Brian Dewey And Ryan Sylvia Honored
SPRINGFIELD, Mass., Dec. 21, 2003 – Springfield College’s
Brian Dewey was named to the D3Football.com All-America First Team and the Don Hansen’s Football Gazette Division III All-America Third Team, announced today.
Ryan Sylvia was chosen as the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Football Northeast Player of the Year. Sylvia led a group of seven SC players, including Dewey, that were named to the ECAC All-Star team.
After spending his first two seasons as a reserve tight end,
Dewey, a native of
Victory Mills, N.Y., moved to right tackle in ’03 and started all 11 games. He was a major reason why the Pride led Division III in rushing (398.5 ypg) and ranked third in scoring (42.4 ppg). Dewey was also named to the All-Freedom Football Conference (FFC) First Team, the New England Football Writers’ Division II-III All-Star team and the Football Gazette All-East Region First Team. He is the third SC offensive lineman to earn All-America honors in the last four seasons, joining
Matt Sallila (2nd team, 2000) and
Andrew MacFadyen (3rd team, 2002).
Sylvia, a quarterback from
Marion, Mass., has earned numerous accolades for his record-setting 2003 campaign, including the FFC Offensive Player-of-the-Year Award, and New England Football Writer’s Division II-III All-Star and All-East region second-team honors. He set an NCAA Division III record for most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback (20). Sylvia was the FFC’s top scorer (10.9 points-per-game) and finished fourth in the conference in rushing (102.0 yards-per-game). He also threw for 386 yards and seven scores, and rushed for 100 yards on seven occasions this season. Sylvia is third all-time at SC with 34 rushing touchdowns and fourth with 204 points. He is the second SC player to earn ECAC Player-of-the-Year honors along with
Kevin Cahill, who won the award in 2000. Sylvia will be recognized at the Annual Eastern College Football Awards Banquet at the Meadowlands on February 3.
Sylvia and Dewey, along with teammates
Jesse Baker,
Jason MacDonald and
Ryan Santo, are first-team ECAC All-Stars.
Tim Lutgens and
Justin Fletcher are second-team all-stars.
Baker, from
Rutland, Vt., made the All-FFC first team and the conference’s all-academic team this season, and was an ECAC Second-Team All-Star in 2001. In ’03, he registered a team-leading 70 tackles to go along with four interceptions, five tackles-for-loss (15 yards) and two sacks. Baker, a two-time team captain, was the FFC Defensive Player of the Week after tying a school record with three interceptions in a 22-14 win at Montclair State (Sept. 13). Baker ranks among the all-time leaders at SC in several categories, including tackles (2nd/301) and tackles-for-loss (5th/22.5).
MacDonald, a defensive end from
Brewster, Mass., anchored an SC defense that led the FFC in total defense (273.4 ypg, 28th nationally) and rushing defense (102.1 ypg, 18th nationally). This team captain topped the Pride in tackles-for-loss (9.5 for 23 yards) and finished fourth in tackles (43). He also had three sacks and two fumble recoveries. MacDonald was also an All-FFC first-team choice and an All-East region first-team honoree this season.
Fletcher, a junior linebacker from
Orwell, Vt., is a two-time first-team All-FFC selection and an All-East region second-team choice. He was second on SC in tackles (59) to go along with five tackles-for-loss (26 yards), three sacks and three pass break-ups. Fletcher was chosen the FFC Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 26 after recording a game-high 11 tackles in a 56-10 over WPI, and was also voted to the 2003 Academic All-District One College Division Football Team and to the FFC All-Academic squad.
Lutgens, a junior fullback who is from
Greenwich, N.Y., was the Pride’s top rusher, piling up 1,307 yards and 14 touchdowns. He ranked second in the conference in rushing (118.1 ypg), scoring (7.6 pgg) and touchdowns (14). Lutgens, who broke the 100-yard rushing mark seven times this season, was also a first-team All-FFC selection and a second-team all-region pick.
Santo, who is from
Warwick, R.I., was a first-team All-FFC choice for the first time in his career. This team captain bounced back for a big ’03 season after missing the 2002 campaign after suffering an injury in the season-opener. He led the FFC in interceptions (0.6 per game, five total) and tied for the most passes defended (11). Santo also racked up 48 tackles, third on the Pride, and recovered two fumbles. He ranks 10th on SC’s all-time list with 10 career interceptions.
The ’03 Pride enjoyed the first 10-0 regular season in 111 years of SC football and earned the No. 1 seed in the East in the NCAA Division III Tournament. The Pride finished with a No. 6 ranking in the final American Football Coaches Association Division III Regular-Season National Poll. SC dropped a 40-34 decision to RPI in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to finish 10-1.
Michael C. “Mike” DeLong ’74 enters his 32nd season as a head football coach in the fall of 2013. He enters his 30th year at Springfield College alone. For the past 28 years, he has been the head coach at Springfield, his alma mater. Mike had also been the head coach at Maine Maritime in Castine, Maine in 1979 and 1980. Read more.
