Seahawks earn 11 All-Boyd Division selections
NEWPORT, R.I. – The Salve Regina University football team earned 11 New England Football Conference (NEFC) All-Boyd Division selections, as announced by conference commissioner Sue Lauder on Thursday night. Senior A.J. Albert (Franklin Park, N.J.), freshman Benjamin Barrett (West Greenwich, R.I.), sophomore Richie Edwards (Trumbull, Conn.), senior Shane Lange (Branford, Conn.), senior Andrew McNeice (Franklin, Mass.), and junior Ken Okwuosa (North Haven, Conn.) each were selected to the All-Boyd Division First Team, while juniors Anthony Hannon (Yorba Linda, Calif.), Daniel Kehew (Portsmouth, R.I.), Maxwell Shubert (West Chester, Pa.), and William Regan (Amesbury, Mass.) were named to the All-Boyd Division Second Team. In addition, freshman Phil Terio (Trumbull, Conn.) and senior Andrew McNeice earned special honors as the Boyd Division Defensive Rookie of the Year and Offensive Lineman of the Year, respectively.
Line backer A.J. Albert led the conference with 20.5 tackles for loss, ranking 12th in the entire nation with an average of 2.05 tackles for loss per contest. The senior captain also led the conference with three fumbles recoveries on the year, while ranking second in fumbles forced (4), third in total tackles (96.0), third in solo tackles (52), and sixth in sacks (6.5).
In just his freshman season, Benjamin Barrett was the conference's best punter in 2011. He led all NEFC punters with an average of 39.0 yards per kick, while forcing 12 fair catches and dropping 15 punts inside the opponent's 20-yard line. Overall he totaled 51 punts for 1991 yards.
Before his season was cut short by injury, running back Richie Edwards was leading the conference with an average of 152.4 all-purpose yards per game. In just seven contests, the sophomore compiled 804 rushing yards, 143 receiving yards, and 10 touchdowns. He finished the season averaging 4.8 yards per rush, recording 114.9 yards per game on the ground.
Defensive end Shane Lange missed the first two games of the season due to an injury, but still managed to finish seventh in the conference with 5.5 sacks over just eight games, while leading all players with an average of 0.38 fumble recoveries per contest. He set the program's career sacks record on October 8 of this season versus UMass Dartmouth, and finishes his career with 22.5 sacks.
Daniel Kehew, Ken Okwuosa, and Andrew McNeice were each key components on the Seahawks' offensive line this season. Behind this trio of reliable linemen, Salve Regina averaged 3.9 yards per carry for a total of 159.1 yards per game on the ground.
Line backer Anthony Hannon finished the year ranked sixth on the team with a total of 46 tackles on the year, including 10 tackles for a loss. In addition, Hannon added two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, and an interception. Perhaps his best performance of the year came versus nationally ranked Montclair State when he racked up eight tackles and an interception.
As Salve Regina's starting free safety, Max Shubert tied for the team-lead with four interceptions and two blocked kicks on the year. His 29 solo tackles and four pass break-ups ranked third on the club. He had a season-best eight tackles versus Montclair State, was also adding a 73-yard interception return for a touchdown.
Defensive back Phil Terio had a standout freshman campaign, playing in nine of the Seahawks' 10 contests while starting each of the final five games of the season. He led the conference with nine pass break-ups while finishing third in the league with an average of 1.11 passes defended per game. In week six versus Curry, the freshman DB recorded six tackles, including a season-high five solo stops, while also adding an interception and a fumble recovery.
Due to strong performances like these, the Seahawks finished the year with a 7-3 record, earning their most victories since the year 2000.