Phillips Receives NEFW Division II/III Gold Helmet Award
Buzzards Bay, Mass. -- Massachusetts Maritime senior running back Richie Phillips is the recipient of this week’s Division II-III Gold Helmet Award presented by the New England Football Writers and the Jack Grinold Eastern Massachusetts Chapter of the National Football Foundation. Phillips received the prestigious honor at the weekly New England Football Writers Luncheon that was held earlier this afternoon at Harvard University’s Dillon Field House in Cambridge, Mass.
A native of Onset, Mass. and a graduate of Old Rochester Regional High School, Phillips rushed for a career-high 146 yards on 25 carries and scored a pair of touchdowns on a three-yard run and a 31-yard reception in the Buccaneers’ 34-25 victory over rival Maine Maritime in the 45th Annual Admiral’s Cup played last Saturday afternoon at Ritchie Field in Castine, Maine. He becomes the sixth player in Massachusetts Maritime history to earn a Gold Helmet, joining Jim O’Neill (1980), Kevin Piecewicz (1992 and 1993), David Burrill (2000), Nathan Sherr (2009) and Mike Stanton (2012).
Phillips’ career-best effort helped the Buccaneers reclaim the Admiral’s Cup from the rival Mariners for the first time since 2014, as Massachusetts Maritime has now won five of the last seven meetings in the rivalry dating back to 2011 and holds a 26-19 advantage in the all-time Admiral’s Cup series between the two schools.
Through two contests on the young season, Phillips has amassed 196 rushing yards on 48 carries (4.1 yard average) and hauled in a pair of touchdown receptions while accounting for five visits to the end zone overall. Richie, who ranked among the national leaders in scoring in NCAA Division III play with 12 touchdowns during the 2016 campaign, is nearly halfway to that mark after adding three scores for the second straight season in a 37-32 opening game setback to SUNY-Maritime in Chowder Bowl X on September 8th, and for his career the two-time Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week has rushed for 1,430 yards in 26 games with 19 overall touchdowns, including 15 on the ground.
Massachusetts Maritime, which stands at 1-1 overall under 13th year Head Coach Jeremy Cameron, hits the road on Saturday afternoon to open MASCAC action by heading to Framingham, Mass. to square off with Framingham State in the 11th Kelley Cup. Kickoff at Bowditch Field is set for Noon EDT.