MASCAC honors Shea

By rbrown
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Updated: October 28, 2019

PLYMOUTH – Fresh off a pair of strong performances to help the Plymouth State University football team to a 7-3 win over Massachusetts Maritime Academy on Saturday, a pair of Panthers were honored by the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC).

Senior Matt Shea (Atkinson, N.H.) was named the MASCAC Defensive Player of the Week, while classmate David Hamilton (West Deptford, N.J.) was selected for the Weekly Honor Roll.

Shea had a huge game in a battle between the league’s top two scoring defenses, leading all players with 11 tackles (seven solo) and adding a pair of pass break ups. His biggest play came late in the fourth quarter, when he locked up the win with a huge play. With the game in the balance, the Buccaneers faced a fourth-and-six from the PSU 19-yard line and seemed about to take the lead on a pass to the end zone, but Shea broke on the ball and was able to push the Mass. Maritime receiver out of bounds before he could get a foot down to preserve the win.

Shea, who has twice been named to the Weekly Honor Roll this fall, has been a key cog in the top scoring defense in the conference all season long. He ranks fourth in the league with 8.8 tackles per game, while is two interceptions are tied for the six-most and his five pass break ups are tied for seventh. He needs just seven more tackles this season to match his career-high of 77 from a year ago.

Hamilton picked up his fourth Weekly Honor Roll nod after accounting for nearly half of the Panthers’ 250 yards of total offense on Saturday. He accumulated 114 yards on the ground on 16 carries to surpass the century mark for the fourth time this season. His 19-yard rush set up the game’s lone touchdown, while he added a 44-yard gain to help the Panthers control field position in the third quarter.

Hamilton leads the MASCAC with 731 yards rushing and his 91.4 yards per game average is the second highest in the league. He is tied for third in the conference with six rushing TDs and is just 106 yards shy of moving into fifth place among the Panthers’ all-time leading rushers.

PSU (6-2, 4-2 MASCAC) heads to Bridgewater State on Saturday (Nov. 2) for another key MASCAC clash with kickoff set for 2:30 p.m.