BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University starting offensive line has been selected to the D3football.com Team of the Week for its performance in the Bears' 30-29 win over Buffalo State College this past weekend.
Senior left tackle Niccolas Falconeiri (Middleboro, Mass.), junior left guard Austin White (North Attleboro, Mass.) senior center Michael Casey (Milford, Mass.), junior right guard Nicholas Spinale (Chelmsford, Mass.) and senior right tackle Zachary Tillson (Plymouth, Mass.) paved the way for 454 yards of total offense in the season-opening victory over the Bengals.
Thanks in part to the outstanding play of the offensive line, junior running back Nick Santavicca (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) rushed for a career-high 200 yards and two touchdowns in his first collegiate start. All told, the BSU running game averaged 5.3 yards on 46 attempts.
The line also provided outstanding protection for junior quarterback Stefano D'Emilia (Bridgewater, Mass.) who completed 17 of 26 pass attempts for 211 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
This marks the first time since September of 2009 that a Bridgewater State offensive line has been named to the D3football.com Team of the Week. Left tackle Joel Nunes, left guard Dan Nunes, center Chris Grande, right guard Andrew Carr and right tackle Jeff Smith earned the honor for their performance in a 40-14 win against Maine Maritime on September 26th.