Weisel, Fall among eight selected to NEFC All-Division Team

NEWPORT, R.I. - Senior Dustin Weisel (Milford Square, Pa.) and juniors A.J. Albert (Franklin Park, N.J.), Shane Lange (Branford, Conn.), and Andrew McNeice (Franklin, Mass.) and headline the list of eight Salve Regina University football student-athletes named to the 2010 New England Football Conference (NEFC) All-Division teams.

The four aforementioned players all garnered First Team All-Boyd Division honors as McNeice (T) and Weisel (G) were Boyd Division - Offense selections while Albert (LB) and Lange (DE) were Boyd Division - Defense selections. Additionally, senior John Fall (Brooklyn, N.Y.), juniors Michael Dargan (Meriden, Conn.) and Matt Petersen (Bristol, Conn.), and sophomore Maxwell Shubert (West Chester, Pa.) were Boyd Division Second Team selections. The eight student-athletes receiving NEFC honors is the second-highest total in school history behind last year's total of nine, but the four first team selections is a school-record. Only Western New England (16) and Endicott (13) received more nominees than Salve Regina among Boyd Division schools.

"This is the second year in a row Salve Regina has been extremely well represented on the NEFC All-Division teams," said first-year head coach Bob Chesney. "We finished the season tops in the conference in a number of defensive categories, so it was good to see five of our starters recognized by the other coaches in the league. It's not going to be easy to replace players the caliber of Dustin Wiesel and John Fall, but we're excited to have the other five back next season. We're going to hit the recruiting trails hard this off-season and put the pieces in place around these young men that will bring us a conference championship."

A second team selection last season, Lange led the NEFC in sacks (12.5), tackles for loss (18.0), and forced fumbles (four), and finished tied for 12th with 82 tackles. In the process, he established Salve Regina single-season records for sacks and QB hurries (12) as well as the career record for QB hurries (18). He racked up a career-high 19 tackles (nine solo) against MIT on Oct. 23, including a career-high three sacks. Lange posted at least one sack in nine of the Seahawks 10 games in 2010 and will begin his senior season with 17.0 sacks, which is four behind SRU's all-time sack leader Ben Jarvis' (1997-2000) record of 21.0. He ends 2010 ranked fifth in Division III with an average of 1.25 sacks/game.

Albert finished second to Lange and led all Salve Regina linebackers with 76 tackles (43 solo), which placed him 19th in the NEFC. The Johns Hopkins University transfer registered double-digit tackles in three games this season: Hartwick (14), Endicott (10), and Plymouth State (10). Albert also picked up four QB hurries, two pass breakups, and one sack. He recorded the Seahawks first safety since 2003 at Western New England on Oct. 2.

Weisel and McNeice, meanwhile, started all 10 games on the offensive line at guard and tackle, respectively. Weisel - who was selected as one of the team's three captains prior to the season - and McNeice anchored an otherwise young and inexperienced offensive line and helped the Seahawks average over 130 rushing yards a game.

The 2009 NEFC Defensive Rookie of the Year, Shubert finished fourth on the Seahawks with 68 tackles and 11th in pass breakups in the NEFC with nine (seven breakups, two interceptions). He tallied a season-high 10 tackles (six solo) in a win over Plymouth State on Oct. 30, recorded interceptions against Hartwick and MIT, and forced a pair of fumbles against Western New England. Petersen (right) led the Seahawks in both pass breakups (nine) and interceptions (three), giving him a total of 12, which placed him third in the NEFC. In the process, he established a new single-season record for pass breakups and also surpassed Joseph Leafe (2003-06) and took sole possession of first place at Salve Regina with 21 career pass breakups.

Both Fall and Dargan were tabbed to the NEFC Boyd Division Second Team last season. Fall ranked sixth on the Seahawks in 2010 with 38 tackles (12 solo) from the nose tackle position to go along with four tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and two QB hurries. Dargan was tabbed as the Return Specialist on the second team after setting a Salve Regina single-season record with 22 punt returns and finishing second in the NEFC in punt return average (8.4). He chalked up 185 punt return yards in 2010, which sits as the third-highest single-season total at SRU.

The list of Boyd Division award winners includes: Bryce Brown (WNEC), Offensive Player of the Year; Keith Emery (WNEC), Coach of the Year; Kevin Eagan (Endicott), Defensive Player of the Year; Jaron Hargrove (Umass Dartmouth), Offensive Rookie of the Year; Dan McLaughlin (Curry), Defensive Rookie of the Year.

The Seahawks finished the 2010 season with a 6-4 record, marking their highest win total since 2000, when they won seven games. They also posted a 5-2 mark in conference play, which was good for a third-place finish. The Seahawks lost to first-place Endicott (29-28) and second-place Western New England (10-5) by a total of six points.