WESTFIELD, Mass. – The Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) has announced its year-end awards in football and 13 UMass Dartmouth student-athletes have been recognized. Seven were tabbed to the All-Conference First Teams, while six garnered Second Teams honors. Additionally, senior quarterback
Dante Aviles-Santos was named the Offensive Player of the Year for the second straight season, while rookie defensive lineman
Noah Barrera was selected Defensive Rookie of the Year.
It marked the second consecutive Offensive Player of the Year for Aviles-Santos. The full story can be found by clicking here.
Named to the All-Conference First Team Offense, in addition to Aviles-Santos, was junior wide receiver
Angel Sanchez, junior offensive linemen
Kolby Stockwell and
Tyler Gmyr and junior tight end
Jalen Kopecky. First Team Defense saw senior defensive backs
Trell Best and
Shane Meerbott honored.
Aviles-Santos – a captain - started all 10 games for the Corsairs, going 143-of-251 with seven interceptions. He has thrown for a MASCAC-best 2,233 yards and 21 touchdowns. He has also ran for 253 yards on 37 carries with two touchdowns. It marks his second First Team honor (2022), while also garnering Second Team Offense (2021) in his career.
Sanchez was tabbed for his second straight First Team honor after leading the team in receptions, yards and touchdowns over 10 games played. Hauling in 40 catches, he has posted 811 yards for an average of 20.3 yards per catch. Finding the endzone nine times, he is averaging 81.1 yards per game.
Stockwell and Gmyr have been a part of a Corsairs offensive line that leads the conference in overall rushing, averaging 219.1 yards per game with a MASCAC-best 28 touchdowns. With 2,191 total yards rushing, their efforts have helped the Corsairs have two rushers in the top-eight amongst the conference leaders. It marks the second First Team honor for Gmyr (2021) and the second year-end recognition for Stockwell, who was a Second Team Offense selection previously (2021).
Rounding out the offensive honors on first team was Kopecky, who has hauled in 20 catches – which ranks third on the squad – to go along with 236 yards. Averaging 11.8 yards per catch and 23.6 yards per game, he has hauled in four touchdowns as a starter in all 10 games.
First Team Defense honors went to Best – also a captain – who leads the Corsairs defense with 74.0 tackles as a starter through 10 contests. 38 of his tackles have been solo, while three have come for a loss of five yards. He has recorded two interceptions on the season with three pass break-ups. This is the first year-end honor of his career.
Meerbot takes home his first career honor having posted 31 total tackles. 22 have been solo, while 2.5 have come at a loss of six yards. In addition to one interception, he has notched five pass break-ups with a quarterback hurry.
Best and Meerbot, along with the entire Corsairs defense has had an outstanding season, allowing just 13.0 points per game – which is the lowest average in the MASCAC. The squad has also surrendered just 93.3 passing yards per game, which ranks as the fewest amongst all Division III schools. The defense has also allowed just 17 touchdowns on the season, limiting opponents to just 248.5 yards of total offense.
Garnering Second Team honors on Defense was senior defensive back
Logan Chappell, senior inside linebacker
Jackson Wellman, junior outside linebacker
Mike Henricksen and junior linebacker
Sam Alicea. Offensive honors went to fifth-year offensive lineman
Brandon DiChiaro and graduate student running back
Luis Gonzalez.
Chappell garnered his third straight Second Team honor after notching 46 total tackles through nine games played. Twenty-six of his takedowns have been solo, while three have come for a loss of 15 yards. He has also posted a sack for a loss of 12 yards, two interceptions, two pass break-ups and three quarterback hurries.
Wellman takes home his first career award after leading the team with 74 total tackles as a starter through 10 games. He has posted 37 solo tackles with seven coming at a loss of 40 yards. He has also posted 3.5 sacks for a loss of 25 yards with an interception and a team-best seven quarterback hurries. Wellman has also had a fumble recovery, in addition to a forced fumble.
Henricksen ranks third on the team in tackles over 10 games with 71. Of those, 26 have been solo, while seven have been for a loss of 22 yards. He has 2.5 sacks on the season for a loss of 13 yards with an interception and two quarterback hurries. It marks the first career honor in 2023.
Rounding out the defensive honors was Alicea, who was a Second Team selection last season. A starter in all 10 games this year, he has notched 55 total tackles, including 23 solo. An imposing force on the line, Alicea leads the team with 13 tackles for a loss of 60 yards. He also boasts a team-high 8.5 sacks for a loss of 48 yards, adding a pass break-up, five quarterback hurries and a fumble recovery to his credit.
Named to the Second Team Offense was fifth-year offensive lineman
Brandon DiChiaro – who was a First Team selection last season. His efforts on the o-line have allowed the Corsairs to post the second-best passing unit in the conference with 286.6 yards per game, along with the top rushing unit at 219.1 yards per game.
Gonzalez – a captain who was a Second Team Offense honoree in 2021 as well – has played in all 10 games. He has carried the ball 129 times, recording 882 yards with 13 touchdowns to his credit. Averaging 6.8 yards per carry and 88.2 yards per game, Gonzalez ranks fourth overall in the conference in total rushing yards. He is tied for second in total touchdowns. Earlier this season, Gonzalez became just the second Corsair in program history to eclipse 2,000 yards rushing as he enters the final game with 2,839 yards.
UMass Dartmouth, under the direction of first-year head coach
Josh Sylvester, returns to action on Saturday at 12pm. Selected to the New England Bowl, the Corsairs will travel to Western New England University to face the Golden Bears.
