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Photo by: Kelly Steere
Six Awards Handed Out at Annual Team Banquet
3/5/2018 4:47:00 PM | Football
DURHAM, N.H. – The University of New Hampshire football program held its annual team banquet Sunday at Lundholm Gymnasium to celebrate a 2017 season that saw the Wildcats extend the nation's longest streak of consecutive NCAA playoff appearances to 14 years and advance to the quarterfinals.
Senior captain D'Andre Drummond-Mayrie (Lawrence, Mass.) was bestowed the Bill Bowes Coaches Award. Drummond-Mayrie started all 14 games with a split of six at whip safety and eight at free safety. He ranked fifth on the team in total tackles with 61 (40-21-61) with six tackles-for-loss, including two sacks. His other stats included two pass breakups and a fumble recovery.
Senior punter/kicker Max Pedinoff (Newtown, Pa.) received the Bob Demers 12th Man Award. Pedinoff was UNH's primary punter and also split time as the kicker for field goals and PATs. He averaged 39.5 yards per punt on 69 boots with 30 fair catches, 21 inside the 20 and four punts of 50-plus yards. Offensively, he made 4 of 8 field goal attempts and was 15-for-16 on PAT kicks for a total of 27 points.
The Jack French Unsung Hero Award was presented to both Will McInerny (Bedford, N.H.) and Rick Holt (Portsmouth, N.H.). McInerny started all 14 games on the offensive line; he was the starting right tackle the first 12 games of the season, then, because of injuries to teammates, moved to left tackle in the NCAA second round at Central Arkansas and right guard for the NCAA quarterfinal at South Dakota State. Holt started all 14 games at defensive tackle and ranked second on the squad in tackles with 74 (45-29-74). He had a team-high nine sacks and ranked third in tackles-for-loss (12). Holt's other stats included three pass breakups, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery. He was voted to the All-New England Division I Football Team and CAA Football Second Team Defense.
Senior captain Jake Kennedy (Amherst, N.H.) was named recipient of the Bo Dickson Spirit Award. Kennedy anchored the offensive line as the starting center all 14 games. He was named to the All-New England Division I Football Team and CAAA Football Second Team Offense.
Senior safety Nick Marino (Hudson, N.H.) received two awards – the Buck Buchanan Distinguished Service Award and the Eugene K. Auerbach Student-Athlete Award. Marino earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering, graduating summa cum laude (3.86 GPA) in December 2016. The University Honors Program Presidential Scholar has compiled a 4.00 GPA as a grad student. The three-time member of the CAA Academic All-Conference Team and CAA Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll was inducted into Chi Alpha Sigma, the National College Athlete Honors Society, and he is co-president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Marino was named to the 2017 CoSIDA Academic All-America Team.
In addition to those six seniors, classmates Marquis Carr (Naples, Fla.), Nick Derocher (Northwood, N.H.), Jerickson Fedrick (Salem, N.H.), Michael Hershman (Mansfield, Mass.), Geno Miller (Fort Washington, Md.), Cody Rothwell (Merrimac, Mass.), Morgan Ellman (Scotch Plains, N.J.), Donald Goodrich (York, Maine), Odaine Franklyn (White Plains, N.Y.) and Matt Torrey (Cheshire, Conn.) were recognized for their contributions to the program.
Wildcat Stadium, the second-year home of the UNH football team, saw a 13-percent attendance increase in 2017, highlighted by the all-time largest crowd for a home opener (15,854) and largest on-campus crowd (22,135) in school history. The Wildcats averaged 12,751 fans per home game (regular season), up from the previous high of 11,108 in 2016. The overall attendance of 63,756 for five home dates eclipsed the regular-season attendance of 55,542 in 2016.
2017 UNH Football Team Awards
Bill Bowes Coaches Award: D'Andre Drummond-Mayrie
Bob Demers 12th Man Award: Max Pedinoff
Jack French Unsung Hero Award: Will McInerny and Rick Holt
Bo Dickson Spirit Award: Jake Kennedy
Buck Buchanan Distinguished Service Award: Nick Marino
Eugene K. Auerbach Student-Athlete Award: Nick Marino
2017 Game Balls
UNH 24, Maine 23 – Aug. 31 at Wildcat Stadium
Morgan Ellman, K
*2 PATs; PAT with 13:41 remaining proved to be the game-winning point
UNH 22, Georgia Southern 12 – Sept. 9 at Legion Field (Birmingham, Ala.)
D'Andre Drummond-Mayrie, S
*Six tackles (4-2-6) with one sack
UNH 28, Rhode Island 14 – Sept. 23 at Wildcat Stadium
Trevor Knight, QB
*completed 23-34 passes for 420 yards and three TDs for a 194.65 passer rating
UNH 45, Bryant 17 – Sept. 30 at Wildcat Stadium
Geno Miller, S
*Three tackles (2-1-3)
UNH 40, Towson 17 – Oct. 21 at Wildcat Stadium
Will McInerny, OL
*Led offense to 508 total yards (299 rush, 209 pass) with 25 first downs
UNH 35, William & Mary 16 – Nov. 4 at Zable Stadium
Donald Goodrich, RB
*Four rushes for 17 yards and a four-yard TD catch that gave UNH a 14-0 lead
UNH 16, Elon 6 – Nov. 11 at Wildcat Stadium
Jake Kennedy, OL
*Led offense to 336 total yards (65 rush, 271 pass) and 20 first downs
UNH 14, Central Connecticut State 0 – Nov. 25 at Wildcat Stadium
Max Pedinoff, P/K
* 1-for-1 on PATs; 42.0 yards per punt with two inside the 20 and a long of 48
UNH 21, Central Arkansas 15 – Dec. 2 at Estes Stadium
Rick Holt, DT
*Team-high nine tackles (5-4-9) with 2.5 sacks
Senior captain D'Andre Drummond-Mayrie (Lawrence, Mass.) was bestowed the Bill Bowes Coaches Award. Drummond-Mayrie started all 14 games with a split of six at whip safety and eight at free safety. He ranked fifth on the team in total tackles with 61 (40-21-61) with six tackles-for-loss, including two sacks. His other stats included two pass breakups and a fumble recovery.
Senior punter/kicker Max Pedinoff (Newtown, Pa.) received the Bob Demers 12th Man Award. Pedinoff was UNH's primary punter and also split time as the kicker for field goals and PATs. He averaged 39.5 yards per punt on 69 boots with 30 fair catches, 21 inside the 20 and four punts of 50-plus yards. Offensively, he made 4 of 8 field goal attempts and was 15-for-16 on PAT kicks for a total of 27 points.
The Jack French Unsung Hero Award was presented to both Will McInerny (Bedford, N.H.) and Rick Holt (Portsmouth, N.H.). McInerny started all 14 games on the offensive line; he was the starting right tackle the first 12 games of the season, then, because of injuries to teammates, moved to left tackle in the NCAA second round at Central Arkansas and right guard for the NCAA quarterfinal at South Dakota State. Holt started all 14 games at defensive tackle and ranked second on the squad in tackles with 74 (45-29-74). He had a team-high nine sacks and ranked third in tackles-for-loss (12). Holt's other stats included three pass breakups, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery. He was voted to the All-New England Division I Football Team and CAA Football Second Team Defense.
Senior captain Jake Kennedy (Amherst, N.H.) was named recipient of the Bo Dickson Spirit Award. Kennedy anchored the offensive line as the starting center all 14 games. He was named to the All-New England Division I Football Team and CAAA Football Second Team Offense.
Senior safety Nick Marino (Hudson, N.H.) received two awards – the Buck Buchanan Distinguished Service Award and the Eugene K. Auerbach Student-Athlete Award. Marino earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering, graduating summa cum laude (3.86 GPA) in December 2016. The University Honors Program Presidential Scholar has compiled a 4.00 GPA as a grad student. The three-time member of the CAA Academic All-Conference Team and CAA Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll was inducted into Chi Alpha Sigma, the National College Athlete Honors Society, and he is co-president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Marino was named to the 2017 CoSIDA Academic All-America Team.
In addition to those six seniors, classmates Marquis Carr (Naples, Fla.), Nick Derocher (Northwood, N.H.), Jerickson Fedrick (Salem, N.H.), Michael Hershman (Mansfield, Mass.), Geno Miller (Fort Washington, Md.), Cody Rothwell (Merrimac, Mass.), Morgan Ellman (Scotch Plains, N.J.), Donald Goodrich (York, Maine), Odaine Franklyn (White Plains, N.Y.) and Matt Torrey (Cheshire, Conn.) were recognized for their contributions to the program.
Wildcat Stadium, the second-year home of the UNH football team, saw a 13-percent attendance increase in 2017, highlighted by the all-time largest crowd for a home opener (15,854) and largest on-campus crowd (22,135) in school history. The Wildcats averaged 12,751 fans per home game (regular season), up from the previous high of 11,108 in 2016. The overall attendance of 63,756 for five home dates eclipsed the regular-season attendance of 55,542 in 2016.
2017 UNH Football Team Awards
Bill Bowes Coaches Award: D'Andre Drummond-Mayrie
Bob Demers 12th Man Award: Max Pedinoff
Jack French Unsung Hero Award: Will McInerny and Rick Holt
Bo Dickson Spirit Award: Jake Kennedy
Buck Buchanan Distinguished Service Award: Nick Marino
Eugene K. Auerbach Student-Athlete Award: Nick Marino
2017 Game Balls
UNH 24, Maine 23 – Aug. 31 at Wildcat Stadium
Morgan Ellman, K
*2 PATs; PAT with 13:41 remaining proved to be the game-winning point
UNH 22, Georgia Southern 12 – Sept. 9 at Legion Field (Birmingham, Ala.)
D'Andre Drummond-Mayrie, S
*Six tackles (4-2-6) with one sack
UNH 28, Rhode Island 14 – Sept. 23 at Wildcat Stadium
Trevor Knight, QB
*completed 23-34 passes for 420 yards and three TDs for a 194.65 passer rating
UNH 45, Bryant 17 – Sept. 30 at Wildcat Stadium
Geno Miller, S
*Three tackles (2-1-3)
UNH 40, Towson 17 – Oct. 21 at Wildcat Stadium
Will McInerny, OL
*Led offense to 508 total yards (299 rush, 209 pass) with 25 first downs
UNH 35, William & Mary 16 – Nov. 4 at Zable Stadium
Donald Goodrich, RB
*Four rushes for 17 yards and a four-yard TD catch that gave UNH a 14-0 lead
UNH 16, Elon 6 – Nov. 11 at Wildcat Stadium
Jake Kennedy, OL
*Led offense to 336 total yards (65 rush, 271 pass) and 20 first downs
UNH 14, Central Connecticut State 0 – Nov. 25 at Wildcat Stadium
Max Pedinoff, P/K
* 1-for-1 on PATs; 42.0 yards per punt with two inside the 20 and a long of 48
UNH 21, Central Arkansas 15 – Dec. 2 at Estes Stadium
Rick Holt, DT
*Team-high nine tackles (5-4-9) with 2.5 sacks
Players Mentioned
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K/P
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DT
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RB
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WR
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OL
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QB
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OL
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K/P
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TE
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