MANSFIELD, Mass. - Head coach
Joe Adam of the Saint Anselm College football team has been named the Northeast-10 Conference's Coach of the Year, the league announced on Thursday afternoon. In addition, 10 Hawks student-athletes were selected to All-Conference rosters, the most since 2019.
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COACH OF THE YEAR
Adam receives the honor for the first time in his eight-year tenure at Saint Anselm. It also marks the second time in program history that the Hawks have received the conference's Coach of the Year award.
Adam has led the program to new heights over the past couple of seasons, as the Hawks have recorded back-to-back winning campaigns for the first time in modern-day program history. Finishing with 6-4 records each of the last two falls, Saint Anselm also made program history in 2023 by finishing with a 5-2 record and a second place finish in the NE10 standings, which were both program bests.
His recent success with the Hawks is remarkable considering the team's struggles just a few years ago, recording just a single win in each of the 2017 and 2018 campaigns. Saint Anselm is now a contender in the highly-competitive NE10 conference and has shown that they can compete with the league's very best, highlighted by wins over Assumption University, Bentley University, and the University of New Haven this season alone, another program-first.
Adam has additionally led a complete overhaul of the Saint Anselm defense, a unit that currently ranks in the top 10 in the nation in several statistical categories. The Hawks concluded the 2023 regular season ranked third in all of NCAA Division II in fumbles recovered (13), sixth in first downs allowed (136), 10th in blocked kicks (six), 10th in opposing third-down conversion percentage (26.9%), and 11th in blocked punts (three). The stout Saint Anselm defense allowed just 142.4 passing yards per game, the seventh-best figure in the country.
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DEFENSE
Fifth-years
Taylor Pawelkoski (Bradenton, Fla.) and
Max Tempchin (Silver Spring, Md.) were the squad's only two First Team honorees, both on the defensive side of the ball.
Pawelkoski, a Second Team selection a year ago, ended the 2023 season as the team's leading tackler with 59.0 total tackles, a number that ranks him at 12th in the league. The linebacker also finished the season with three sacks, which was tied for third-most on the team, to go along with a forced fumble. Pawelkoski finished his career by earning the league's Defensive Player of the Week honor following the last game of the season, a 24-17 win over Franklin Pierce, where he posted a game-high 11 total tackles and two sacks.
Tempchin earns All-Conference honors for the first time in his career. The defensive lineman ended his final season ranking in the top 10 in the league with four sacks. The one-time NE10 Defensive Player of the Week was also a team leader in several defensive categories, ranking second in both sacks (4.0) and tackles for loss (8.0) and was fourth with 38.0 total tackles. The Maryland native forced three fumbles, tied for third most in the NE10, and recovered two, which was tied for the league lead.
Fifth-year
Ryan Raybuck (Flower Mound, Texas), senior
Devin Wood (Merrimack, N.H.), and junior
Austin Spille (Austin, Texas) each represented Saint Anselm on the Second Team for defense.
Raybuck, a former All-Rookie selection in 2019, had a monster final year in the Hawks secondary. The Texas native led the conference in pass breakups with 12. He also led the team with two interceptions and forced a fumble to go along with 23Â total tackles.
Spille, a first-time All-Conference honoree, was a key contributor in stopping the run, posting 36 total tackles including six for a combined loss of 30 yards. The defensive lineman led the team with six quarterback hurries and his three sacks was tied for third-best. In addition, Spille forced three fumbles, which was tied with Tempchin for third-most in the NE10.
Wood, primarily a defensive back, earned a spot as the Second Team's punter. After stepping into the role due to injuries within the team, Wood became a valuable member of the special teams unit. He punted 39 times for an average of 38.92 yards, a number that was second-best in the conference. The Granite State native landed 11 of those punts inside the 20 yard line, which was tied for second-most in the NE10.
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OFFENSE
Saint Anselm had three members selected to the NE10 Second Team for offense, including fifth-year
Anthony Brown (Belton, Texas), junior
Carson Goda (Bradenton, Fla.), and sophomoreÂ
Kevin Coulther (Vernon, N.J.).
Brown received NE10 All-Conference recognition for the fourth time in his decorated career. Only playing on offense in three games this season due to injury, Brown made his presence felt in a big way. The wideout made three catches for 99 yards in his final season, with two of those receptions being touchdowns against Bentley on Oct. 17. Brown also recorded six rushing attempts for 20 yards, producing two direct-snap rushing scores at New Haven along with a season-long 63 yard reception to help seal the 13-9 upset win over the Chargers.
Coulther, an offensive lineman, was the most consistent player in the trenches for the Hawks this season. Starting every game and playing every snap, the former All-Rookie selection was a key contributor in both the run game and pass protection throughout his sophomore season.
Goda had a standout junior year for Saint Anselm, playing in all 10 games. The team's far-and-away leading receiver, Goda ranked second in the NE10 in receptions (48), receiving yards (566), and receiving yards per game (56.6). His career-high of five receiving touchdowns this season was tied for fourth-most in the league. The Sunshine State native posted a season-high 128 receiving yards against Pace University on Oct. 28 and produced his longest catch of the year of 36 yards at Southern Connecticut State University on Sept. 30. It is the second consecutive season Goda has been named to the league's Second Team. He was also an All-Rookie selection in 2021.
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ALL-ROOKIE
Freshmen
Drew Forkner (Plano, Texas) and
Jon Hosney (Killingworth, Conn.) were the pair of Hawks named to the conference's All-Rookie team. It marks the fifth season in a row that Saint Anselm has had at least one player selected to the first-year squad.Â
Forkner stepped into the starting quarterback position just four games into his rookie season and excelled across seven total games played. The first-year gunslinger made his collegiate debut against Tiffin University on Sept. 9 and later helped the team pick up their first home victory of the 2023 season over American International College. Forkner finished the season with 65 completions (65-114) for a total of 661 passing yards, a figure that ranked in the top 10 in the conference. He also led the team with seven passing touchdowns (fifth-most in the NE10) and threw just one interception. The two-time NE10 Rookie of the Week honoree also posted 32 rushing yards on 48 attempts, with his longest rush coming at Southern Connecticut State for 26 yards.
Hosney also had an impressive performance during his first season for the Hawks across six appearances. The freshman defensive back recorded 18 total tackles and earned his first collegiate forced fumble in his debut game on Sept. 16 against American International. Hosney ended the season with two pass breakups to his credit and was also a key contributor on special teams.
In total, the 10 All-Conference selections for Saint Anselm was tied with Assumption for third-most in the league.
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