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Kean University senior
quarterback A.J. Roque and The College of New Jersey's senior
defensive lineman Joseph King have been named the New Jersey
Athletic Conference Offensive and Defensive Football Players of the Year
respectively for the 2007 season.
A two-time NJAC Offensive Player of the Year and a four-time
all-conference selection (three times at quarterback, once at punter),
Roque completed 175 of 316 pass attempts for school-records of 2,463 yards
and 19 touchdowns. He currently leads the NJAC in passing yards per game
(246.3), total offense per game (243.8), and passer efficiency rating
(130.6). A Week 11 NJAC Offensive Player of the Week selection, he set
all-time conference marks for career passing yards (8,448) and touchdown
passes (65). Roque is Kean’s all-time career leader in both passing yards
and punting yardage (8,075).
A three-time all-conference selection, King has posted TCNJ team-high
totals in tackles (68), tackles for a loss (27.5), and sacks (14.0). A
three-time NJAC Defensive Player of the Week selection, he currently leads
the NJAC in both sacks and tackles for a loss. On his career, he has
posted totals of 139 tackles, 33.5 sacks, and 55.5 tackles for a loss.
King was instrumental in the Lions’ school-record eight consecutive
victories which led to a share of the 2007 NJAC Championship and the
league’s automatic bid to the 2007 NCAA Division III National Tournament.
Western Connecticut State University freshman running back Wayne Neal
was selected as the NJAC Offensive Rookie of the Year. The second
consecutive Colonial to garner the league’s Offensive Rookie of the Year
Award, he rushed for 839 yards on 205 carries. A five-time NJAC Offensive
Rookie of the Week selection, Neal currently ranks third in the NJAC in
rushing with an average of 83.9 yards per game.
Cortland State freshman linebacker Brian Haas was selected as the
NJAC Defensive Rookie of the Year. A six-time NJAC Defensive Rookie of the
Week selection, he recorded double-figure tackles in each of his last five
games and six times overall during the season. Haas, who currently ranks
second in the NJAC in tackles with an average of 9.5 per game, became the
first Cortland player to reach 100 tackles since 1995 and the first Red
Dragon freshman with 100 since the school started compiling full defensive
stats in 1979.
The College of New Jersey’s head coach Eric Hamilton was selected as the
NJAC Coach of the Year by his peers. Picked to finish seventh in the NJAC
preseason coaches’ poll, he guided the Lions to a school-record eight
consecutive victories and a share of the NJAC Championship with a 6-1
league mark. After capturing the NJAC’s automatic bid the NCAA Division
III National Championship Tournament, the Lions earned a 17-14 first round
road win at Rensselaer. TCNJ, currently 9-2 overall, will travel to face
two-time defending Division III National Champion Mount Union in a second
round NCAA game on November 24. In 31 seasons at the helm of the Lions
program, Hamilton has recorded an overall record of 188-117-6.
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