Five Named To All New England Team

Five Harvard football players were named to the 2003 New England Football Writers Division I-AA All-New England team this week, including four-time honoree captain and linebacker Dante Balestracci.

This year’s award was the first for fellow seniors free safety Chris Raftery, cornerback Benny Butler and offensive guard Joe Traverso, as well as for junior linebacker Bobby Everett.

Balestracci, a Buchanan Award finalist and pre-season All-American, has also been a first-team All-Ivy selection for four straight years.

He led the 2003 Crimson squad with 96 tackles and 11 sacks while spearheading a dominant Harvard rushing defense that allowed an average of 107.6 yards per game—second-best in the Ivy League—and was named MVP by his teammates at the end of the season.

Everett, the only junior among those selected, had a breakthrough season with 94 tackles and seven sacks, second on the team only to Balestracci. He also had three interceptions.

Raftery, third on the team in tackles with 79, had nine pass breakups and four interceptions despite shifting from cornerback to free safety at the beginning of this season. He was selected for first-team All-Ivy this season after earning an Honorable Mention in 2002.

Butler, a four-year starter at cornerback, rounded out the top four Crimson defenders with career-highs in tackles with 70 and a league-high five interceptions. He was also a unanimous pick for first-team All-Ivy.

Traverso was an instrumental part of an injury-battered offensive line that helped make Harvard first in the Ancient Eight in rushing offense with 216.4 yards per game and second in the league in total offense with 461.8 yards per game.

The award ceremony will be held tonight at the annual banquet in Randolph, Mass.

—Staff writer Lisa J. Kennelly can be reached at kennell@fas.harvard.edu.