WESTFIELD, Mass. – The Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) has announced its major award winners in football and UMass Dartmouth student-athlete
Dante Aviles-Santos has once again been named the Offensive Player of the Year.
Aviles-Santos has had a record-breaking season thus far for the Corsairs, eclipsing four major marks as the starter in all 10 contests. A captain, he has completed 143 of 251 passes (57.0%), throwing for 2,233 yards and 21 touchdowns with just seven interceptions. This marks the second straight First Team honor for Aviles-Santos, who was a Second Team Offense selection in 2021.
In addition to his outstanding arm, Aviles-Santos also ranks third on the Corsairs squad in rushing, carrying the ball 34 times for 253 yards. Averaging 6.8 yards per carry and 25.3 yards per game, he has reached the endzone twice this season.
A Gold Helmet Weekly Award recipient after his season-opening win at Nichols, Aviles-Santos has thrown for 200 yards or more seven times this season, including a season-high 319 yard effort in a 26-23 overtime victory at Westfield State. He has also rushed for at least 20 yards five times in 2023, including a season-high 66 yard effort on six carries at WestConn.
Aviles-Santos became the Corsairs all-time career leader in both passing yards and passing touchdowns in the season-opening, 57-6 win at Nichols. Throwing for four touchdowns, he surpassed Cory Burnham '16, while his 282 passing yards against the Bison moved him past Stephen Gacioch '21 for the all-time record. Burnham recorded 53 touchdowns in his career with Aviles-Santos now having 74 to his credit. Gacioch held the previous record of 5,382 yards as Aviles-Santos now has 7,615 yards.
The Corsairs quarterback went on to break the record for passing completions on September 30 at WestConn, eclipsing Burnham's mark of 432, while eclipsing the passing attempts mark of 811, previously held by Burnham, in a win at Westfield State. Aviles-Santos now has 510 completions and 882 attempts in his career.
Last season, Aviles-Santos completed 199 of 328 passes (.604), throwing for 2,940 yards and 26 touchdowns with only six interceptions. He also broke the UMass Dartmouth single-season records for passing yards, TD's, completion percentage, passing yards per game, average yards per pass and total offense.
As a rookie, Aviles-Santos was named the MASCAC Offensive Rookie of the Year, leading the MASCAC with 25 touchdown passes. He ranked third in the conference with 2,197 passing yards, leading the Corsairs with eight rushing scores. In 11 games, he went 148 of 269 with just four interceptions.
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.
