Somerset, NJ - Four days after leading Wagner to its eighth straight win and first-ever Northeast Conference (NEC) Championship, head coach Walt Hameline has been named NEC Coach of the Year, it was announced today by the league office while five Seahawks were named to the All-NEC  First Team and another three tabbed to the league's Second Team.
 
Earlier this week, Hameline was named one of 20 finalists for the prestigious Eddie Robinson Award which, since 1987, has been given annually to college football's top head coach in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). The award is named for Eddie Robinson, the College Football Hall of Fame coach, who retired in 1997 after 56 years at Grambling State University.
 
Wagner's eight All-NEC selections, along with Duquesne, were tied for second-most in the league behind Albany who led with nine recipients. All honorees were determined by a vote of the conference's nine head coaches.
 
Seahawks who earned First-Team All-NEC honors were senior QB Nick Doscher (Staten Island, NY/ Moore Catholic), who was also the league's top QB as a freshman in 2009, junior RB Dominique Williams (Bridgeton, NJ /Milford Academy), who was named the league's Rookie of the Year in 2009, and fifth-year OL Steve Ciocci (Royersford, PA/ Spring-Ford/ Temple).
 
Two former high school teammates who reunited in Staten Island were also named to the All-NEC First Team in sophomore cornerback Jarrett Dieudonne (Fort Lauderdale, FL/Dillard/ Purdue) and sophomore return specialist Otis Wright (Fort Lauderdale, FL/ Dillard).  
 
Earning All-NEC Second-Team honors were senior LB #C.O. Prime# (Laval, Quebec/The Kent School), senior CB Torian Phillips (Staten Island, NY/ Port Richmond/ Syracuse) and senior SS Sidiq Soulemana (Bronx, NY/DeWitt Clinton/ Hudson Valley CC).  
 
Student-athletes from all nine NEC football programs received recognition when the league office unveiled the 2012 All-NEC First and Second Teams along with the season's five major award winners.
 
The NEC Offensive Player of the Year is a Bryant Bulldog for the second straight season.  This time, junior wide receiver Jordan Harris claimed the honor that running back Jordan Brown held in 2011.  Harris also picked up all-NEC first team accolades for the second year in a row.
 
Both major defensive honors went to Robert Morris Colonials.  Senior defensive end Nolan Nearhoof was named the NEC Defensive Player of the Year while freshman cornerback Marcelis Branch was billed as the NEC Defensive Rookie of the Year. Nearhoof was also named to the All-NEC First Team Defense for the third season in a row, while Branch settled for second team honors.
 
Freshman running back Anthony Abeid, who came on late and helped Saint Francis (PA) set its FCS single-season program record for victories, claimed the NEC Offensive Rookie of the Year accolade.
 
Before today, Hameline had seemingly done it all – winning 212 games (and counting), capturing the 1987 Division III National Title, while mentoring dozens of All-Americans and All-Conference players. In the 16 previous years that Wagner has competed in the NEC since becoming a charter member in 1996, however, the Seahawks had never won the conference title nor had Hameline ever been named the conference's coach of the year. In leading Wagner to the former, he now takes home the latter. They will now stand on his mantle together, side by side, twin rewards for a job well done.
 
But, the job is far from over, and winning individual awards is the last thing on Hameline's mind and as he and his staff busily prepare for Saturday's NCAA Division I First Round Playoff Game vs. Colgate.
 
Not much was expected of the 2012 Seahawks, at least according to the preseason prognosticators, who picked Wagner to finish seventh in the eight-team league.  Three months and eight wins later, Hameline and his Seahawks are NEC champions and will represent the league in the 20-team NCAA Division I Championship bracket. 
 
To capture the elusive NEC title, Wagner had to overcome a 0-3 start. Following down-to-the wire road defeats at FBS member Florida Atlantic (7-3) and Georgetown (13-10), local rival Monmouth ran past the Seahawks 38-17, leaving Wagner in that 0-3 hole.

Since that September 15 defeat to Monmouth, Wagner has reeled off eight wins in a row.  The last three victories in that stretch were particularlly impressive.  In Week 10, the Seahawks pitched a 30-0 shutout on the road against NEC preseason favorite Albany.  That effort was followed by a thrilling come-from-behind win over Patriot League member Holy Cross before grinding out a title-clinching victory over Duquesne in the regular season finale.
 
While the victory over the Great Danes was important, it was nothing compared with what much of the rest of Staten Island experienced during that time. Hurricane Sandy had ravaged the Island, leaving in its wake a level of destruction previously unseen by the New York City borough. Without power until the Thursday before the Albany game, the Wagner football team banded together and persevered before turning in an ultra-inspiring performance.
 
More impressive than the shutout victory was the response of Hameline and the rest of the team after returning to the Island. On Monday, a day typically earmarked as off from football activities, the 32nd year coach and the rest of the Seahawks helped aid the Staten Island Hurricane Sandy relief efforts, by volunteering their time in the New Dorp section of Staten Island. A New York Times article of Wagner's role in the recovery efforts can be found by clicking HERE.
 
In this season's home opener against Monmouth, Hameline saw Wagner College Stadium renamed Hameline Field in his honor.

The Green & White will host No. 24 Colgate on Saturday, November 24 at 12:00 pm in a NCAA Football Division I Championship opening round game at Hameline Field. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased by calling the ticket office at (718) 420-4039.
 
Follow Wagner Athletics on Twitter (@wagnerathletics) for all the latest news and updates on the athletic department.
 
Photography by Dave Saffran