Maine's Sterling Sheffield
CAA Football Weekly Awards - Sept. 3
Rob Washburn
CAA FOOTBALL WEEKLY RELEASE (pdf)
RICHMOND, Va. (September 3, 2018) – CAA Football has announced its weekly award winners for Week 1 of the 2018 season. Earning honors were Villanova senior quarterback Zach Bednarczyk, Rhode Island senior linebacker Justin Hogan, Maine senior linebacker Sterling Sheffield, Towson junior kicker Aidan O’Neill and UAlbany freshman wide receiver Dev Holmes.
CAA Football Offensive Player of the Week
Zach Bednarczyk, Sr., QB, Villanova (Wallington, N.J./DePaul Catholic)
Bednarczyk completed 29-of-40 passes for 254 yards and three touchdowns as Villanova knocked off Temple, 19-17, last Saturday. Bednarczyk tossed a pair of first-quarter TD passes to give the Wildcats an early lead and then hit Jarrett McClenton with a game-winning 30-yard TD strike on a 4
th-and-9 play with 7:17 remaining. It was Villanova’s fourth win over an FBS opponent.
CAA Football Co-Defensive Player of the Week
Justin Hogan, Sr., LB, Rhode Island (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Hills)
Hogan recorded six tackles and was involved in two key second-half turnovers as Rhode Island edged No. 15 Delaware, 21-19, last Thursday. The Rams’ linebacker recovered a fumble that ended a UD drive at the URI 24-yard line in the third quarter and then forced a Blue Hens’ fumble with 4:41 to go in the game that helped seal the win.
CAA Football Co-Defensive Player of the Week
Sterling Sheffield, Sr., LB, Maine (Mullica Hill, N.J./Clearview Region)
Sheffield spearheaded a dominant defensive performance by Maine in its 35-7 triumph over No. 7 New Hampshire last Thursday. The linebacker recorded four total tackles, three tackles for loss, two sacks and a pass breakup as the Black Bears held the Wildcats to just 108 total yards, including -15 on the ground. Maine finished the game with 12 tackles for loss and six sacks.
CAA Football Special Teams Player of the Week
Aidan O’Neill, Jr., PK, Towson (New Paltz, N.Y./New Paltz)
O’Neill was a perfect 4-for-4 on field goals and 2-for-2 on extra points in Towson’s 36-10 victory at Morgan State in the Battle for Greater Baltimore. The junior connected on kicks of 39, 38, 36 and 19 yards and became the Tigers’ career leader in field goals made with 35 just one game into his junior campaign.
CAA Football Rookie of the Week
Dev Holmes, Fr., WR, UAlbany (Troy, N.Y./Troy)
Holmes recorded the 7
th-highest receiving yardage total in UAlbany history in his collegiate debut. The freshman wide receiver caught nine passes for 148 yards and a touchdown in the Great Danes’ 33-7 setback at ACC member Pitt. Holmes made a 9-yard scoring grab late in the first quarter.