MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- Washington & Jefferson senior wide receiver Jesse Zubik (Sewickley, Pa./Avonworth) and head coach Mike Sirianni both claimed major regional awards to headline Presidents' selections on the 2017 All-Region football teams.
 
Zubik was named the ECAC Division III and D3football.com South Region Offensive Player of the Year, while Sirianni claimed regional Coach of the Year honors from the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and ECAC.
 
A 5-10 wide receiver, Zubik becomes the first President to claim D3football.com South Region Offensive Player of the Year laurels since the website first began presenting all-region awards in 2005. A two-time First-Team All-Region pick and semifinalist for the 2017 Gagliardi Trophy, he finished the 12-game season with 84 receptions for 1,408 yards and 17 touchdowns. His yardage currently tops the Division III ranks, while his touchdown total is fourth. He finished his stand-out career with 291 receptions for 4,756 yards and 54 scores, all of which are program records, with the latter two also being Presidents' Athletic Conference records. His 4,756 career receiving yards are the third most in Division III history.
 
Sirianni was recognized as the AFCA Region 2 Coach of the Year, which consists of all schools in the PAC, the North Coast Athletic Conference, Middle Atlantic Conference and Centennial Conference, for the first time in his career. He led the Presidents to the postseason for the 13th time in his 15 seasons, as W&J posted an 11-1 overall record and hosted two NCAA Division III playoff games at Cameron Stadium. In the Presidents' 42-0 win over Waynesburg on Nov. 11, Sirianni set the program's career wins record by earning his 138th victory, passing former W&J head man John Luckhardt atop the list. He was the PAC's Coach of the Year for the seventh time in his career, sharing the honor with Case Western Reserve's Greg Debeljak.
 
The remaining award winners were highlighted by senior cornerback O'Shea Anderson (Rochester, Pa./Rochester), a First Team All-Region and ECAC selection. Senior linebacker Nick Murgo (Warren, R.I./Mount Hope) and junior right guard Andrew Reo (Canton, Ohio/Canton McKinley) were both tabbed as Second Team All-Region and First Team ECAC, with senior defensive end Tom Marra (Moon Township, Pa./Our Lady of the Sacred Heart) landing on the ECAC First Team and joining senior safety Luke Merhaut (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland) on the D3football.com South Region Third Team. All were First Team All-PAC choices earlier in the fall.
 
Anderson currently is tied for the lead in all of NCAA football with nine interceptions after playing 11 games for the Red & Black this season. His nine picks are the third-most in a season in W&J history, while his 13 career grabs are the fifth highest total in program lore. Anderson added 11 pass break-ups to total 20 passes defended in 2017. The senior also recorded 43 tackles (including 34 solo), with three tackles for loss and one forced fumbled.
 
Murgo led the Presidents with 92 tackles and was second on the team with 11.5 TFLs and three sacks in 11 games. The senior also led the squad with three fumble recoveries and finished his career as the third leading tackler among all NCAA Division III defensive players.
 
Reo earned his first All-Region honor despite missing the final two games of the regular season and the Presidents' NCAA First Round match-up against Johns Hopkins with an injury. The guard was regarded as one of the top linemen in the PAC this season and helped paved the way for the No. 22 total offense and No. 14 passing offense in the country.
 
Marra finished the season as the PAC's leader in both tackles for loss (22.0) and sacks (11.0), while ranking third on the team with 66 total tackles. In two playoff games, the senior recorded six sacks, including four in W&J's 31-28 first round win against Johns Hopkins. Marra also forced a fumble and had a fumble recovery to go with seven quarterback hurries.
 
Merhaut was the second leading tackler for W&J this season, posting 82 stops in 12 games. His 59 solo tackles were the most solo stops for the Presidents, while he also contributed 3.0 TFL, four pass break-ups and a fumble recovery.
 
W&J finished the 2017 11-1 and won the PAC for the league-leading 25th time and made its 25th appearance in the NCAA Division III Football Championship, the second-most in Division III history. The Presidents hosted two playoff games at Cameron Stadium for the first time since 2004 this season as well.