pass backup and a recovered fumble. Murtagh disrupted an overtime two point conversion attempt to secure a 24-23 victory at Merchant Marine.

Eccher landed in the top three in the Liberty League in both receptions (46) and receiving yards (528). The sophomore hauled in four touchdown passes, including a pair of scores versus nationally-ranked and league champion Hobart. Eccher, who was also WPI's primary punt returner, earned Offensive Player of the Week honors after grabbing 13 catches for 150 losses against regionally-ranked St. Lawrence. In December he was named a first team Capital One Academic All-District I selection by Co-SIDA.

Arnold anchored the offensive line as two-year started at center. He helped paved the way two different 100 yard rushers in 2014 and was part of a group that only allowed 15 sacks all season along, including seven contests in the rugged Liberty League.

Downey enjoyed a tremendous season in the trenches for the Engineers. The defensive tackle helped the Crimson and Gray stop the opponents running attack throughout the season. The senior posted seven of his 14 solo tackles over the final two weeks of the season en route to 19 total on the season. Downey also registered a sack in the homecoming triumph versus Union.

Lacroix drew second team accolades for a second straight fall. The junior posted 76 tackles, including 60 solo stops. The free safety picked off a pass versus St. Lawrence and pitched in with five pass breakups on the season. Lacriox also was credited with 2.5 tackles-for-loss and half a sack.

Tavernelli, a three-time all-Worcester Area selection, paced the Engineers with a 40.0 yards per punt average. The junior led the league with punts 50 or more yards (9) and was second in punts inside the 20 (14) and longest punt (68 yards). Tavernelli gave the Engineers a great advantage in field position as he out-punted his opponent (yards per average) in eight of 10 games this season and in 27 of 30 career games.

WPI, who concluded the 2014 season with its first-ever victory over Springfield, will kick off the 2015 campaign at home Labor Day weekend against New England Football Conference champion, and NCAA Division III Football Championship second round participant, MIT.

About Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Founded in 1865 in Worcester, Mass., WPI is one of the nation's first engineering and technology universities. Its 14 academic departments offer more than 50 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science, engineering, technology, business, the social sciences, and the humanities and arts, leading to bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees. WPI's talented faculty work with students on interdisciplinary research that seeks solutions to important and socially relevant problems in fields as diverse as the life sciences and bioengineering, energy, information security, materials processing, and robotics. Students also have the opportunity to make a difference to communities and organizations around the world through the university's innovative Global Perspective Program. There are more than 40 WPI project centers throughout the Americas, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Europe.