(Nov. 26, 2002) ?C Fordham University, the 2002 Patriot League co-champion, had 14 players named All-Patriot League by a vote of the league coaches it was announced today. Fordham, who is headed to Boston to face Northeastern in the first round of the NCAA I-AA playoffs, is led by junior running back Kirwin Watson (Sunrise, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas), who was named the 2002 Offensive Player of the Year, and fourth-year head coach Dave Clawson, who picked up his second-straight Patriot League Coach of the Year honor. Fordham finished the regular season with a 9-2 overall record, 6-1 in the Patriot League. The nine wins are the most on the I-AA level for Fordham (the previous best was 7 last year) while the six Patriot League wins is the most wins in the league for the Rams (the previous best was 5 last year). Fordham is currently ranked 21st in both the ESPN/Sportsticker and the Sports Network Top 25 polls. Watson, now a two-time first-team All-League selection, won his second-straight Patriot League rushing title, averaging 119.3 yards per game, and scored 17 touchdowns (16 rushing) to win the Patriot League scoring crown. He is already eighth on the League's career rushing list with 2,973 yards. Watson has rushed for 1,312 yards on the year, surpassing the 1,000-yard mark for the second year in a row. He becomes the first Fordham running back to compile two 1,000-yard seasons. Last year, Watson gained 1,076 yards to become the first Ram to surpass the 1,000-yard mark on the I-AA level. His 1,312 yards is also a Fordham single season record, surpassing Chip Kron??s record of 1,263 set in 1984. Clawson, who built the Rams from an 0-11 squad in 1999 to a playoff team in 2002, joins former Holy Cross mentor Mark Duffner (1986-87) as the only coach in Patriot League history to win the League's Coach of the Year honor in consecutive years. The entire Fordham offensive backfield was named First Team All-Patriot League as junior quarterback Kevin Eakin (Coral Springs, FL/Douglass) and senior fullback Alemayo Whyte (Hempstead, NY/Uniondale) join Watson, the first team running back. Also being named to the First team offense is junior wide receiver Javarus Dudley (Miramar, FL/American Heritage) and placekicker Matt Fordyce (Mentor, OH/St. Ignatius). Being named First Team All-Patriot League on defense for the Rams was junior defensive back Dan McGrath (Webster, NY/Webster) and Fordyce as the punter. On the year, Eakin has completed 203 of 316 passes for 2,656 yards and 21 touchdowns. He leads the Patriot League with an average of 241.5 passing yards/game and in passing efficiency with a 152.3 rating, seventh best in the NCAA I-AA. Eakin is also 13th in the NCAA I-AA in points responsible for (14.18/game) and 17th in completions per game with an average of 18.45. He has four 300+-passing yard games this season, breaking the Fordham record of three set by Joe Moorhead in 1995 and matched by Matt Georgia in 1999. Dudley, the 2002 Preseason Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year, has a team-high 69 catches for 1,052 yards and eight touchdowns this year. He leads the league in receptions/game (6.27) and is second in receiving yards/game (95.6). Over his three-year career, Dudley has 186 career receptions, breaking Tom Garlick??s (1989-92) career record and 2,704 career receiving yards, breaking Garlick??s career record of 2,318. He also has 2,011 career kickoff return yards, breaking Robert Davis?? (1996-99) career record of 1,511. Whyte started every game at fullback for the Rams this year and was the lead blocker for Watson. He carried 32 times for 140 yards and one touchdown and also caught 14 passes for 122 yards and two touchdowns. Fordyce handles all the kicking chores for the Rams in 2002. He connected on 12 of his 19 field goals on the year, the second most in school history. He also punted 47 times for 1,824 yards, an average of 38.8 yards/punt, second best in the league. He placed 18 of his 47 punts inside the opponents 20. This is the first time a player has been named first team all league as both the placekicker and punter in Patriot League history. McGrath is the second leading tackler for the Rams with 68 total tackles, 44 solo. He has also picked off two passes and broken-up two others as well as recovering two fumbles and forcing one. Rams named to the second team offense include senior lineman John San Marco (Cincinnati, OH/Sycamore), junior lineman Kevin Oefelein (Staten Island, NY/Poly Prep) and junior tight end Travis Johnson (Fairport, NY/Fairport). Rams named to the second team defense include senior lineman Aymen Aboushi (Brooklyn, NY/Xaverian), junior lineman Keron Lucius (Brooklyn, NY/Canarsie), sophomore linebacker NaQuinton Gainous (Tallahassee, FL/Lincoln), and junior defensive back Will Davis (Camden, NJ/Camden).