Buzzards Bay, Mass. --  Four members of the Massachusetts Maritime football team were recognized for their respective performances during the recently completed season with selection to the 2015 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference all-conference squad announced by the league office earlier today.

Sophomore running back Kenny Pierce (Beverly, Mass./Beverly) earned first-team all-MASCAC honors at running back, as he ranked second in the conference with 1,211 rushing yards while scoring a school-record 15 rushing touchdowns (16 overall).  Pierce, who ranks among the top 40 NCAA Division III national leaders in five different categories, eclipsed the 200-yard mark three times during the course of the year, including a career-best 240 yard performance in a 48-27 victory over Plymouth State on November 7^th.  Kenny was named as the MASCAC Offensive Player of the Week on September 28^th after rushing for 202 yards and scoring a school-record tying four touchdowns in a 35-31 come-from-behind victory at Worcester State, as he also broke the 200 yard mark in the 46-41 Admiral’s Cup setback at Maine Maritime on September 19^th.

Senior quarterback Brad Skeffington (Salem, Mass./Salem) collected second team all-MASCAC accolades at signal caller after a record-setting season of his own for Massachusetts Maritime.  Skeffington shattered the school record for total offense in a campaign with 2,980 yards, as he tied the Buccaneer mark for touchdown passes in a season (18) that was set originally by John Trudel a year ago while accounting for 31 total scores (13 rushing).  Brad also set the school single-game mark of five touchdown passes while accounting for six total scores en route to earning MASCAC Offensive Player of the Year honors after a season-opening 48-13 Chowder Bowl triumph over SUNY-Maritime on September 11^th, as he ranks 24^th nationally in Division III play in total offense per game and cracked the 1,000 yard rushing mark (1,023) during his final collegiate campaign.

Two Buccaneer defensive stalwarts were also named as second-team all-MASCAC honorees for their performances this fall, as senior lineman Brendan Smith (Dartmouth, Mass./Dartmouth) and junior linebacker Marshall McCarthy (Duxbury, Mass./Duxbury) earned recognition from the conference’s coaches.  Smith recorded a team-best five sacks as part of 30 overall tackles (20 solo) for Massachusetts Maritime, as his 13 tackles for losses of 39 yards ranked only behind McCarthy’s total of 15 stops for 47 yards.  Brendan also returned a blocked punt for a touchdown in a 35-34 come-from-behind win over UMass Dartmouth on October 24^th, and he added a pair of quarterback hurries, a pass break-up and a forced fumble during the year.

McCarthy ranked third in the MASCAC with 100 total tackles, including 71 solo stops and four sacks for losses of 18 yards.  He registered a career-high 14 total stops (12 solo) to go with an interception, 4 ½ tackles for losses of 15 yards, two sacks and a pair of quarterback hurries to earn MASCAC Defensive Player of the Week honors and a spot on the D3football.com National Team of the Week for his efforts in the November 7^th Plymouth State victory, and Marshall also led the team with five quarterback hurries while also defending five passes from his outside linebacker position.

Massachusetts Maritime recorded four overall victories during the season under the guidance of 11^th-year Head Coach Jeremy Cameron, as the Buccaneers ranked eighth nationally in Division III in rushing offense (291.2 yards per game) and set the school single-season total offense mark with 5,009 to rank 17^th in that category.  Over the last three years alone, Cameron has mentored 11 all-conference performers, an all-New England and all-region selection, a pair of national Capital One Academic All-Americas as selected by CoSIDA and a semifinalist for the National Football Foundation’s prestigious William V. Campbell Trophy that is considered to be the “Academic Heisman”.