MEDIA CONTACT: STEPHANIE SCARPATO
www.easterncollegiatefootball.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OCTOBER 30th, 2017
MARSHFIELD, Mass. – The Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) weekly awards were announced for games through Sunday, October 29th. Husson University teammates John Smith (Fayetteville, Ga.) and Jean Gabriel (Lake Worth, Fla.) were named Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively. Maritime (N.Y.) also took home a pair of honors this week – Michael Maringelli (Wantagh, N.Y.) earned Rookie of the Week, while teammate Karl Riek (Sweetwater, N.J.) was tabbed Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance over the weekend.
Offensive Player of the Week
John Smith - Husson University
(Senior, RB – Fayettesville, Ga.)
Smith added another impressive performance to his resume on Saturday. He rushed for 247 yards of Husson’s single-game school record 565 yards of rushing and four touchdowns (long run of 62 yards) for a new single-game record of 17.6 yards per carry on just 14 carries. All of Smith’s yards came in the first half of Husson’s 70-13 victory over Anna Maria. Saturday also marked the fourth time in his career that he has rushed for 150 yards or more and scored four touchdowns in a single-game, the most in program history.
Defensive Player of the Week
Jean Gabriel - Husson University
(Senior, DB – Lake Worth, Fla.)
Gabriel was busy again in Husson's 70-13 win at Anna Maria. In the first half, he blocked his fifth punt on the season, which was picked by Derek Barden and return 26 yards for an Eagle touchdown. In addition, Gabriel recorded two forced fumbles, 1.0 tackles for loss, 1.0 sack, and had team-high seven total tackles, all seven were solo tackles as Husson smothered the AMCATS to the tune of just 193 yards of total offense, 28 net yards rushing, while allowing just 3.3-yards gained per play.
Rookie of the Week
Michael Maringelli – Maritime (N.Y.)
(Freshman, LB – Wantagh, N.Y.)
Maringelli had a blocked punt returned for a 40-yard touchdown in Saturday afternoon's win over Castleton. Maringelli's return gave the Privateers a 35-0 first quarter lead with just over four minutes to go in the opening quarter. He also added a kick return of 14 yards, for 54 total yards on the day.
Special Teams Player of the Week
Karl Riek – Maritime (N.Y.)
(Junior, DB – Sweetwater, N.J.)
Riek played a key role on special teams for the Privateers as he was able to block a pair of punts in Maritime's win over Castleton. Riek's first blocked punt came in the first quarter and resulted in a 40-yard touchdown return for the Privateers. His second blocked punt came early in the third quarter, as the ball was blocked through the back of the Spartan end zone for a safety. Riek now has four blocked kicks on the season, which is ranked 2nd highest in all of NCAA Division III. Riek also collected 40 yards on two punt returns.
