Six Earn All-Region Football Honors
SPRINGFIELD, Mass., Dec. 8, 2003 – Senior captain
Jason MacDonald was one of six Springfield College players selected to the 2003 Football Gazette Division III All-East Region Team.
MacDonald, along with teammates
Tim Lutgens and
Brian Dewey, were first-team choices.
Ryan Sylvia,
Justin Fletcher and
Chris Teel made the all-region second team.
MacDonald, a defensive end from
Brewster, Mass., anchored an SC defense that led the Freedom Football Conference (FFC) in total defense (273.4 ypg, 28th nationally) and rushing defense (102.1 ypg, 18th nationally). This team captain and All-FFC first-team choice 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.
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.
Dewey, a right tackle from
Victory Mills, N.Y., was an All-FFC first-team selection and a New England Football Writers’ Division II-III All Star. He was a major reason why the Pride led Division III in rushing (398.5 ypg) and ranked third in scoring (42.4 ppg). After spending his first two seasons as a reserve tight end, he moved to right tackle in ’03 and started all 11 games.
Sylvia, a junior quarterback from
Marion, Mass., earned the FFC Offensive Player-of-the-Year Award after a record-setting 2003 campaign. He set an NCAA Division III record for most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback (20). Sylvia was the FFC’s top scorer (10.9 ppg, 10th nationally) 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, who is third all-time at SC with 34 rushing touchdowns and fourth with 204 points, was also a New England Football Writers’ Division II-III All Star.
Fletcher, a junior linebacker from
Orwell, Vt., is a two-time first-team All-FFC honoree. 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.
Teel, a senior cornerback from
Bergenfield, N.J., earned all-conference first-team accolades in 2003. He was tied for first in the FFC in passes defended with 11 and ranked fifth on the Pride in tackles (37). Teel blocked two field goals in the Pride’s 22-14 win at Montclair State (Sept. 13).
The ’03 Pride was the first team in SC history to finish the regular season with a 10-0 record. SC, which was ranked No. 6 nationally in Division III in the final American Football Coaches Association regular-season poll, lost to RPI, 40-34, in the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament.
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Head Coach Mike DeLong
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.
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Contact Head Coach Mike Delong
E-Mail | Phone: 413.748.3156
