FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 13, 2013
DAKTRONICS RELEASE
SOUTH EASTON, Mass. – Nine Northeast-10 Conference student-athletes have received 2013 Daktronics All-Super Region 1 Football honors, it was announced last week. The Daktronics Super Region 1 Teams are voted upon by the region's athletics communications directors.
Assumption senior tight end Scott Simonson was named as a Daktronics Super Region I First Team All-Region selection.
From Merrimack College, senior quarterback Joe Clancy (pictured) and sophomore wide receiver Jere Brown were both named to the Daktronics All-Super Region 1 Second Team Offense.
From the University of New Haven, senior offensive lineman Chris Biondi received First Team Offense recognition, while teammates Mike DeCaro, Michael Flacco and Najae Brown received Second Team honors.
Stonehill College juniors Brian Harrington and Nate Robitaille both earned Daktronics All-Super Region 1 honors as well.
Simonson, earning First Team All-Region honors for the second straight season, was a Northeast-10 First Team All-Conference selection after leading the Hounds with 39 receptions for 604 yards and five touchdowns.
Already named to the Northeast-10 Offensive Player of the Year and a Harlon Hill Trophy Regional Finalist, Clancy became the first student-athlete in conference history to pass for over 4,000 yards in a single season. He led the conference and ranked second in the country in passing yards (4116) and passing yards per game (374.2), while leading the nation in passing touchdowns (48), completions (396) and completion percentage (64.4%). The Newburyport, Mass., native also was named the New England Football Writers Association Co-Offensive Player of the Year and was named to the NE-10 All-Conference First Team, as well.
Brown, who led the conference and the country with 17 receiving touchdowns, also was named to the Second Team Offense with Clancy. The sophomore enjoyed a breakout campaign with 86 receptions and 1,186 receiving yards, averaging 107.8 receiving yards per game.
Biondi led the Charger offensive line which helped to engineer the highest-scoring offense in Northeast-10 with 40.6 points per game and the second-most prolific attack in terms of yardage with 467.9 yards per contest. New Haven also ranked second in rushing with 209.7 yards on the ground per game.
DeCaro, named to the second team as a return specialist, ranked fifth in NCAA Division II and second in the Northeast-10 Conference in all-purpose yards with nearly 210 yards per game. He returned a kickoff 78 yards for a touchdown against LIU Post and took a punt 71 yards to the house against Bentley. The only player in the NE-10 to score a touchdown four different ways this season, DeCaro ranked 46th in Division II and fourth in the conference in scoring.
Also a Northeast-10 Conference All-Rookie Team honoree, Flacco claimed Second Team laurels at tight end in his first season with the Chargers. The sophomore led the Chargers with 591 receiving yards and nine touchdown catches while making 30 grabs overall.
Brown, named the NE-10 Rookie of Year and a First Team All-NE-10 selection at cornerback, led New Haven with 77 tackles and three interceptions this fall. He also had nine pass breakups in the secondary for a defense that ranked third in the conference with 24.8 points per game allowed.
Harrington was recently named the 2013 Joseph P. Zabilski Defensive Player of the Year, presented annually to the top college football players in New England for Divisions II and III by the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston, and was a First Team All-Northeast-10 selection. He is a Cliff Harris Award finalist for the Small College Defensive Player of the Year as well after posting a conference- and program-record 151 tackles this fall.
Robitaille becomes the first offensive player from Stonehill to ever receive All-Region honors. Robitaille has also been named to the New England Football Writers Division II/III All-New England team and was an All-NE-10 First Team pick this fall as well. He set program records with 1,229 receiving yards wand 91 and had 13 touchdown catches.
The Northeast-10 Conference is an association of 15 NCAA Division II colleges and universities located in New England and New York that is committed to supporting balanced academic and athletic opportunities for more than 6,000 student-athletes. Each year, 4,000 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 23 sports, making the NE-10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the Northeast-10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
