Wesley Holds Football Awards Banquet

DOVER, Del. - Wesley College's football team held its annual end-of-season banquet on Sunday afternoon at the Duncan Center where it announced all of the team award winners from the 2012 season. Head Coach Mike Drass and his coaching staff also recognized the 21-member senior class whose 47-6 record over the last four years is the most wins in program history and nine players who received All-America and/or All-Region honors.

All-American linebacker Sosthene Kapepula took home the Most Valuable Player award after registering a team-high 120 tackles and 13.0 tackles for loss to go with four forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries. His 120 stops were the most by a Wolverines since 2004 when Rocky Myers made 124 tackles and became the only defensive player to win the Gagliardi Trophy.

The Offensive Player of the Year award went to a pair of seniors in wide receiver Matt Barile and All-Region quarterback Justin Sottilare. It is the fourth-straight year that the award has gone to two players. Sottilare finished the season with 3,071 passing yards and 33 touchdown passes while Barile caught 36 passes for 572 yards and six touchdowns.  Barile was also recognized earlier in the day for setting the Wesley career-record with 20.7 yards per catch, as was Sottilare for throwing a Wesley-record six touchdowns in a NCAA Playoff win against Mount Ida.

For the last six years, the Defensive Player of the Year award has gone to a pair of players, and this year was no different as All-American safety Jared Morris and All-American defensive end Devin Hardy shared the honor.  In his first year as a defensive player, Morris led the team with six interceptions while ranking third on the Wolverines with 76 tackles and 8.0 TFLs.  In his final season at Wesley, Hardy led the squad with 5.5 sacks despite drawing constant double teams.

After accumulating a 3.78 grade-point average, running back Joe Bonato received the Senior Scholar-Athlete award.

A trio of players shared the 'Ken Pippin Lineman of the Year' Award for just the second time in program-history (2007).  This year, the honor went to All-American offensive tackle Brian Cranmer, senior defensive tackle Dwayne Glass and All-Region center Tim Putman. Cranmer and Putman were both three-year mainstays on the offensive line while Glass made a career-high 39 tackles in 2012.

Steve Koudossou and Askia Jahad shared the Fourth Annual 'Naselli Award' which goes to the team's best skill player. Despite the honor being shared for the third-straight year, it is the first time it went to a pair of offensive players.  Just a sophomore, Koudossou led the team with 51 catches for 747 yards and ten touchdowns while Jahad rushed for a team-high 648 yards and five scores.

The Most Improved Defensive Player was shared by All-Region defensive tackle Terence Gavin and linebacker Luke Maginnis while wide receiver Matt Bundy received the Most Improved Player award on the offensive side of the ball. Both Gavin and Maginnis made 53 stops on the year while Bundy led the team at 17.4 yards per catch average with 19 receptions for 331 yards and four touchdowns.

All-American Punt returner Sean Hopkins and All-Region kicker Dan Tryon shared the Special Teams Player of the Year honor while Devin Filliben and Daniel Laguerre received the offensive and defensive Rookie of the Year awards, respectively. Hopkins led the Nation with an 18.6 yard per return average while Tryon became Wesley's all-time leader in field goals (30) and points by a kicker (263).  Filliben played on both sides of the ball but started every Playoff Game at offensive guard.  Laguerre played in all 12 games on the defensive line and recorded 21 tackles with three going for a loss.

Team Awards
Most Valuable Player: Sosthene Kapepula
Offensive Player of the Year: Matt Barile and Justin Sottilare
Defensive Player of the Year: Jared Morris and Devin Hardy
Senior Scholar-Athlete: Joe Bonato
Ken Pippin Lineman of the Year: Brian Cranmer, Dwayne Glass and Tim Putman
Naselli Award (Best Skill Player): Steve Koudossou and Askia Jahad
Most Improved Player (Defense): Terence Gavin and Luke Maginnis
Most Improved Player (Offense): Matt Bundy
Special Teams Player of the Year: Dan Tryon and Sean Hopkins
Defensive Rookie of the Year: Dan Laguerre
Offensive Rookie of the Year: Devin Filliben