Peter Salem of Dracut, MA, Named Liberty League Football All-Conference

2015 Nov 19

Peter Salem has earned Liberty League Football All-Conference honors following the 2015 regular season.

Led by senior Zach Grasis (East Brookfield, MA), a unanimous first team selection, and juniors Chad DellaPorta (Billerica, MA), Brian Murtagh (Wayland, MA) and Blaine Bursey (Middleburg, FL), 11 members of the WPI football team were named All-Liberty League following a vote by the conference head coaches. Grasis was one of six consensus selections across the league, of which two were on offense.

DellaPorta joined Grasis as a first team offensive honoree while Murtagh was lauded as a first team defender and Bursey was tabbed a first team specialist. Junior Brandon Eccher (Franklin, MA) and senior Cory Stirling (Easton, CT) landed on the second team offense as seniors Peter Salem (Dracut, MA) and Eric Lacroix (Methuen, MA) represented the Engineers on the defensive side of the ball. Junior Jason Lamb (Plymouth, MA), classmate Kevin Lynch (East Bridgewater, MA) and sophomore Dereck Pacheco (Barnstable, MA) were tabbed defensive honorable mentions.

Grasis, who also earned first team accolades in 2013, has racked up 886 yards on 230 carries with four 100-plus yard games and nine touchdowns heading into the season finale on Friday. He amassed a season-best 168 yards against Union and received the Robert Pritchard Award for Most Outstanding Back for the second time in his career on Homecoming versus RPI. Grasis rumbled into the end zone twice each against Troy's Engineers and in the regular season finale at Springfield. He currently sits fourth all-time in the WPI record book with 2,805 rushing yards.

DellaPorta, who missed some non-conference action due to a preseason injury, made the seamless transition this fall from guard to right tackle. He helped the offense top the Liberty League in third down conversion percentage (44.2%), and rank third in total offense with 365.2 yards per game while limiting opponents to 14 sacks over the 10 games in the regular season. He was also named to the Liberty League All-Academic team for the second time in as many seasons.

A repeat first team honoree, Murtagh is tied for third among the league-leaders in solo tackles per game (5.6) and fifth in total tackles (8.7). He leads the Engineers with 78 stops to go along with four for-loss, a pair of fumble recoveries, two interceptions and a pass breakup. The middle linebacker took home the Robert Pritchard Award for his 11 tackles, of which 10 were solo, and a tackle for-loss on Homecoming against RPI.

Bursey, a two-time Liberty League Special Teams Performer of the Week in 2015, notched six field goals and 29 extra points and added punting and kickoff duties to his job description early in the season. The junior has amassed 813 yards on 24 punts, including six placed inside the 20, and totaled seven touchbacks. A Fred Mitchell honoree for the month of September as one of the nation's top placekickers, Bursey is among the league leaders with 47 kicking points.

Eccher, also a 2014 first teamer, did not disappoint in his junior campaign despite battling a late-season leg injury. The captain hauled in 41 passes for 644 yards including seven touchdowns. Eccher found the end zone multiple times in victories over Union and Merchant Marine and accounted for one of the longest plays in school history when he caught a 96-yard scoring strike in a road triumph at Worcester State.

A three-time Liberty League All-Academic honoree, Stirling was recognized by the coaches for his strong play on the gridiron. The senior distinguished himself at left tackle this fall helping the Engineers rack up over 365 yards per game. Stirling helped the front five protect quarterback Dan Eckler (Stoughton, MA) by yielding only 14 sacks in the regular season.

Salem proved to be a key cog on the defensive front for the Crimson and Gray. The nose guard was a big part of WPI's run defense that held opponents to 156.7 yards per game and under four yards per carry. The three-time Liberty League All-Academic selection was opportunistic, forcing a fumble, recovering two others and accounting for a 1.5 sacks.

Lacroix was elevated to the second team after being named an honorable mention in 2013 and 2014. The free safety tallied 75 tackles and reached double figures on three occasions. The senior had his hand in four turnovers - three interceptions, including a pair against NCAA participant St. Lawrence - and a recovered fumble.

Lamb showed the propensity for big plays in 2015 as he collected 8.5 tackles for-loss among his 37 stops from his outside linebacking position. The junior earned Liberty League Defensive Performer of the Week accolades after notching a safety and an interception in the Boynton Hillers 29-21 road win at Union.

Lynch, a repeat CoSIDA Academic All-District I and Liberty League All-Academic honoree, had a hand in 55 tackles including 43 solo stops in 2015. The strong safety contributed two interceptions and a team-best six pass breakups on the year.

Pacheco lands an honorable mention nod after finishing second in the eight-team loop in sacks. The sophomore defensive end and 2015 CoSIDA Academic All-District selection had 7.5 sacks among his 10 tackles for-loss and totaled five QB hurries and a pair of pass deflections. Pacheco was named the Liberty League Defensive Performer of the Week, along with recognition from the ECAC and D3football.com, for his performance versus Norwich.

Football (7-3) travels to CCSU Friday to take on Kean (NJ) in an 8pm Presidents Bowl Championship tilt.

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 Projects Program. There are more than 45 WPI project centers throughout the Americas, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Europe.