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Date: November 17, 2005
Contact: Bill Sodoma

 

Colby football places seven on all-conference team

WATERVILLE, Maine – Senior tight end Roddy Ames (New Hampton School/Cotuit, Mass.) was one of seven Colby College players to earn New England Small College Athletic Conference All-Conference honors and was the lone Mule named to the New England Football Writers Division II/III All-New England Team on Thursday.

Ames was on the first team offense along with lineman Dan Oliphant (Chatham/Chatham, N.J.). Junior quarterback Justin Smith (Rockland/Rockland, Mass.), senior running back Aaron Stepka (Taft School/Bristol, Conn.) and senior wide receiver Michael Tomich (Kinkaid School/Houston, Texas) were all on the second team offense. Junior linebacker Andrew Heaney (Reading Memorial/Reading, Mass.) and senior defensive back Mike Bracco (St. Thomas Aquinas/North Hampton, N.H.) made the second team defense.

Ames led Colby in scoring this year with 36 points thanks to a team-high six touchdowns. He caught 19 passes for 223 yards and at 6-foot-4 and 236 pounds, Ames was a fine blocker on the offensive line. Ames finished his career with 41 catches for 506 yards and eight touchdowns.

Oliphant also made the NESCAC first team last year on the offensive line. The 6-foot-5, 310-pound Oliphant is one of the largest players in the NESCAC and was instrumental in Colby’s solid rushing attack. The Mules finished third in the conference in rushing yards per game and had the conference’s leading rusher in Stepka.

Despite missing a game with an injury, Smith completed 83 of his 148 passes for 976 yards and 13 touchdowns. Since taking over as starter for the last three games of his first year at Colby, Smith has completed 246 passes for 2,822 yards and 24 touchdowns.

Stepka earned his fourth award in his four years of play with the Mules. He was the league’s Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2001, made the first team in 2002 and was on the second team in 2003. Stepka led the league in rushing this year with 181 rushes for 778 yards (97.2 per game) and five touchdowns. Stepka, who led all of Division III in rushing yards per game after the 2002 season, finished his career with 3,465 yards and 27 touchdowns.

Tomich blossomed this year into one of the more dangerous receivers in the NESCAC. He caught five touchdown passes and averaged 20.2 yards per catch. Tomich ended the year with 22 catches for 445 yards. After seeing limited time his first two years, Tomich finished his career with 33 catches for 577 yards and seven touchdowns.

Heaney stepped in for his first year as a starter at linebacker after some tough graduation losses at the position. He had immediate success by finishing second on the team in total tackles (61) and solo tackles (36). Heaney also earned his first career interception. Heading into his final year at Colby next season, Heaney has 102 career tackles.

Bracco played the last two years for Colby and put up fine numbers. He led the Mules this year in total tackles (67), solo tackles (45) and interceptions (4). Bracco also had two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. Bracco had 98 tackles (58 solo) and five interceptions in two seasons.