09.22.17
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#NECFB Week 4 Prep

 

#NECFB Briefs

  • Robert Morris’s 23-0 triumph over VMI marked the program’s first shutout since its 2010 NEC championship season. The Colonials, who are off to a 2-1 season start for the first time in seven years, travel to Fargo for a Week 4 battle with NDSU.
  • Wagner will play a FBS member for the sixth consecutive season when it makes its Week 4 visit to Western Michigan, which played in the Cotton Bowl last season. The Seahawks’ first-ever FBS contest was a 7-3 setback at Florida Athletic in the 2012 season opener.
  • Bryant’s Price Wilson, who ranks third amongst FCS passing leaders (1,026 yards), has reached the 1,000-yard passing mark faster than anyone in program history.
  • Duquesne’s Tommy Stuart has thrown at least two touchdown passes in each of his first three games.
  • Saint Francis junior receiver Kamron Lewis caught two touchdown passes in a last-second loss to Towson in Week 3. Lewis, a 2016 All-American, has made at least one TD reception in seven consecutive contests.
  • Wagner ranks fourth amongst FCS team leaders in kickoff return average (29.43 ypr).
  • Despite being without RB A.J. Hines, the 2016 Jerry Rice Award winner, Duquesne managed 184 net rushing yards in a Week 3 road win over Dayton. The Dukes’ 28-23 victory snapped Dayton’s 14-game regular season home win streak and gave the NEC a 4-0 sweep of its season series with the Pioneer Football League.

 

WHOLE NINE YARDS VIDEO PREVIEW

09.15.17
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#NECFB Week 3 Prep

 

#NECFB BRIEFS…

  • Sacred Heart, which ranks fifth amongst FCS team leaders in rushing defense (29.0 ypg), looks for a 3-0 season start for the fourth time in five years. After back-to-back double-digit wins, the Pioneers visit CAA member Stony Brook in Week 3.
  • Defending NEC champion Saint Francis defeated Wagner, 31-6, in the first conference game on the 2017 docket. Saint Francis, which is off to its first 2-0 season start since joining the FCS ranks in 1992, has yet to commit a turnover through the first two weeks.
  • SFU quarterback Bear Fenimore leads the NEC with six touchdown passes through his first two starts. Meanwhile, All-American receiver Kamron Lewis pulled in a 30-yard scoring strike vs. Wagner, marking his sixth consecutive game with at least one touchdown catch.
  • Duquesne’s visit to Dayton will complete the NEC’s season series with the Pioneer Football League. NEC teams are 3-0 vs. PFL members this month.

 

WHOLE NINE YARDS VIDEO PREVIEW

09.13.17
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Women-In-Sports Wednesday: Former CCSU Hurler Adds to Fordham’s Winning Tradition

When it comes to winning conference championships, Laura Messina and Fordham softball are a perfect fit.

Messina, a two-time NEC softball champion (2013, 2015) during her days as the ace of Central Connecticut’s pitching staff, has received an opportunity to continue her career in Division I softball as an assistant coach for the five-time defending Atlantic 10 champion Fordham Rams.

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09.03.17
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Quarterback Questions Answered in Week 1

Five men took their first snaps as a NEC starting signal caller this week and all five accounted for multiple noteworthy plays.

Four of the five quarterbacks are transfers from Division I FBS members and were not on their current teams’ rosters last year. Sacred Heart senior Kevin Duke is the lone member of the group to have already appeared in a NEC game.

Here’s how the five first-year starters fared in the 2017 season debuts…

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09.02.17
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NFL Dreams Continue for Two NEC Alumni

Lorenzo Jerome

They are part of the fortunate few.

Saint Francis’ Lorenzo Jerome (49ers) and Wagner’s Julian Stanford (Jets), neither of whom was drafted, made the cut when NFL teams were required to submit their initial 53-man regular season rosters on September 2 at 4:00 pm ET.

For Jerome, it’s another milestone during what has been a remarkable past 12 months. The span includes leading SFU to its first-ever NEC title last November, forcing five turnovers over the course of two exclusive collegiate all-star games, going undrafted in April despite high prospects, immediately turning heads as an UDFA during San Francisco’s rookie camp and OTAs, starting at free safety for the 49ers’ first two preseason games and now becoming the first Red Flash representative to make a NFL roster in more than 60 years.

Jerome, a four-time all-NEC first teamer, made 18 interceptions for Saint Francis during a collegiate career that featured All-America honors as both a kick returner and defensive back. After earning MVP honors at the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, the native Floridian accounted for three takeaways while becoming the first-ever NEC player to participate in the prestigious Reese’s Senior Bowl.

Stanford, who initially entered the professional ranks as an UDFA with the Jaguars in 2012, was an active member of the Jets’ roster for much of the 2016 campaign after being signed by Gang Green in December 2015.

Stanford, who was an all-NEC selection at linebacker in 2011, has played in 43 regular season NFL contests. He played in all four preseason games for the Jets this summer and logged 13 tackles, including eight stops against the Giants in the Snoopy Bowl.

The following NEC alumni were WAIVED by their respective NFL teams prior to the official roster cutdown deadline and will hope to latch on with another club or land on a practice squad: Duquesne’s Larson Graham (Falcons), Robert Morris’ Marcelis Branch (Falcons), Wagner’s Najee Harris (Raiders), Duquesne’s Christian Kuntz (Patriots)

 

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