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NEC Offensive Player of the Week: Carson Haggard, Robert Morris
NEC Defensive Player of the Week: Ma'Hkai Wilson, Stonehill
NEC Special Teams Player of the Week: Ryan Liszner, Wagner
NEC Rookie of the Week: Davon Smith., Jr., Central Connecticut
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September 28 |
September 21 |
September 14 |
September 7 |
August 31 |
Preseason Poll Release |
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NEC/ATLANTIC TOMORROW'S OFFICE OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Carson Haggard, Robert Morris
Quarterback, Fifth-Year, 6-0, 195 lbs., Miami, FL/Gulliver Prep (Abilene Christian)
Week 6 Stats: 23-30 completions, 376 passing yards, 3 passing touchdowns, 0 interceptions, 1 rushing touchdown
Haggard continues to run the table in the NEC/Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office Offensive Player of the Week award category. Claiming the honor for the third-straight week, the Colonials’ quarterback, who has been on an absolute tear as of late, became the first player to score a three-peat of the league’s weekly offensive award since former NEC great and current NFL running back Julius Chestnut did so during the abbreviated 2020-21 season. On the heels of a career performance that featured 296 passing yards in a thrilling 33-31 win over Norfolk State, Haggard topped those numbers after he completed 23-of-30 passes for 376 yards in a heartbreaker at Morgan State on Saturday. In addition, the fifth-year signal caller, who did not throw a pick the entire game, accounted for each of the Colonials’ four touchdowns after he threw for three and added a four-yard rushing score in the 28-27 defeat. The Floridian tops the NEC charts in several categories, including passing yards (1,444), passing touchdowns (15), passing yards per game (240.7) and pass efficiency (156.2). In addition, he has been responsible for 18.0 points per game for the Colonials, an average that ranks sixth in the nation, while his 15 passing scores are eighth-most in the FCS.
NEC/ATLANTIC TOMORROW'S OFFICE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Ma’Hkai Wilson, Stonehill
Linebacker, Senior, 6-0, 225 lbs., Waterbury, CT/St. Thomas More
Week 6 Stats: 12 tackles (3 solo), 2.0 tackles-for-loss (10 yards), 1.0 sack (5 yards)
Wilson was a part of a Stonehill defensive effort that nearly silenced Sacred Heart and held the Pioneers to just seven points — nearly 13 below their season average — in a 21-point triumph on Saturday. The senior linebacker made 12 tackles, including three solo stops, while adding 2.0 tackles-for-loss and 1.0 sack. His lone sack of the afternoon came on a Sacred Heart 3rd and 6 at midfield that resulted in a loss of five yards and a punt for the Pioneers in the first quarter. This is Wilson’s first NEC/Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office Defensive Player of the Week award, and the second by a Skyhawk this season. He joins Mo Seide, who earned the recognition on Sept. 7.
NEC/ATLANTIC TOMORROW'S OFFICE SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Ryan Liszner, Wagner
Kicker, Senior, 6-4, 210 lbs., Clifton, NJ/Clifton
Week 6 Stats: 2-2 field goals (39, 38 yards), 167 kickoff yards, 3 kickoffs, 55.7 yards per kickoff, 2 touchbacks
Liszner handled both field goal and kickoff duties for Wagner in Saturday’s non-conference home tilt against Princeton. The senior drilled each of his two field goal attempts against the Tigers to improve his season conversion rate to .750 (3-for-4), a clip that is tied for third best in the league. Liszner put the Seahawks on the board midway through the opening quarter with a 39-yarder before he nailed a 38-yarder in the closing seconds of the first half. On kickoffs, the Garden State product averaged 55.7 yards per attempt with two touchbacks after he produced 167 yards on three attempts. Liszner, who previously earned NEC/Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office Special Teams Player of the Week distinction on Sept. 18, 2023, is the first Seahawk this season to receive the honor this season.
NEC/ATLANTIC TOMORROW'S OFFICE ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Davon Smith, Jr., Central Connecticut
Running Back, Sophomore, 6-0, 190 lbs., Baltimore, MD/Mervo
Week 6 Stats: 220 rushing yards, 13 carries, 2 rushing touchdowns
It’s an NEC/Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office Rookie of the Week three-peat for Smith. The sophomore running back put AIC’s defense on skates on Saturday when he torched the field for a career-high 220 rushing yards on 13 carries. In addition, Smith ran for two touchdowns, including an 85-yard carry — the longest by an NEC rusher this season — on the opening play of Central Connecticut’s eighth drive of the game at the 8:13 mark of the third quarter. His second score of the game, an explosive 53-yard touchdown rush, came just over five minutes later. Behind Smith’s performance, which marked the league’s first 200-plus-rushing yard effort of the season, the Blue Devils cruised to a commanding 51-14 victory to extend their home winning streak to five contests. Smith enters the week as the NEC’s rushing leader with 426 total yards and 85.2 rushing yards per game. With his latest honor, a Blue Devil has now taken home the league’s top rookie award in five of seven weeks this season.
#NECFB PRIME PERFORMERS (Week Six)
Brett Griffis, CCSU (QB, 5th-Yr)
Griffis torched AIC’s defense to the tune of 227 passing yards, three touchdown throws and a pair of rushing scores in Central Connecticut’s 51-14 home win on Saturday. The fifth-year quarterback has had a hand in 12 of the Blue Devils’ 17 touchdowns this season.
Davon Smith, Jr., CCSU (RB, So)
Smith put AIC on skates on Saturday when he ran for a career-best 220 yards, marking the NEC’s first 200-plus rushing yard game this season. The sophomore running back added a pair of touchdowns to that stellar performance, including an 85-yard run on the opening play of Central Connecticut’s eighth drive of the afternoon. Smith also took home NEC/Atlantic Tomorow's Office Rookie of the Week distinction.
Luke Miller, DUQ (LB, Sr)
The Dukes’ leading tackler with 33 total and 6.6 per contest turned in his second game with double-digit tackles this season when he posted a game-high 10 stops in Duquesne’s league opener against LIU on Saturday. Seven of the senior linebacker’s tackles were marked as solo stops.
Adrian Ramirez, DUQ (DL, Sr)
Tying a career high in tackles with five, Ramirez posted a career-best 2.0 sacks to pace a Duquesne defense that tallied 5.0 sacks and 7.0 tackles-for-loss in Saturday’s NEC debut against LIU. He pushed the Sharks back a total of 16 yards on the afternoon.
Rafael Fasolino, LIU (LB, R-Sr)
Fasolino led an LIU defense that limited Duquesne to just 14 points with nine tackles, including four solo stops. The redshirt senior linebacker added 1.5 tackles-for-loss and a forced fumble that resulted in a first-quarter Sharks’ field goal on the ensuing drive.
Luca Stanzani, LIU (QB, Gr)
Stanzani calculated a 76.9 completion percentage to propel the Sharks to a 17-14 road win at Duquesne on Saturday. Going 10-of-13 for 156 yards through the air and a passing touchdown that slashed LIU’s deficit to four before the end of the first half, the graduate student contributed 64 passing yards and 13 rushing yards to his team’s game-clinching six-yard, 88-yard touchdown drive in the final quarter.
Trey Watkins, LIU (DB, Gr)
Watkins came away with an interception on the Sharks’ own 19-yard line with 42 seconds left to play to preserve LIU’s 17-14 lead and seal the win. The graduate defensive back contributed five tackles to help lead the Sharks to the program’s first-ever 2-0 start in conference play.
Amanuel Dickson, RMU (LB, Jr)
Dickson led Robert Morris with nine total tackles, including a game-high eight solo stop, in a heartbreaking defeat at Morgan State on Saturday. Averaging 10.0 stops over his past two outings, the junior linebacker added 0.5 tackles-for-loss for three yards and a quarterback hurry.
Carson Haggard, RMU (QB, 5th-Yr)
Haggard had another career performance against Morgan State, completing 23-of-30 passes while throwing for a personal-best 376 yards and three touchdowns with zero picks in Robert Morris’ one-point defeat at Morgan State on Saturday. The fifth-year signal caller added a four-yard rushing score to account for each of the four Colonials’ touchdowns on the afternoon. Haggard was also pegged the NEC/Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office Offensive Player of the Week.
Trevon Baxter, STO (DB, So)
On a Sacred Heart 1st and 8 in the red zone, Baxter forced a key fumble on the Skyhawks’ own three-yard line, recovered the ball and returned 98-yards for a touchdown to boost his team’s lead to 28-0 late in the third quarter. In addition to the key defensive stop that prevented a potential Pioneers’ score, the sophomore defensive back made four tackles and had a quarterback hurry.
Aidan Garrett, STO (RB, So)
Garrett became the first Skyhawk this season to eclipse the century mark in rushing yards after he ran for 106 yards on 16 carries at Sacred Heart. The sophomore running back helped lead Stonehill to a commanding 28-7 road win at the CAA foe.
Ma’Hkai Wilson, STO (LB, Sr)
Wilson stuffed the stat sheet in a solid defensive outing that saw Stonehill limit Sacred Heart to just seven points on Saturday. The senior linebacker recorded a season-best 12 tackles while adding 2.0 tackles-for-loss and 1.0 sack. Wilson was also named the NEC/Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office Defensive Player of the Week.
#NECFB SLATE ROUTES (AROUND THE LEAGUE IN 9 SENTENCES):
CENTRAL CONNECTICUT: Central Connecticut’s 52-14 defeat of AIC on Saturday marked the Blue Devils’ fifth-straight win on Arute Field, a rally that dates back to a 10-7 win over LIU on Nov. 1, 2025.
CHICAGO STATE: Chicago State senior running back Chris Edmonds enters Week 7 as the NEC’s leader in touchdowns with seven, the 19th-most in the nation.
DUQUESNE: For the first time since 2023, Duquesne came up on the wrong end of a conference opener as LIU ended the Dukes’ four-year winning streak with Saturday’s 17-14 triumph.
LIU: Opening league play with a win for the first time since 2020-21 with last week’s triumph against Mercyhurst, LIU is off to a 2-0 start against NEC competitors for the first time in program history.
MERCYHURST: A rematch of last year’s regular-season finale, which saw CCSU emerge as regular season champs in a winner-take-all matchup in New Britain, is on the docket for the Lakers on Saturday.
NEW HAVEN: New Haven, which ranks second in the NEC with 12 sacks this season, has pushed opponents back a total of 97 yards with those stops, a mark that leads the circuit.
ROBERT MORRIS: Having a hand in each of the Colonials’ last eight offensive scores vs. Norfolk State & Morgan State, quarterback Carson Haggard has accounted for 18.0 ppg, the sixth-best average in the FCS.
STONEHILL: Stonehill held a Sacred Heart squad that entered the week averaging 19.8 points per game through five games to just seven points in Saturday’s 21-point triumph vs. the CAA squad.
WAGNER: Wagner senior defensive back Shamar Williams enters Week 7 ranked third in the nation this season in fumble recoveries with two.
#NECFB EXTRA POINTS: