Posted: Dec 16, 2010
Boston, Mass. – Endicott football head coach JB Wells will be honored by the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston, steward of some of the most stories awards in American football, as their Division II/III Coach of the Year following the Gulls historic 9-3 season and trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Wells’ Gulls improved from 5-5 in 2009 to 9-3 in 2010, a program record, and captured their first ever New England Football Conference (NEFC) Championship with a 38-35 triumph over Maine Maritime Academy. The Blue and Green went on to play \#2 seeded Cortland State (NY) as the \#7 seed, falling 49-35 despite scoring 28 second-half points, forcing three Cortland turnovers including two for touchdowns, and not turning the ball over themselves.
Wells coached 12 NEFC All-Division players including this year’s Boyd Division Defensive Player of the Year. Ten of the 12 players will return for their senior season in 2011 as the Gulls look to repeat their successes from this past fall. The Gridiron Club will formally present the award on January 13th at the Westin Waltham Hotel. Tickets are \$50 each or \$500 for a table of ten. They can be ordered online at www.gridclubofgreaterboston.com or by calling club secretary Dick Lawrence at 781-231-0372. Social hour begins at 6:00 pm, followed by dinner at 7:00 pm.
The club will also honor Boston College linebacker Luke Kuechly and running back Montel Harris as recipients of the 72nd annual George “Bulger” Lowe Award, “New England’s Heisman Trophy” and one of America’s oldest college football accolades. Winners of the 65th annual Nils V. “Swede” Nelson Award are Boston College offensive lineman Anthony Castonzo and Coast Guard defensive lineman Ryan Schmid.
Other honors include the 15th annual Joe Zabilski Award which goes to the top players in Division II and III which will go to Merrimack College linebacker Shawn Loiseau and Framingham State wide receiver James McCarthy.
Along with Coach Wells, University of Connecticut head coach Randy Edsall will be honored as the Bowl/Championship Divisions Head Coach of the Year.
The Gridiron Club, founded in 1932, promotes the game of football at all levels and nurtures the ideals of citizenship, sportsmanship, leadership, and athletic and academic achievement. The club holds annual dinners and a golf tournament to honor exemplary players, coaches and officials at all levels of the sport and in the process support worthy charitable causes.