Husson senior inside linebacker Bryant Wade been named a finalist for the third annual Cliff Harris Award, the Little Rock Touchdown Club announced Thursday.
It’s the first time a Husson football player has been named a finalist.
The award is presented to the nation’s top small college defensive player representing more than 5,000 defensive players from almost 500 NCAA Division II and III and NAIA schools.
Wade anchored an Eagle defensive unit that allowed the fewest points (17.6), yards (226.1), and rushing yards (60.4) per game. He led the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference with three fumble recoveries and collected 69 tackles.
He also became the single-season record holder in assisted tackles (45), and he earned the Eagles their third-straight ECFC Defensive Player of the Year award.
The Cliff Harris winner will be announced on Dec. 24 and honored at the Little Rock Touchdown Club’s annual awards banquet in February 2016.
Harris, an Arkansas native, was a hard-hitting free safety who played for the Dallas Cowboys for 10 seasons in the 1970s after playing for Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas.
Husson’s Berenyi, Royer honored
Husson University men’s soccer player Stephen Berenyi and field hockey player Kayla Royer have picked up some postseason honors.
Berenyi, a Levant native, has been named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America College Division Scholar All-East Region third team. He has a 3.64 grade point average while studying for his Doctorate in Physical Therapy.
He was recently honored as the North Atlantic Conference Senior Scholar Athlete of the Year in for excelling academically and athletically throughout his undergraduate experience.
Royer has been named to the Eastern College Athletic Conference Field Hockey DIII New England All-Stars second team.
The team is voted on by representatives from the region’s member institutions.
As a captain, Royer anchored an Eagle defense that allowed a league-low four goals in conference play, with a league leading three defensive saves. She also made history for the Eagles, becoming the all-time leader in career defensive saves.
UMaine’s Johnson named All-American
University of Maine football center Bruce Johnson has been honored as an Associated Press Second-Team All-American and has earned the Rimington Award, which recognizes the top centers in NCAA Football Championship Subdivision, Division II, Division III and NAIA.
The Rimington Award is named after Dave Rimington, the only two-time winner of the Outland Trophy and two-time All-American while at Nebraska.
Johnson, a two-time All-Colonial Athletic Association first-team selection, started all 11 games at center for the Black Bears and led an offensive line that ranked tied for fourth in sacks allowed (18), down 23 from a year ago.
The annual Rimington trophy presentation will be held Jan. 16, 2016, at the Rococo Theatre in Lincoln, Nebraska.