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NEC Offensive Player of the Week: Elijah Howard, Central Connecticut
NEC Defensive Player of the Week: Sam Murphy, Stonehill
NEC Special Teams Player of the Week: Will Lynch, Duquesne
NEC Rookie of the Week: Edward Robinson, Duquesne
Previous NEC Releases: October 2 | September 25 | September 18 | September 11 | September 4 | Preseason Poll Release | TV Package Release

NEC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Elijah Howard, Central Connecticut
Running Back, So., 5-11, 176 lbs., Knoxville, TN/Baylor School (Virginia Tech)
Week 6 Stats: 297 all-purpose yards, 23 carries, 257 rushing yards, 11.2 yards per carry, 1 rushing TD
Howard put together one of the finest rushing games in the NEC this season, and as a result, the sophomore takes home NEC Offensive Player of the Week honors for the first time in his career. The Virginia Tech transfer and Knoxville, TN product torched the gridiron after he ran for 257 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries for an average of 11.2 yards per rush. In addition to producing the Blue Devils’ first 200-plus yard outing since Nasir Smith had 218 against Stonehill in 2022, Howard posted the most rushing yards by an NEC running back against a Division I opponent in nearly half a decade, when Sacred Heart’s Jordan Meachum ran for 318 yards against Bryant on Oct. 27, 2018. Boosting his total yardage was an 80-plus touchdown run — the third longest rush in the circuit this season — that gave Central Connecticut a 41-33 advantage in the early part of the fourth quarter. It marked the second time in as many games that Howard posted an 80-plus-yard touchdown run. Most impressively, the 5-11 running back accounted for more than half of Central Connecticut’s 497 yards on the ground, which shattered the program’s previous record of 462, set 17 years ago in 2006. The 497 rushing yards were also the most by an NEC team since Sacred Heart put up 538 against the Bulldogs in 2018. With back-to-back 100-plus yard rushing performances, Howard has boosted his season average to 100.0 yards per game and 500 total, which are both good for second in the circuit. He becomes the first Blue Devil to take home NEC Offensive Player of the Week honors this season.
 
NEC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sam Murphy, Stonehill
Linebacker, Sr., 6-2, 235 lbs., Lockport, NY/St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute
Week 6 Stats: 10 tackles (5 solo), 0.5 TFL, INT
Murphy stuffed the stat sheet to pace Stonehill’s defensive efforts in a 45-34 defeat at Merrimack in NEC play on Saturday afternoon. The veteran linebacker delivered double-digit tackles for the second time in as many games after he finished with a season-best 10, including five solo, and added 0.5 tackles-for-loss against the Warriors. In addition, the Lockport, NY native came away with a huge interception on the Skyhawks’ own 19-yard line that shut the door on a potential Warriors’ scoring threat at the end of the first half and kept it an 11-point game at the break. The pick was the first of his career. Murphy ranks 13th in the circuit in tackles per game (6.3), while his 18 solo tackles are tied for 14th overall. He joins teammate Micah Brown in garnering NEC Defensive Player of the Week recognition this season.
   
NEC SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Will Lynch, LIU
Punter, So., 6-1, 185 lbs., Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia/Somerset College
Week 6 Stats: 41.3 punting average, 6 punts, 248 punt yards, 2 50+ yard punts, 2 Inside 20, 1 TB
Lynch boomed two 50-plus yard punts and averaged 41.3 yards per boot in LIU’s 23-13 victory over visiting Sacred Heart on Saturday. In the Sharks’ first victory of the season, the sophomore punted for 34 yards and pinned the Pioneers on their own one-yard line in the opening quarter, while his second of two 50-plus yard boots — a game-long 58-yard blast in the third quarter — put Sacred Heart back on their own four-yard line in what resulted in a three-and-out drive. A product of Queensland, Australia, Lynch also had a touchback on his first 50-plus yard punt in the opening quarter. With five 50-plus yard boots this season, he enters the week as the league leader in yards per punt (41.4). This is Lynch’s first NEC Special Teams Player of the Week honor, and the first for an LIU player this season. He has now received the distinction three times during his two-year career with the Sharks.
 
NEC ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Edward Robinson, Duquesne
Running Back, Fr., 5-11, 195 lbs., Maple Heights, OH/Maple Heights
Week 6 Stats: 8 rushes, 86 rushing yards, 1 rushing TD, 1 reception, 9 receiving yards
Robinson becomes the first repeat NEC Rookie of the Week honoree this season after he earns the award for the second straight week. The first-year running back paced the Dukes’ rushing efforts for the second time in as many games after he registered 86 yards on eight carries at No. 9/10 Delaware on Saturday. In addition, Robinson posted the longest touchdown run by a Duke this season — and the fifth longest by an NEC player this season —  after he raced 68 yards to the house to put Duquesne up, 17-15, in the second quarter.  The Maple Heights, OH native leads all NEC rookies and is ranked sixth in the circuit with 58.4 rushing yards per game. He has 292 total rushing yards and two touchdowns in five games.


#NECFB PRIME PERFORMERS (Week 6)

Elijah Howard, CCSU (RB, So.)
Howard ran to one of the NEC’s top performances in nearly half a decade and helped Central Connecticut shatter the program’s single-game rushing yard record in the process in Saturday’s 51-44 home win over non-conference foe Delaware State. Fueled by an 80-yard touchdown rush, the sophomore running back racked up 257 yards on the ground, the most by an NEC player against a Division I opponent since Sacred Heart’s Jordan Meachum had 318 against Bryant on Oct. 27, 2018. Howard was also named the NEC Offensive Player of the Week.
 
Ricky Ortega, CCSU (QB, So.)
Ortega rushed 10 times for three touchdowns and 78 yards in Central Connecticut’s home win over Delaware State on Saturday. Also going 3-of-7 with 30 passing yards, the quarterback’s 13-yard run with 5:02 left broke a 41-41 tie and put the Blue Devils in front for good.
 
Malik Thomas, CCSU (RB, Jr.)
Thomas helped Central Connecticut rush for a program-record 497 yards — the most in a game by an NEC team since Sacred Heart ran for 538 against Bryant five years ago — after he put together his first career 100-yard rushing game in a win over Delaware State on Saturday. The junior contributed 113 yards to the record-breaking performance, including a 53-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
 
Owen Glascoe, LIU (TE, R-Sr.)
Glascoe had a hand in all three of LIU’s scores in Saturday’s 23-13 conference win over visiting Sacred Heart. The junior tight end had a pair of rushing touchdowns as well as a six-yard pass to classmate Leak Bryant on his lone throw of the game to lead the Sharks to their first victory of the season.
 
Tyvon Edmonds Jr., MC (RB, Jr.)
Edmonds led Merrimack to its second-straight NEC win after he rushed for 169 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 25 carries against Stonehill on Saturday. The NEC rushing leader’s 49-yard run with 3:05 remaining in the game halted the Skyhawks’ comeback bid and sealed the victory for the Warriors.
 
Donovan Wadley, MC (WR, So.)
Wadley scored a career-high three touchdowns on Saturday to propel Merrimack to a 45-34 home win over Bay State rival Stonehill. Running for 63 yards and two scores, the sophomore wide receiver also caught three balls for 56 yards and a touchdown. 
 
Tyreke Brown, SHU (DL, Sr.)
Brown anchored Sacred Heart’s defense at LIU on Saturday. Registering five tackles and a pair of forced fumbles, the senior defensive lineman pushed the Sharks back 14 yards on 1.5 tackles-for-loss while registering 0.5 sacks for a total loss of two yards. 
 
Ashur Carraha, STO (QB, Jr.)
Throwing a season-high three touchdowns to three different receivers, Carraha completed 20-of-34 passes for 204 yards without an interception in Stonehill’s 45-34 setback at Merrimack on Saturday. The junior helped pilot a late Skyhawks rally that featured four scores in the final quarter by going 11-of-16 for 157 yards and two touchdown throws during that stretch.  
 
Sam Murphy, STO (LB, Sr.)
Murphy registered his second straight double-digit tackle game on Saturday after he had 10 tackles, including five solo, in Stonehill’s loss to Merrimack. The senior linebacker’s first career interception right before halftime kept the Skyhawks within striking distance at the break. Murphy was also named the NEC Defensive Player of the Week for the first time in his career.
 
Zavion Woodard, STO (RB, So.)
Woodard recorded the first 100-yard game of his career in his first collegiate start at Merrimack on Saturday. The sophomore rushed the ball a career-best 20 times for 103 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns for his first-ever multi-score game in the 45-34 defeat.

    
AROUND THE NEC IN 8 SENTENCES

CENTRAL CONNECTICUT totaled a program-record 497 yards on the ground in Saturday’s win over Delaware State, the most by an NEC team against a Division I opponent since 2018, to finish with the most yards by an NEC squad in a single game this season (584). 

DUQUESNE, which wrapped up a grueling non-conference slate at No. 9/10 Delaware on Saturday, became the first NEC team to produce a repeat Rookie of the Week honoree when Edward Robinson garnered the award for the second straight week. 

LIU held Sacred Heart to 13 points to tie the program’s best defensive effort, which was set in a 30-13 triumph over Central Connecticut on Oct. 23, 2021.

MERRIMACK, which was a perfect 5-for-5 in the red-zone on Saturday, put up a season-best 45 points in the Bay State battle victory against Stonehill.

SACRED HEART’s defense continues to be one of the strongest in the NEC, holding opponents to 22.8 points per game for the second-best mark in the circuit.

SAINT FRANCIS U looks to move to 2-1 in NEC play when it plays host to Wagner on Thursday in the NEC’s first-ever nationally televised linear game on CBS Sports Network.  

STONEHILL, which scored four touchdowns in the final quarter in an attempt at a comeback at Merrimack, put up a season-best 34 points in the defeat.

WAGNER returns to action from a bye week looking to go 3-0 in NEC play for the first time since 2007 when the Seahawks play at Saint Francis U on Thursday in front of a national audience on CBS Sports Network.


2023 NEC FOOTBALL WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS:

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sept. 4: Cole Doyle, Saint Francis U
Sept. 11: Jermaine Corbett, Stonehill
Sept. 18: Jermaine Corbett, Stonehill
Sept. 25: Steven Krajewski, Wagner
Oct. 2: Davon Wells, LIU
Oct. 9: Elijah Howard, Central Connecticut
Oct. 16: 

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sept. 4: Eric O'Neill, LIU
Sept. 11: Micah Brown, Stonehill
Sept. 18: Junior Wily, Wagner
Sept. 25: Junior Wily, Wagner
Oct. 2: Carter Glassmyer, Saint Francis U
Oct. 9: Sam Murphy, Stonehill
Oct. 16: 

SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sept. 4: Jack Barnum, Central Connecticut
Sept. 11: Perry Shelbred, Stonehill
Sept. 18: Ryan Liszner, Wagner
Sept. 25: Sam Renzi, Sacred Heart
Oct. 2: Brian Bruzdewicz, Duquesne
Oct. 9: Will Lynch, LIU
Oct. 16: 

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Sept. 4: Makhai Workman, Saint Francis U
Sept. 11: Trey Howe, Central Connecticut
Sept. 18: Nigel Henderson, Stonehill
Sept. 25: Jaylen Bonelli, Wagner
Oct. 2: Edward Robinson, Duquesne
Oct. 9: Edward Robinson, Duquesne
Oct. 16: