All-CSFL selections

RINDGE, N.H. (November 27, 2017) – A trio of First Team All-League selections highlight five All-Collegiate Sprint Football League honorees for the Franklin Pierce University sprint football team, as announced on Monday by the CSFL office. In all, including Honorable Mention accolades, the Ravens had nine players honored by the league office.

The three First Team selections were junior offensive lineman Christopher Bogardus (Seymour, Conn.), sophomore back Kobie Smith (Leominster, Mass.) and senior linebacker Demitri Moreno (Alhambra, Calif.). Bogardus and Moreno each earn their second career All-CSFL selection, as they landed on the Second Team in 2015 and 2014, respectively.

Representing the Ravens on the All-CSFL Second Team were freshman wide receiver Tionne Brown (Turners Falls, Mass.) and senior defensive back Ryan Becerra (Tempe, Ariz.). Both earn their first career All-CSFL nods.

Meanwhile, a quartet of Ravens earned All-CSFL Honorable Mention accolades: junior offensive lineman Andrew Pelkey (Winchendon, Mass.), freshman defensive back Tyreek Rodrigues (Pawtucket, R.I.), sophomore linebacker Bailee Johns (Fitzwilliam, N.H.) and sophomore defensive lineman Bobby Kierce (Foxborough, Mass.). All earned the first CSFL honors of their career.

Bogardus and Pelkey were both key members of a Franklin Pierce rushing attack which finished second in the CSFL on the season. The Ravens averaged 166.4 yards per game on the ground, which was second only to Navy (187.6 yards/game). The Franklin Pierce offensive line also finished tied with league champion Army West Point for fewest sacks allowed, with six. Both Bogardus and Pelkey started all seven games on the offensive line this fall.

Smith was the CSFL’s leading rusher, by a significant margin. He carried a league-high 131 times on the season for 740 yards (5.6 yards/carry) and seven touchdowns. Smith averaged 105.7 yards per game, which was more than 30 yards per game more than his closest competition, Jake Klaus of Penn (71.9 yards/game). Smith’s biggest effort came at Caldwell on Oct. 28, when he piled up 269 yards and a pair of touchdowns, to become just the second back in school history with a 200-yard rushing performance.

Moreno finished second in the CSFL with 9.0 tackles per game, trailing only Mansfield’s Josh Frebis (10.4 tackles/game) in that department. Moreno chalked up 63 tackles on the year, including 38 solo tackles. Along the way, he tallied eight tackles for loss (totaling 16 yards), broke up one pass, forced one fumble and recovered one fumble. Moreno tallied double digits in tackles in four of Franklin Pierce’s seven games, including a season-high 14 (nine solo) in a season-opening win over Mansfield on Sept. 16.

A freshman who often lined up in the backfield, Brown earned Second Team honors as a wide receiver, after finishing second in the CSFL with 4.7 receptions per game. He also finished fourth in the league in receiving yards per game, with 52.0. In all, Brown finished with 33 catches for 364 yards and four touchdowns. Along the way, he added 63 rushes for 250 yards (4.0 yards/carry) and two more scores. Brown’s biggest receiving day on the year came in the finale at Chestnut Hill on Nov. 3, when he snared 10 catches for 84 yards.

Becerra did a little bit of everything out of the defensive backfield for the Ravens. He finished tied for eighth in the CSFL with 7.3 tackles per game. Becerra finished second on the team with 51 tackles on the year, including 35 solo tackles and two tackles for loss (totaling four yards). He also added two interceptions (with 24 return yards) and broke up four other passes to total six passes defended.

Rodrigues finished the season seventh on Franklin Pierce in tackling, with 29 tackles (19 solo). He recorded one interception and broke up six further passes, to lead the team with seven passes defended.

Johns ranked third on the team, behind Moreno and Becerra, with 44 total tackles (31 solo) out of his middle linebacker spot. Johns notched 4.5 tackles for loss on the year, totaling 13 yards.

Kierce was two spots behind Johns on the teams tackling list, as he finished fifth with 41 tackles (20 solo). He tallied 7.5 tackles for loss, totaling 27 yards, and two sacks, totaling 10 yards, while also breaking up a pair of passes along the way.

Franklin Pierce finished the season at 3-4 overall and placed third in the CSFL’s North Division with a 1-2 record in divisional play.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics’ official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce football apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics’ online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).