John Smith of Husson University in Bangor finished the 2017 season as the NCAA Division III football statistical champion in rushing yards per game.
The senior tailback and his offensive line averaged 186.8 yards per game and finished the year with 2,242 rushing yards. Smith earned three All-America awards: The American Football Coaches Association Division III Coaches’ All-America First Team Offense, the Associated Press Little All-American Division III First Team Offense.
The 2017 Gagliardi Trophy semifinalist was a All-Eastern Collegiate Football Conference first-team pick for the fourth consecutive year and was tabbed the ECFC Offensive Player of Year for the third straight season.
He was named the New England Football Writers Division II/III Player of the Year, the Noontime Sports Offensive Player of the Year and was chosen for the All-Eastern College Athletic Conference Division III First Team, the NEFW All-New England team for the fourth straight season, and the D3Football.com All-East First Team.
Smith’s 2,242 yards rank ninth on Division III’s single-season list and his 31 rushing touchdowns were second in the country. Smith ranked in the top five nationally in scoring (15.5 ppg, 3rd), points scored (186, 2nd) and all-purpose yards (195.42 ypg, 4th).
Husson receives commitments
The Husson field hockey team has received commitments from two more players for 2018.
Mikenzie Parker, a defender from Spruce Mountain in Jay, and Ryley Newcomb, a forward from Quabbin Regional High School in Massachusetts, will attend Husson in the fall.
Parker, a mainstay for the Spruce Mountain defense, will study occupational therapy. Newcomb, who missed her senior season with a knee injury, scored 22 goals and tallied 18 assists her first two seasons. She will study exercise science.
Three Eagles earn scholar honor
Husson has had three athletes selected as Zag Field Hockey/National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division III Scholars of Distinction.
Lauren Grocholl, Sadie Royer and Hannah Tucker were recognized for achieving a cumulative grade point average of 3.90 or higher through the first semester of the 2017-2018 academic year.
3 to join St. Joseph’s hall
Charlie Warren, Derek McIntosh and Father John Tokaz and the 1991-1992 women’s basketball team will be inducted into the Saint Joseph’s College Athletic Hall of Fame in September.
Warren (Class of 1988) is a two-time all-conference basketball honoree who ranks third in program history in games played (118), fifth in free throws made (387), eighth in field-goal percentage (.552), 12th in rebounds (637), and 17th in points (1,287).
McIntosh (2005), a native of Auburn, was an outstanding catcher for the Monks baseball team. In 116 career games, McIntosh hit .368 with 99 runs scored, 16 doubles, 17 home runs, 95 runs batted in and 10 stolen bases. He ranks fifth in career on-base percentage (.473) and eighth in batting average.
Father Tokaz, a native of Walpole, Mass., arrived at Saint Joseph’s in September of 1997 and quickly became entrenched in athletics, offering pregame prayers and being present on the bench for all of the Monks’ teams. He played a major role in changing the culture and image of the baseball program and established a series of team retreats.
Led by coach Mike McDevitt, the 1991-92 women’s basketball team went 23-8 (.742), won the Western Maine Athletic Conference Championship, and advanced to the NAIA National Tournament, where the Monks recorded the program’s first NAIA tourney win.
The team had set team records for games, field goals attempted (2,340), 3-pointers made (90) and attempted (316), and free throws attempted (744). The team featured six players — Jill Bourget (’94), Sharon Rines (’94), Sheri McCarthy (’93), Danielle Bouchard (’95), Neile Joler (’95) and Karen Rogers (’95) — who were later inducted into the hall of fame.