BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Six members of the Bridgewater State University football team have been selected to the 2017 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) All-Conference Football Team by the league's nine head coaches.
Senior fullback Malik Garrett, junior wide receiver Jack Lavanchy and junior right tackle Zachary Tillson earned first team honors for the Bears, while senior inside linebacker Anthony Fogarty III, senior cornerback Jonathan Marrero and senior outside linebacker Charles McCarthy garnered second team accolades.
Garrett is making his third straight appearance on the All-MASCAC Team, while Lavanchy, Tillson, Fogarty, Marrero and McCarthy are all first time honorees.
Garrett rushed for 352 yards and two touchdowns this season, and caught 24 passes for 269 yards and four more scores. The Dorchester, Massachusetts product wrapped up an outstanding four-year career at Bridgewater State with 1,081 rushing yard and 16 touchdowns to go along with 68 receptions for 726 yards and nine touchdowns in 37 games.
Garrett ranks 21st all-time at BSU in rushing, 12th in pass receptions and he is also tied for 14th in scoring (154 pts.).
Lavanchy hauled in 80 passes for 1,193 yards and nine touchdowns in ten games for the Bears in 2017 as he set the BSU single-season mark for receptions. The Walpole, Massachusetts native is currently tied for seventh in all of Division III in receptions and tied for eighth in receptions per game (8.0), and ranks ninth nationally in receiving yards and 11th in receiving yards per game (119.3). Lavanchy also leads the MASCAC in receptions, receptions per game, receiving yards and receiving yards per game.
Lavanchy set the Bears’ single-game receiving records with 14 catches for 254 yards in a 27-20 Homecoming setback to Western Connecticut State University on October 21st.
In just two seasons with the Bears, Lavanchy is already third all-time in BSU football history with 128 career receptions and fifth with 1,746 receiving yards. He is also tied for seventh with 16 receiving touchdowns.
Tillson, who hails from Plymouth, Massachusetts, anchored an offensive line which paved the way for 3,441 yards of total offense this season including 1,438 yards on the ground and 2,003 through the air. The Bears' o-line also gave up just 11 sacks in ten games.
Since joining the team in 2015, Tillson has started 28 of 32 games on the Bears’ offensive line including 26 consecutive starts.
A native of Albany, New York, Fogarty shifted over to the defensive side of the ball this season after spending his first two years in a BSU uniform at running back. He recorded 62 tackles including 42 solo stops, 2 1/2 sacks and eight tackles for loss from his inside linebacker position. Fogarty also recorded an interception, recovered two fumbles and forced one.
Marrero made the switch from quarterback to cornerback after week four and tallied 19 tackles (17 solo) and a team-leading four interceptions to go along with two forced and recovered fumbles, and four pass breakups. The Boston, Massachusetts product is tied for fourth in the MASCAC in interceptions despite playing just six games in the BSU secondary.
A native of North Reading, Massachusetts, McCarthy led the Bears this season with 91 tackles and 56 solo stops. He also finished with 1 1/2 sacks, 6 1/2 tackles for loss, an interception and a blocked kick. McCarthy currently ranks fifth in the MASCAC in both tackles and solo tackles.
In 39 career games, McCarthy recorded 164 tackles (104 solo), 3 1/2 sacks, 18 tackles for loss and four interceptions.
The BSU football team wrapped up the 2017 season with an overall record of 2-8 with a 2-6 MASCAC mark. Six of the Bears' eight losses were by seven or fewer points including a pair of one-point setbacks to start the season.