Defensive All First Team

DL- Robert Phillips, Sr. Bryant– Compiled 3 safeties and 62 tackles for loss as a 4 year starter for the Bryant Bulldogs. Finished among the top in the league in sacks 2 years running. Wants to play football in Europe and study abroad as a graduate student. Stats: 86 tackles-22 for a loss, 16 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 2 safeties, 17 games played.

DL-Thomas Johnson, Sr. Assumption– 4 year starter with at least 12 TFL’s a year. Stats: 11 sacks, 87 tackles, 2 forced fumbles, 13 games.

DL- Tommy Adams, Sr. LIU– After only having 4 sacks in 3 years before this year, he managed 11 this year in a career year for him. Stats: 65 tackles, 11 sacks, 1 safety, 13 games.

DL- Edgar Stewart, Sr. Bryant– Helped man one of the toughest defensive lines over the past several seasons. Saw tackles and TFL’s go up every year. Stats: 83 tackles, 7 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1 safety, 18 TFL’s, 17 games.

LB- George Norris, Sr. Merrimack–  2nd in conference in tackles with just 13 games played, and our defensive player of the year. Leader on and off the field. Stats: 101 tackles, 3 interceptions, 1 forced fumble, 3 TFL’s.

LB- Vernon Hutchinson, Sr. Bryant– A big burly inside linebacker, 2nd in the nation in forced fumbles. Stats: 94 tackles, 5 forced fumbles, 2 sacks, 13 TFL’s.

LB- Jonathan Barrett, Sr. LIU– Manned one of the conferences top defenses at Long Island. Highest sack total for linebackers in the conference, often lined up on the line as a stand up rusher. Wants to move down South and open up a real-estate company. Stats: 80 tackles, 7 sacks, 3 forced fumbles.

DB- David Welch, Sr. Pace– 3 year starter, nearly impossible to throw on in zone coverage. Tough player. Stats: 86 tackles, 4 picks, 16 passes defended, 1 forced fumble.

DB- Thomas Robertson, Sr. St.A’s- Tough man to man corner who still managed 3 interceptions. Wants to be a stockbrocker on Wall Street. Stats: 58 tackles, 3 picks, 1 forced fumble.

DB- Jose Gardner, Jr. Bryant– Lead conference in tackles on a playoff team. Downhill safety who can play some deep coverage as well. Stats: 120 tackles, 15 passes defended, 1 forced fumble, 17 games.

DB- Timothy Gates, Jr. LIU- 3rd LIU defensive player on the team, nasty versatile player. Plays safety and corner. Blitzes, plays man, hits hard, and can find the ball. Potential big name player next year for defensive P.O.Y. Stats: 90 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 pick, 3 forced fumbles.

NE-10 All Offensive First Team

QB- Donald Cooper, So. Pace– Cooper showed vast improvement and should be on his way to an excellent four year starter. He’s made the playoffs 2 years running and he won a game each year. Stats: 4,005 yards, 32 TD’s, 2 rushing TD’s, 16 games, 12-4 record (26-5 career).

RB- Jerome Harmon, Sr. Bryant– Offensive player of the year, extremely dynamic with the ball in his hands. 6 multiple touchdown games on the year. Lead his team deep into the playoffs. Stats: 2,017 yards, 5.9 YPC, 13 twenty yard plus carries, 108 receptions, 24 total TD’s, 17 games.

RB- Eugene Rodriguez, Sr. So.Conn– Rodriguez started all 4 years for So.Conn and the team went 8-5 each of the past two seasons. Finishes his career with over 8,500 total yards. Stats: 1,885 yards, 7 TD’s, 4 receiving TD’s, 13 games.

FB- Ralph Pater, Sr. Pace– Among the league leaders in rushing TD’s, first year starting and was a truck. Stats: 219 yards, 8 TD’s, 16 games.

WR- Ryan Foster, Sr. Bryant– Formerly a deep-threat player, took over as an all-around receiver the past 2 years. Played significantly all 4 years at Bryant and finishes with 35 receiving touchdowns. Wants to get into politics post-college. Stats: 113 receptions, 9 touchdowns, 1,259 receiving yards.

WR- James Tucker, Sr. Pace– Among nation leaders in touchdowns. 3 year starter who finally became the number one receiver. Stats: 72 receptions, 961 yards, 15 touchdowns.

TE- Mike Betts, Sr. Merrimack College- No doubt about it the best tightend in the NE-10 last year. Wants to become an entrepreneur after school. Stats: 55 receptions, 717 yards, 2 TD’s, Only one drop on 88 targets.

OL-Mark Larson, Sr. Pace

OL- Larry Gee, Sr. Bryant

OL- Ronald McMillan, Sr. St.A’s

OL-Christopher Rodriguez, Jr. Bentley

OL-Richard Ramos, Jr. Pace

Players of the Year Season 99

After a bit of a delay after missing Season 98’s players of the year (Most likely William Wood on offense Bryant QB, and a Pace defensive lineman) we are back with our players of the year for the NE-10 conference and they vary a bit from what everyone saw on the WIS conference awards.

 

Offensive Player of the Year: Jerome Harmon, Senior Bryant University, RB–

Harmon put the team on his back as Bryant made its furthest playoff run under coach PadreFan. The only conference player with over 2,000 yards rushing also winded up 2nd in the conference in receptions at 108. He nearly had 3,000 total yards on the season with 448 total touches. He had 3 games of 3 touchdowns including in the conference championship game and the 2nd round of the playoffs. Harmon is a redshirt senior who saw little time his first 3 seasons in the black and gold, but the past 2 years he exploded onto the scene. Over the past 2 years he finished with over 5,000 total yards as a starter with 42 touchdowns in 33 games. Harmon’s best game this year came in the 2nd round of the playoffs where  he scored 4 total touchdowns and had a career high 12 receptions. All these accomplishments came after starting as a redshirt sophmore at fullback showing his versatility.  He is a finance major and his wish is too keep playing football but if that does not work out he wants to work on Wall Street.

Runner Up: Donald Cooper, Sophmore QB, Pace

 

Defensive Player of the Year: George Norris, Senior Merrimack College, LB–

2nd in the conference in tackles but would have been tied for first before the playoffs. He lead Merrimack to a winning 7-6 season playing one of the toughest schedules at the D2 level. One of 3 players in the conference with over 100 tackles he was the emotional leader for the Warriors. He managed 16 total tackles against Southern Connecticut, and an interception against Bentley in his career finale. Norris wants to become a lawyer after majoring in pre-law, and hopes to attend an Ivy League law school and coach football as a post-graduate assistant.

Runner Ups: Robert Phillips DE, Bryant. Donald Welch DB, Pace.

 

Freshman of the Year Offense: Eddie Washington, RB Southern Connecticut State–

Not many freshmen stood out this year but Washington certainly did one offense. He showed his explosiveness breaking a 56 yard gain on the year and scoring 7 total touchdowns. Coming off of the bench he touched the ball 89 times in 13 games at mostly runningback. He earned 2 starts late in the year and should be the favorite for the job coming into the year.

Runner Up: OL Roger Moore, LIU

 

Freshman of the Year Defense: Joshua Mills, RB Bentley U–

Mills was a force landing 8 sacks and 12 TFL’s while starting every game for the Falcons. It was announced he is already a defensive captain for his sophomore season as he sets the standard for the d-line with character and a non stop motor. In a close late year game against Merrimack he tied a career high in tackles with 6, landed 3 TFL’s, and sacked the quarterback as well.

Runner Up: DL James Lucas, Assumption. DB John Phipps SCSU

 

Week 12, Week 13 Games Of The Week

WEEK 12- So. CONN (7-4) @ BRYANT(8-3)— This has been a disappointing year so far for Bryant as they are 1-3 against teams with winning records, but they are still in 2nd place with 2 weeks left in NE-10 play. SCSU has maintained first place with a huge comeback over AIC last week and they’ve won 6 out of their past 7 with stifling defense.

On Bryant’s side to watch as always is quarterback William Wood who is 4th in the nation in passing yards and touchdowns. Also look out for runningback Jerome Harmon who has a 5.9 YPC, 70 receptions, and leads the conference surprisingly with 10 touchdowns. On defense Robert Beal has 7 sacks as a linebacker and cornerback Jerry Arthur has 3 interceptions

SCSU has 3 players all with over 6 sacks and brings pressure leading the conference in sacks. Offensively they are last in the NE-10 in total yards but they don’t turnover much and are 3rd in the conference in scoring defense. They play small ball and do the little things right. Eugene Rodriguez has ran for over 1,000 yards and is the key to their offense

WEEK 13 PACE U(11-0) @ St. A’s(4-7)— This game has alot of history behind it with St. Anselm beating Pace several times to ruin perfect seasons under coach jguida. BroncoRon is working out the kinks with his current team but week 11 saw a victory for his team. They are steep underdogs but this is a game to watch.

Pace has won most of its games with ease under new QB Donald Cooper, just a frosh. They are currently ranked 6th in the country and have the talent across the board with Charles Crockett leading an incredible offensive line. On defense John Rossi is a top 5 defensive back in the country and locks down the teams number 1 option. Terry Mathis is an all-american linebacker with 3 interceptions and is a menace to opposing runningbacks.

St. A’s has a great duo at RB and FB with Claude Smith and Henry Savage, both all-conference players. Smith has nearly 3,000 yards over the past 2 seasons and will surely be a St Anselm Hall of Famer, while Savage is underrated with 2,000 career yards and 20 total touchdowns. Defensively the team only gives up about 22 points a game but they have only 1 interception on the year, they need to change that to get a win against Pace.

Pace Cruising, Ne-10 East Still Undecided

With only 2 games left in the season and the conference championship game, Pace University gets to 11-0 and be in the playoffs for about the 25th time in a row. Quarterback Donald Cooper is just a freshman and has made some mistakes but with the talent around him he has been able to make some plays. Assumption does not have a shot to win the Ne-10 West but has been impressive 2-2 record against top 25 teams and they should make the playoffs and we could see 3 Ne-10 teams in the playoffs if a team from the East makes it in. The race for player of the year in the NE-10 West starts with Jeffrey Tucker in his first year as the lead back for Pace, he leads the entire conference in touchdowns with 9. St. Anselm has had a rough go but saw an OT victory over Concord last week, they have played alot of tough close games.

In the Ne-10 East things can still be unraveled as 8-3 Bryant (4-2 conf.) still has two tough teams to play in Southern Connecticut and Bentley. Merrimack dropped to 5-6 but is 4-2 in the conference and still has a fighting chance to get to the conference championship game, their tough non-conference schedule made them battle tested for the season but to make the playoffs they need to win their next 2 and then upset Pace in the conference championship. With Southern  Connecticut’s comeback victory over AIC they are still in the driver’s seat with a 5-1 conference record but they have to get by Bryant and LIU. Provided a team does well enough the NE-10 East could see a playoff appearance but is not guaranteed such as the NE-10 West’s 2 spots. Currently in running for player are the year are All-American quarterback William Wood and a uprising Jim Leonard a safety at Bentley who has 4 interceptions to go with 76 tackles.

 

 

Recruiting Needs: NE-10 West

The NE-10 West is home to favorite Pace University and upstart St. Anselm. Assumption usually plays pretty well and is no pushover and always could make a push. Jguida and BroncoRon look to bring their teams back to winning records for another season and also hope to be in playoff contention. The two schools have quite the rivalry with St. A’s upsetting Pace’s undefeated record at one time twice in a row. They have made the playoffs a few times recently but like Bryant have not done any damage. The conference is changing but the Pace Setters are the favorites heading into the year.

Pace: Quarterback: Edward Carpenter was excellent but was a senior and his starting career was short lived. Jguida was not impressed with his freshman QB’s of last year but they are sophomores now and might finally be ready. If not Pace should be able to recruit some talent, maybe we will see a talented Frosh out there.

Wide Receiver: This group is obviously talented but there are no sophomores or redshirt freshmen, leaving a need for a future receiving corps.

Defensive/Offensive line: Mostly just for depth.

St. A’s: Wide Receiver/QB: This team is an amazing running team but they need to develop a passing game and their top receiver only caught 18 balls last year. Quarterback Robert Martin is a junior and has thrown only 68 passes over the past 2 years.

Assumption: Offensive Line: Only have 5 underachievers right now. Not 1 of them started all 13 games last year.

Linebacker: Have some talent in James Fleming and Thomas Johnson but they only have 3 total linebackers and all are upperclassmen.

Concord: Defensive Line: Lacks stud players. John Sparks the only one capable of pressuring the QB with 9 sacks. Need to bring in some guys here.

Linebacker: Talent here, but 6 upperclassmen that eventually need replacements groomed.

Fairmont State: Wide Receiver/ Tight End: Only 3 combined touchdowns from the 6 players on the roster.

Defensive Back: Very very inexperience, and thin. Could be eaten alive by good passing teams.

Stonehill: Quarterback: Two seniors currently are the top 2.

Runningback: Have 3 juniors competing for the job after losing an all conference player.

D-Line: Lacking big time playmakers.

Talking With a Player: Jose Gardner, Sophomore CB at Bryant U

Interviewer: Hello Jose. Congrats on making the playoffs and winning the Ne-10 last year. How do you think that momentum rolls into this season?

Jose Gardner: Well it stings because we came off a close loss in the playoffs. It was awesome beating Pace for the first time but hurt seeing them make a run. We felt we would of saw them again in the playoffs but hey it just wasn’t meant to be. We had a good year last year but the past is the past and we just want to be better.

I: Whats it like roaming the defensive backfield at Bryant Stadium?

J: Well alot of really good defensive backs have came out of here. Jose Church was a beast last year and I was referred to as Jos B hahaha! He had a mini camp tryout with the Patriots though he’s the real deal I learned alot from him and Josh and David we are gunna miss them. We have the talent this year though believe me, we have hands like glue and hit like trucks. Overall though this is a pretty historical team and a tough tough conference, its awesome playing here.

I: How is coach Shane(Padrefan12)’s outlook for this season and how has camp been?

J: Camp is the same we come in work 110 percent and we lift and study and relax. All football right now until school starts and we work on our studies. He’s hard on us but gives us alot of responsibility and respect. There’s alot of trust between the whole team, that’s what helps make us good. Not only are we big, bad, and fast- but we’re smart and united as well. Coach looks at the season one game at a time but you know he wants back in the conference championship game and back in the playoffs and we all do. Its hard to not think about it but I know we’re coming for it!

I: Last one Jose, what teams/players are you looking out for this year?

J: Every single team can win any Saturday, I’ll have my head on a swivel and be ready to play. John Caldwell is a crazy matchup problem as tight end at Pace. We don’t play St.A’s this year but their backfield is tough as nails.

I: And who should other teams look out for on your team?

J: Our defensive line I think its the best in the country at D2. They get to the quarterback and really help us out. And obviously watch out for William (Wood) dude is crazy competitive, makes us so much better on defense.

I: Thanks for your time Jose.

Recruiting Needs: Ne-10 East

The Ne-10 East is no longer a walk in the park to the conference championship for Pace. With 4 user teams that all have experience and are slowly recruiting awesome teams there is a bit of a stir in the conference overall. Bryant University beat Pace for the first time ever under coach Padrefan12 and new manager for LIU: Scrodz was a legend at division 3 and has experience before in the Ne-10 once leading AIC to the playoffs.  Merrimack and Bentley are pulling in excellent players and improving as they prepare to make a run. AIC had a rough 2-10 year but they always play a monster schedule.

Recruiting Needs: 

Bryant University: Running back- There is no proven guy here and 3 year starter Gary Curtis an all conference honorable mention is gone. The team loves to throw to its running backs and mix things up and returns fullback Robert Dixon. Jerome Harmon is a redshirt Junior who has been given multiple opportunities but still only holds a career 3.3 YPC average.

Tight End: Lost big time starter Jeff Smith who could block and catch when necessary. Team has 2 unproven senior tight ends who have barely played. A freshman could possibly take their job.

Offensive Line: Pretty much every team could use help here. Bryant loses 2 starters on the o-line.

Defensive Back: Lost 3 starters here that all made some sort of all conference team. They bring back shutdown corner Peter Christie and some proven backups but only have 4 guys at the position. They need depth badly.

Kicker: All American H.M Melvin King and his big leg have moved on to the CFL. Big need here.

AIC: Defensive Line: The team’s only all conference player was senior Joe Brooks who was 2nd in the conference in sacks. They bring back 2 starters but lack experience at the other spots and depth as well.

Runningback: Mark Bolton ran for over 1,500 yards last year and is a stud but the team currently only has 3 runningbacks on the roster and this guy is a senior.

Bentley: Defensive Backs: The team lost one of the best in John Johnson who made plays all over the field, and Donald Porter who was solid at cornerback. James Leonard, Luis Jones, and Raymond Nelson come back with 4 years of starting experience between them but literally the only other player is a redshirt freshman. These guys should be excellent this year but they do need to build for the future.

Wide Receiver: They lost an honorable mention receiver and don’t have much depth right now. Paul Kennedy is talented but can he handle being a number 1 target?

Long Island U: Quarterback: Only 2 and they both have no experience. May take a year or two to get off the ground but the potential is there.

Runningback: Lost former player of the year Gregory Stafford. Jacob Guerrero is solid but he needs a solid backup who can eventually take over and have more upside.

Linebacker: They have guys but only one starter returns in Tommy Adams. Freshmen are candidates to start at LB.

Merrimack: Offensive Line: This group is battle-tested but not necessarily ridiculously talented. They have youth here but they need some guys who can push them for their jobs to make them better, or to take over.

Defensive Line: This group has underachieved a bit but Luis Rowland is among the more talented junior d-lineman. Losing Tim Byers a 2nd team all conference player hurts. Again they have guys but are they ready?

So. Conn: Quarterback: A freshman could start here with reports out of camp. The QB’s look rough.

Wide Receiver/Tight End: John Mays is an animal at WR. But they need other options to throw to with potentially an inexperienced guy under the helm.

 

 

 

 

NE-10 Offensive 2nd Team and H.M

QB- Sr. Edward Carpenter, Pace (Playoffs in 1st year starting, 5,092 yards in 16 games, 46 TD’s, 55% completion)

RB- Sr. Gregory Stafford, LIU (Last year’s player of year, 1,703 rushing yards and 9 TD’s, 2 receiving TD’s)

RB- Jr. Jose Thompson, Assumption (14 total TD’s, Over 2,000 total yards)

FB-  JR. Henry Savage, St. A’s (Powerful run blocker, 3 total TD’s, 256 total yards)

WR- Jr. Timothy Hernandez, Bryant (All American H.M, 134 receptions, 10 TD’s, 1,510 yards in 15 games)

WR-  So. John Mays, So. Conn (90 receptions, Over 800 yards, 7 TD’s)

TE- So. Mike Betts, Merrimack (34 receptions and 3 TD’s even with 2 quarterbacks)

OL- Sr. Michael Goode, Pace (4 year starter)

OL- Sr. James Morgan, Bryant (3 year starter)

OL- Sr. Timothy Redmond, Stonehill (3 year starter)

OL- Jr. Vincent McCarthy, So.Conn (2 year starter, One of top in upcoming senior class)

OL- Sr. George Kelly, Concord (3 year starter)

H.M

QB- Sr. Louis Boyle , Bentley (2,803 yards, 13 games, 14 TD’s no picks)

RB- Jr. Claude Smith, St. A’s (1,678 yards, 10 rushing TD’s)

RB- Sr. Larry Booth, Stonehill (Over 2,200 total yards, 66 receptions, 9 total TD’s)

WR- Jr. Harvey Ryan, Assumption (80 receptions, 3 touchdowns)

WR- So. Ryan Foster, Bryant (44 receptions, 10 TD’s, Conference best 15.3 YPC)

WR- Sr. Karl Bowling, Bentley (77 catches, 2 TD’s)

TE- Sr. Aruthur Thompson, St. A’s (27 catches, TD)

OL- Jr, Larry White, Pace

OL- So. Larry Gee, Bryant

OL- Jr, Paul Anderson, Fairmont State

NE-10 Offensive First Team

1st Team

QB- Jr. William Wood, Bryant (4,823 passing yards, 41 TD’s, 2 int’s, 59.2% completion, 15 games, All-American 2nd Team)

RB- Sr. James Baird, Pace (1,905 rushing yards, 20 rushing TD’s, 782 receiving yards on 89 receptions, 7 receiving touchdowns)

RB- Sr. Jeffrey Harris, Fairmont State (13 games- 1,837 yards, 10 rushing TD’s, 10 runs over 20 yards, 57 receptions)

FB- Sr. Richard Johnson, Pace (17 games, 196 rushing yards, 3 rushing TD’s, 11 receptions)

WR- Sr. Craig Garrett, Bryant (15 games, 126 receptions, 15 TD receptions, 1,455 yards, All-American 3rd Team)

WR- Sr. Paul Nicholson, Pace (17 games, 72 receptions, 15 touchdowns)

TE- Jr. John Caldwell, Pace (17 games, 152 receptions, 1,841 yards, 13 TD’s, All American 1st Team)

OL- Jr. Charles Crockett, Pace (3 year starter, Playoffs every year, Preseason All American 2nd Team)

OL- Sr. Charles Leon, St. A’s (Power run team, 3 year starter, 337 pounds)

OL- Sr. Brad Davis, Bentley (3 year starter)

OL- Sr. Todd Willard, Pace (4 year starter)

OL- Sr. Eugene Doland, Assumption (3 year starter, Center, Small but tough)