Northeast-10 Conference football awards

MANSFIELD, Mass. (November 17, 2021) -- In just its second year at the Division II level, the Franklin Pierce University football team has already produced a major conference award winner. Junior EJ Burgess (Pearland, Texas) has been selected as the Northeast-10 Conference Offensive Player of the Year, to headline a three-player slate of All-Conference selections for the Ravens, as announced on Tuesday afternoon by the league office. Burgess also landed on the All-NE10 First Team Offense, while freshman Trey Sejour (Everett, Mass.) and junior Qudair Sims (Mount Holly, N.J.) were named to the All-NE10 Second Team Defense. Sejour was also picked as a member of the All-Rookie Team.

It is the first three All-NE10 selections in program history for the Ravens, who previously had a pair of All-Rookie Team honorees in 2019.

The NE10 coaches elected not to penalize Burgess for the team’s 0-10 record in awarding him one of the league’s second-highest honors. The Lone Star State native finished second in the NE10 in rushing yards (1204) and third in rushing yards per game (120.4). The only player to finish higher than Burgess in both categories was Assumption senior Khaleed Exum-Strong, who was named as the league’s Most Valuable Player after rushing for 1228 yards (122.8 yards per game).

Burgess had the heaviest workload in the NE10, as he carried the ball a league-high 221 times, for an average of 5.4 yards per rush, which ranks third in the conference. His 10 rushing touchdowns rank third as well, while his 72 points are tied for second, as he added a pair of receiving touchdowns along the way. Burgess was also in the top 15 in the league with 40.0 receiving yards per game, as he finished with 26 catches for 400 yards.

No stranger to the highlight reel, Burgess ripped off a pair of 70-yard touchdown runs on the year, including a 71-yard dash to open the game against Lake Erie on Sept. 11, and a 77-yard romp at Pace on Oct. 16.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the ball, Sejour is currently fourth in the NE10 with 84 tackles (39 solo), good for an average of 8.4 tackles per game, which also ranks fourth. Along the way, he mixed in 2.5 tackles for loss, a half-sack, one interception and one forced fumble to round out his stat line. The 39 solo tackles are tied for seventh in the NE10.

For his part, Sims is one of three players in the NE10 to record four interceptions on the season, and collected 31 return yards off of them. He is also tied for seventh in the league with six pass breakups. Sims forced one fumble and recovered one as well, and was a part of 23 tackles (15 solo).