Seahawks set to play in New England Bowl

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Bridgewater State Bears, Endicott Gulls, Maritime Privateers, USMMA Mariners, Salve Regina Seahawks and Springfield Pride have been selected as the participants in the 2018 New England Bowl Series which will be played at local sites on Saturday, Nov. 17. 

Endicott will host U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and Bridgewater State will host Salve Regina at noon, while Maritime and Springfield will kick off at 1 p.m.

Four of the teams will be appearing in the New England Bowl Series for the first time. Salve Regina (2016) and Maritime (2017) have both earned bids for the second time.

Salve Regina (7-3 overall, 5-1 CCC) will be making the program's second appearance in the New England Bowl Series after finishing in a three-way tie with Western New England and Endicott atop the CCC standings. Freshman running back Joey Mauriello (Colts Neck, N.J.) leads the CCC with 99.2 rushing yards per game and has pounded in seven touchdown runs. Junior wide receiver Brandon Nunes (Attleboro, Mass.) ranks second in the CCC with 71.6 receiving yards per game and is tied for the conference lead with nine touchdown receptions. Salve's sophomore quarterback tandem of Jake Kelleher (Hopkinton, Mass.) and sophomore Tyler McGovern (Attleboro, Mass.) have combined to toss 18 touchdowns and an average of 232.3 yards passing per contest. Sophomore Matt Sylvia (East Greenwich, R.I.) leads the CCC with eight interceptions. Salve Regina has participated in postseason play in seven of the last eight seasons.

For the third consecutive year, the competing teams and the host institutions were selected by the commissioners of the four NCAA Division III conferences that have joined forces to present the New England Bowl Series: Commonwealth Coast Football (CCC), the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC), the Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference (MASCAC), and the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC).

One year after expanding the New England Bowl series to include a second game, the four commissioners made the decision to add a third game in order to reward numerous seven-win teams that distinguished themselves in their respective conferences this fall. While the additional bowl game will allow student-athletes from six teams, rather than limiting it four, to enjoy an outstanding postseason experience in 2018, there is no commitment by the participating conferences to continue offering the third bowl game in future years at this time.