Dec. 11, 2007

WORCESTER, Mass. - Holy Cross senior wide receiver Ryan Maher (Boca Raton, Fla.) has been named to the 2007 American Football Coaches Association Football Championship Subdivision All-America team. Maher becomes the second Crusader to earn All-America honors from the AFCA in the last three years, joining 2005 selection Steve Silva.

A first team All-Patriot League and All-New England selection, Maher led the team with 75 receptions for 907 yards and 10 touchdowns this season. He also ranked second on the team in both all-purpose yards (998 yards) and scoring (66 points). Maher easily led the Patriot League in both receptions (6.82 catches per game) and receiving yards (82.5 yards per game), while ranking 11th in the nation in catches and 22nd in receiving yards. He also finished third on the school single season lists for receptions and touchdown catches, while placing sixth for receiving yards.

Also a first team All-Patriot League selection in 2006, Maher finished his collegiate career with 148 catches for 1,842 yards and 16 touchdowns. He ranks fifth all-time at Holy Cross in receptions, and sixth in both touchdown catches and receiving yards.

Holy Cross concluded the 2007 season with an overall record of 7-4, and placed second in the Patriot League with a 4-2 mark in conference games.

A complete list of the 2007 American Football Coaches Association FCS All-America team follows.

2007 AMERICAN FOOTBALL COACHES ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SUBDIVISION ALL-AMERICA TEAM

OFFENSE
Pos.  Name              Ht.  Wt.  Cl.  School              Coach              Hometown (High School)
WR    Ryan Maher        6-1  184  Sr.  Holy Cross          Tom Gilmore        Boca Raton, Fla. (Boca Raton)
WR    Ramses Barden     6-6  228  Jr.  Cal Poly            Rich Ellerson      Altadena, Calif. (Flintridge Prep)
OL    Jesse Padilla     6-5  310  Sr.  Lafayette           Frank Tavani       Hawthorne, N.J. (Hawthorne)
OL    David Hale        6-6  305  Sr.  Weber State         Ron McBride        Plain City, Utah (Fremont)
OL    Chad Rinehart     6-5  308  Sr.  Northern Iowa       Mark Farley        Boone, Iowa (Boone)
OL    Mitch Erickson    6-6  285  Sr.  South Dakota State  John Stiegelmeier  Hutchinson, Minn. (Hutchinson)
OL    Kerry Brown       6-6  310  Sr.  Appalachian State   Jerry Moore        Marietta, Ga. (Lassiter)
QB    Ricky Santos      6-2  215  Sr.  New Hampshire       Sean McDonnell     Bellingham, Mass. (Bellingham)
RB    Chad Simpson     5-10  210  Sr.  Morgan State        Donald Hill-Eley   Miami, Fla. (Edison)
RB    Omar Cuff        5-10  195  Sr.  Delaware            K.C. Keeler        Landover, Md. (C.H. Flowers)
RB    Mike McLeod      5-11  200  Jr.  Yale                Jack Siedlecki     New Britain, Conn. (New Britain)

DEFENSE
Pos.  Name              Ht.  Wt.  Cl.  School              Coach              Hometown (High School)
DL    Bryan Smith       6-3  230  Sr.  McNeese State       Matt Viator        Newton, Texas (Newton)
DL    Kroy Biermann     6-3  241  Sr.  Montana             Bobby Hauck        Hardin, Mont. (Hardin)
DL    Brian Johnston    6-5  280  Sr.  Gardner-Webb        Steve Patton       San Diego, Calif. (Madison)
DL    Kendall Langford  6-6  294  Sr.  Hampton             Joe Taylor         Petersburg, Va. (Petersburg)
LB    Jason Williams    6-3  225  Jr.  Western Illinois    Don Patterson      Chicago, Ill. (DuSable)
LB    Brian Bradford    6-2  235  Sr.  Towson              Gordy Combs        Germantown, Md. (Gaithersburg)
LB    Zach East         6-2  230  Sr.  Prairie View A&M    Henry Frazier III  Houston, Texas (Yates)
DB    Tony LeZotte      6-0  200  Sr.  James Madison       Mickey Matthews    Augusta, Ga. (Westside)
DB    Steven Williams  5-11  190  Sr.  Harvard             Tim Murphy         San Antonio, Texas (W.H. Taft)
DB    Derrick Huff     5-11  188  Sr.  Eastern Kentucky    Danny Hope         Hamilton, Ohio (Hamilton)
DB    Al Donaldson     5-10  170  Jr.  Alabama A&M         Anthony Jones      Crawfordville, Fla. (Wakulla)

SPECIALISTS
Pos.  Name              Ht.  Wt.  Cl.  School              Coach              Hometown (High School)
P     Chris MacDonald   6-4  215  Sr.  Texas State         Brad Wright        Mesa, Ariz. (Red Mountain)
PK    Piotr Czech       6-5  210  Sr.  Wagner              Walt Hameline      Keyport, N.J. (Keyport)
AP    Jayson Foster     5-9  164  Sr.  Georgia Southern    Chris Hatcher      Canton, Ga. (Cherokee County)