The University of Maine football head coach along with four of his players picked up more end of the season honors announced on Tuesday, after Maine had their historic season come to an end in the FCS semifinals 50-19 to Eastern Washington last Saturday.
Head Coach Joe Harasymiak was named Region 1 Coach of the Year as announced by the American Football Coaches Association. Harasymiak guided Maine to a 10-4 season, first ever trip to the FCS semifinals, and an outright CAA title after being picked eighth in the preseason poll. Harasymiak had previously won the CAA Coach of the Year, and the Club of Boston Coach of the Year honors. He also finished sixth in the STATS FCS Eddie Robinson National Coach of the Year voting.
Two of Maine seniors were honored Tuesday, as linebacker Sterling Sheffield is a first team All-American pick, and defensive back Manny Patterson is a second team All-American. Sheffield previously had been named All-CAA first team, AP All-America second team, All-ECAC first team, and also earned a spot on the Buck Buchanan Watch List, an award given to the top defensive player in FCS. Patterson also earned honors on the All-CAA first team and All-ECAC second team.
Linebacker DeShawn Stevens and offensive lineman Liam Dobson were named to the FCS HERO Sports Sophomore All-American teams, also announced by the organization on Tuesday. Stevens was named to the first team, while Dobson was an honorable mention selection. Stevens led the Black Bears with 120 tackles and nine sacks. Stevens also had 17 tackles for a loss, two fumble recoveries, one forced fumble, and one interception. He ranked third in the CAA and 48th nationally with 8.6 tackles per game. Dobson started all 14 games at right guard for Maine. Dobson helped Ramon Jefferson reach 1,000 yards rushing in his freshman season and helped the running game overall average 134.4 yards on the ground per outing. He was also good protection for the Black Bear quarterbacks, as Maine only allowed 28 sacks in 14 games.
