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Dartmouth players honored

HANOVER — The New England Football Writers revealed their 2018 University Division All-New England Team on Monday with Dartmouth landing four of the 31 selections across the 14 teams in the region. All four were unanimous picks for the All-Ivy League First Team last week — defensive lineman Rocco Di Leo, offensive lineman Matt Kaskey, cornerback Isiah Swann and linebacker Jack Traynor.

Boston College led the way with five picks, while Dartmouth was joined by Maine and Harvard with four. Rhode Island, UMass and Sacred Heart each had two, and Brown, Bryant, Central Connecticut, UConn, Holy Cross, New Hampshire and Yale all had one apiece.

A 6-3, 285-pound fifth-year defensive end from Elmhurst, Illinois, Di Leo led the Ivy league with 12.5 tackles for a loss and ranked second in the conference (and 15th nationally) with 8.5 sacks. He finished the season with 43 tackles and forced a fumble, plus batted down six passes at the line of scrimmage, the most by a defensive lineman in the Ancient Eight. His finest performance of the season came at Columbia where he registered three sacks among his seven tackles, leading to 25 yards lost.

Kaskey, a 6-7, 325-pound senior from Winnetka, Illinois, was chosen for the All-New England Team for the second straight year. The Big Green offense flourished with the tri-captain starting every game at left tackle as Dartmouth ranked 11th among FCS teams in rushing (254.7 yards per game) and sixth in fewest sacks allowed (7). The Green also ranked in the top 20 nationally in scoring offense at 34 points per game, as well as third- and fourth-down conversion percentage.

Swann, a junior from Queen Creek, Arizona, enjoyed one of the finest seasons ever by a Dartmouth cornerback, setting a school record with nine interceptions to lead the nation. The 6-0, 190-pound corner also led the league and ranks third in the FCS with 18 passes defended while recording 39 tackles and recovering a fumble. Twice he was named Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week, including after his performance at Holy Cross where he picked off three passes to earn STATS FCS National Defensive Player of the Week honors. Swann will start his final season in Hanover next year tied for the Big Green career record for interceptions with 13.

Another two-time honoree on this team, Traynor was leading Dartmouth with 56 tackles before missing the final two games of the season, yet he still finished eighth in the Ivy League in tackles per game (7.0). The 6-0, 230-pound senior also registered 6.5 tackles for a loss, broke up two passes, forced a fumble and recovered another as the anchor of the Big Green defense that finished second in the country in points allowed (12.0), fourth against the run (79.7 yards per game) and fifth in total defense (280.4). In his final appearance of the year, Traynor made a season-high 14 stops against nationally ranked Princeton as the Big Green held the Tiger offense that was averaging over 50 points a game to a mere 14.

The team will be honored at the New England Football Writers Captains and Awards Banquet on Dec. 6, at Rosaria Restaurant and Function Facility in Saugus, Mass.

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