Endicott Places Nine on NEFC All-Conference Teams

2014 NEFC All-Conference Teams and Special Awards
Endicott Football All-Conference History

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Nine players from the Endicott football roster were named to the 2014 New England Football Conference (NEFC) All-Conference Team led by First Team representatives graduate student defensive lineman Andrew Holfinger (Sterling, Mass.), senior offensive tackle Mike Marini (Trumbull, Conn.), junior tight end Dimitri Skinsacos (Old Orchard Beach, Maine), and senior wide receiver Nate Lewis (Acushnet, Mass.).

Five additional gridiron Gulls were placed on the NEFC All-Conference Second Team which includes senior defensive back Jake Cox (Wrentham, Mass.), sophomore defensive lineman Craig Anderson (Franklin, Mass.), senior center Andrew Edwards (Falmouth, Maine), senior quarterback Drew Frenette (New Bedford, Mass.), and sophomore placekicker Kyle Regan (Nashua, N.H.).

In total six players on offense and three on defense were recognized with postseason honors. Cox, Frenette, Holfinger, and Marini earn their second all-conference award in their careers. Anderson was last year's NEFC Defensive Rookie of the Year while Edwards, Lewis, Skinsacos, and Regan are all first-time all-conference honorees.

Endicott generated the NEFC's top passing offense this fall as a well-protected Frenette was able to throw for 315.2 yards per game with a 28-to-13 TD-to-Int ratio and help Lewis to arguably the most productive season a Gulls receiver has ever had. Lewis set program records with 97 catches and 1,344 receiving yards while hauling in seven touchdowns this year. On three different occasions he had double-digit receptions including 16-catch and 18-catch efforts in the final two weeks and he surpassed 100 yards receiving in all but three of Endicott's 10 games.

Frenette himself broke records in his final season under center, surpassing former quarterback Phil Konopka '12 as the program's all-time leader in passing yards (8,313), passing touchdowns (78) and completions (659). Frenette's outstanding season will place him third on New England's all-time passing yardage record book behind Castleton State's Shane Brozowksi '13 (10,934) and Middlebury's Donald McKillop '11 (8,748). He will be fourth behind Plymouth State's Matt Jozokos '91 (96), Brozowski, and Mount Ida's Scott Drosendahl '13 (80) on the all-time passing touchdowns list. Frenette was named NEFC Offensive Player of the Week twice this season with one additional ECAC Co-Player of the Week nod.

Skinsacos was strong in his first season as the team's starting tight end, catching 27 balls for 306 yards and four touchdowns. Skinsacos played well down the stretch, totaling 11 receptions for 149 yards in Endicott's final two games.

The successes of Frenette, Lewis, and Skinsacos would not be possible were it not for the consistent play of the team's all-conference offensive linemen Marini and Edwards. The Gulls offensive line allowed 19 sacks this season, eight of which came on the final two weeks when the team threw a combined 121 times. Minus a three-sack game from week two against then #12 Hobart, a game that saw Frenette drop back 47 times to pass, the offensive line allowed an average of just 1.1 sacks per game.

Endicott's defense took on their most difficult schedule to-date with non-conference tilts against Framingham State, #12 Hobart, and Kean and challenging NEFC slate that included a grueling four-game stretch to end the season with defensive-minded Coast Guard, the NEFC champions MIT, and road rivalry games with Western New England and Salve Regina. Led by a pair of defensive line talents in Holfinger and Anderson, who combined for 14.5 sacks and 24.5 tackles for a loss overall, the Gulls were able to stay competitive with their stiff competition. Holfinger set a single season record for sacks, passing former great Kevin Eagan '12 with 9.5 quarterback takedowns and moved into second place on the all-time sack list behind Eagan with 16.0. Holfinger also had a forced fumble, two recoveries, five pass breakups, and a blocked kick. After a slow start to the season, Anderson was outstanding in his final six games with four double-digit tackle efforts as he ended up with 66 tackles on the year, good for second on the team. Last year's NEFC Defensive Rookie of the Year, Anderson added a forced fumble and blocked kick to his stat totals in 2014. Anderson and Holfinger were each named NEFC Defensive Player of the Week once this season.

Cox anchored a Gulls defensive back group that struggled with injuries all season long. As a team, Endicott allowed more than 200 yards passing only three times in 10 games this season and only 13 passing touchdowns. Cox had two of Endicott's six interceptions and eight of their 32 pass breakups. He also had 57 tackles, 42 solo, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

In the absence of All-American kicker and punter Dylan Rushe '14, Regan filled the void by making six of nine field goal attempts with a season long of 36 yards while converting 29-of-31 extra-point attempts. He generated 47 points on the season. In the punting game, Regan averaged 36.7 yards per attempt with 11 landing inside the opposition's 20-yard line, 11 fair catches, and just four touchbacks on 43 attempts. He was named NEFC Special Teams Player of the Week following his week three effort in a road win over Kean in which he hit two field goals (34, 25) with three extra points while securing four of his five punts deep inside Cougar territory.