Seven Hofstra University football players have been selected to the 2004 All-Atlantic 10 Football Conference teams, the Conference office announced on Tuesday. Five of the seven Pride players were named to the All-Atlantic 10 second team while two were voted to the third team.
Sophomore linebacker Gian Villante (Wantagh, NY), junior wide receiver Devale Ellis (Brooklyn, NY), senior center Pat O'Brien (Seaford, NY), junior offensive tackle Willie Colon (Bronx, NY), and senior kicker Chris Onorato (Holbrook, NY) were voted to the second team. Junior linebacker Cole Haley (Lititz, PA) and junior defensive end Dan Garay (Rahway, NJ) were chosen to the third team. All seven are making their debut on the all-conference team.
Villante led the Atlantic 10 in tackles with 129 while adding 16.5 tackles for losses and five sacks this season. Ellis broke the school record with 16 receptions at Massachusetts last Saturday and finished the season with 74 catches for 1,067 yards and 13 touchdowns, which ranked second in the Atlantic 10. O'Brien and Colon, who have each started the last 23 games, have anchored the Pride offensive line the past two seasons. Onorato, who led all conference kickers with 93 points while booting 15 field goals in 20 attempts, concluded his four-year career by breaking the Atlantic 10 career record for field goals with 50 and the Hofstra record for extra points.
Haley was second on the Pride team and sixth in the conference in tackles with 112 while adding nine tackles for losses and 4.5 sacks. Garay, who was third on the Hofstra team and second among A-10 defensive linemen with 72 tackles, led the conference in forced fumbles, was second in tackles for losses with 18 and fourth in sacks with 7.5.
The Atlantic 10 also announced its special post-season awards on Tuesday as William and Mary senior quarterback Lang Campbell, who passed for 3,037 yards, and Massachusetts junior defensive back Shannon James, who picked off eight passes and made 75 tackles, were voted the A-10's Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, respectively. William and Mary junior kicker Greg Kuehn, who booted 16 field goals including three game-winning kicks, and New Hampshire coach Sean McDonnell, who led his program from a 5-7 mark in 2003 to a 9-2 record and a NCAA Championship Playoff bid this year, were voted the League's Special Teams Player of the Year and the Coach of the Year, respectively. James Madison defensive back Tony LeZotte, and New Hampshire quarterback Ricky Santos shared the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year Award.
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