Western New England Retains No. 1 Ranking in New England Poll
Golden Bears are coming off 37-0 shutout win over MIT on Saturday
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (October 17, 2016) – The fourth edition of the Grinold Chapter New England Division III Football Poll was released today, and Western New England University is ranked No. 1 for the fourth consecutive week.
The Golden Bears (6-0, 3-0 NEFC) turned in a dominant defensive performance on Saturday, limiting MIT to just 113 yards of total offense and seven first downs en route to a 37-0 victory.
The top four spots in the poll remained the same from last week, with Western New England collecting ten of the 12 first place votes and 118 points. Salve Regina and Trinity received one first place tally each, finishing in second and third, respectively, while Middlebury checked in at No. 4.
Western New England will be on the road next weekend for a key NEFC matchup at Endicott College (3-3, 3-0 NEFC), with opening kickoff scheduled for noon at Hempstead Stadium.
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 12-member panel representing all four New England Division III playing conferences will serve as voters in this year's poll, and rankings will be released each Monday afternoon through November 14th. Members of this year's voting panel are E.J. Mills (Amherst), JB Wells (Bowdoin), Jay Civetti (Tufts), Tom Kelley (Framingham State), Paul Castonia (Plymouth State), Pat Haverty (Fitchburg State), Skip Bandini (Curry), Chad Martinovich (MIT), Kevin Gilmartin (Salve Regina), Gabby Price (Husson), Tony Volpone (Castleton) and Mike Landers (Mount Ida).
For more information on the Grinold Chapter of the National Football Foundation, please visit www.grinoldchapter.com.
