Rice, Mante Named All-New England

BOSTON, Mass. -- Yale Football seniors Paul Rice (Cleveland Heights, Ohio) and Tom Mante (Westford, Mass.) were named to the 2009 FCS All-New England Team as selected by the New England Football Writers.

The team, which represents all 13 schools in New England, will be honored at the annual New England Football Writers Captains and Awards Banquet on Thursday, Dec. 10, at Casa Di Fior in Wilmington, Mass.

Rice, a linebacker, and Mante, who punted and served as placekicker, were 2009 first-team All-Ivy League picks who made their first All-New England squad this year.

The team captain, Rice led the Elis with 49 solo tackles and 74 overall. He also had a team-high 9.5 tackles for loss. He was also a key special teams player who served as a blocking back for Mante on punts. Rice had two rushing attempts for 53 yards off fake punts in 2009. One went 40 yards for the game's only score in a win at Lehigh.

Mante, a two-time All-Ivy player at both positions, led the Ancient Eight with a 41.2 punting average that included 10 over 50 yards and 17 that landed inside the 20-yard line.  He tied the league record with a 54-yard FG against Cornell and had a 50-yarder at Georgetown the week before.

The New England squad of 30 features 28 seniors, one junior and one sophomore. Four conferences are represented with the Colonial Athletic Association sending 12, the Ivy League contributing 10 and the Patriot League and the Northeastern Conference each adding four players.

2009 ALL-NEW ENGLAND TEAM

DEFENSE
DL    James Develin    Brown    Sr.
DL    Don Smith    Bryant    Sr.
DL    Jordan Stevens    Maine    Sr.
DL    Carl Ehrlich    Harvard    Sr.
LB    Paul Rice    Yale    Sr.
LB    Sean Ware    New Hampshire    Sr.
LB    Jon Takamura    Harvard    Sr.
LB    Marcus Rodriguez    Holy Cross    Sr.
DB    Terrence Klein    New Hampshire    Sr.
DB    Marcus Dorsey    Central Conn.    Sr.
DB    Michael Wright    Holy Cross    Sr.
DB    Derrick Barker    Harvard    Sr.
DB    Jeromy Miles    Massachusetts    Sr.

OFFENSE
OL    Paul Jasinowski    Brown    Sr.
OL    James Williams    Harvard    Sr.
OL    Chris Poole    Holy Cross    Sr.
OL    Vladimir Ducasse    Massachusetts    Sr.
OL    Kevin Newhall    Northeastern    Sr.
OL    Tom Neill    New Hampshire    Sr.
QB    Dominic Randolph    Holy Cross    Sr.
RB    James Mallory    Central Conn.    Sr.
RB    John Griffin    Northeastern    Jr.
FB    Chris Zardas    Massachusetts    Sr.
WR   Buddy Farnham    Brown    Sr.
WR   Steve Tedesco    Sacred Heart    Sr.
WR   Landis Williams    Maine    Sr.
WR   Shawn Leonard    Rhode Island    Sr.
TE     Scott Sicko    New Hampshire    Sr.

SPECIAL TEAMS
KS    Tom Mante    Yale    Sr.
RS    Shawn Abuhoff    Dartmouth    So.