PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Following its first home shutout in more than two years, Plymouth State University jumped two spots to No. 5 in this week's Grinold Chapter New England Division III Football Coaches Poll, released Tuesday.
The Panthers earned 61 points to climb two places in the rankings. Endicott remained atop the poll with 11 first-place votes and 119 points, while Springfield secured the final first-place vote to move into second with 103 points. Curry (84 points) and Wesleyan (78 points) sit third and fourth, just ahead of PSU.
Senior
Mitchell Cripps (Dracut, Mass.) celebrated
Senior Day with a 29-yard touchdown reception early in the first quarter to set the tone for the Panthers' 27-0 win over Fitchburg State. Junior
Reece Davis (Livermore, Maine) and senior
Shawn Harrington (South Weymouth, Mass.) extended the margin with three-yard touchdown runs in the second quarter, and freshman
Jayden Graham (Rutland, Vt.) capped the scoring with an eight-yard run in the fourth.
Plymouth State's win, coupled with Anna Maria's overtime loss at Bridgewater State, put the Panthers back in sole possession of first place in the MASCAC standings.
Plymouth State (8-1, 7-1 MASCAC) can secure the MASCAC title with a win at UMass Dartmouth on Saturday (Nov. 15).
The New England Division III Football Poll is presented by the Jack Grinold/Eastern Massachusetts Chapter of the National Football Foundation, which also serves as the title sponsor of the weekly Gold Helmet Awards presented by the New England Football Writers Association throughout the season.
A panel representing four New England Division III playing conferences serves as the voters in this year's poll. Rankings will be released each week through November 18th. For more information on the Grinold Chapter of the National Football Foundation, visit
www.grinoldchapter.com.
GRINOLD CHAPTER NEW ENGLAND DIVISION III FOOTBALL POLL – Week #8
| Rank |
School (FPV) |
Record |
Points |
Previous Rank |
| 1. |
Endicott (11) |
8-1 |
119 |
1 |
| 2. |
Springfield (1) |
7-2 |
103 |
4 |
| 3. |
Curry |
8-1 |
84 |
6 |
| 4. |
Wesleyan |
7-2 |
78 |
8 |
| 5. |
Plymouth State |
8-1 |
61 |
7 |
| 6. |
Coast Guard |
7-2 |
60 |
5 |
| 7. |
Univ. of New England |
7-2 |
56 |
3 |
| 8. |
Trinity |
7-2 |
55 |
2 |
| 9. |
Anna Maria |
6-3 |
17 |
9 |
| 10. |
Colby |
6-3 |
14 |
NR |
|
|
|
|
|
| Receiving votes: Framingham State (12), Bridgewater State (1) |
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