Sept. 6, 2007
BEVERLY, MA - Following three-straight second place finishes in the New England Football Conference's Boyd Division, head coach JB Wells and the Endicott Gulls set out to capture their first-ever NEFC title in 2007.
Anchored by four All-New England Football Conference First Team selections, the Endicott College football team posted a 5-2 Boyd Division record and finished the 2006 campaign with a 6-4 overall record last season.
A team best known for their defense, the Gulls welcome back a strong nucleus of talented players from a year ago. A former D3Football.com All-Region recipient, safety Pego Jean-Paul (Deltona, FL/Stamford, CT) suits up in the defensive backfield for his senior campaign. Jean-Paul ranked second on the team in tackles last season with 43.5.
Led by the nation's 18th ranked pass-defending defense, the Gulls welcome back key secondary returnees Jarron Randall (Brockton, MA/Brockton), Michael Angoff (Worcester, MA/Worcester Academy) and three-year starter Jared Giblin (Mansfield, MA/Mansfield). Endicott picked-off the opposition 19 times and featured a plus 29 turnover margin last year.
Mike Kelley (Abington, MA/Cardinal Spellman) anchored the linebacker core in 2006 as he registered 32.5 tackles, five of which came for a loss of yardage. Endicott will rely on Nick Bauer (Boylston, MA/West Boylston), Joe DePamphilis (Winthrop, MA/Savio Prep) and Jay Munroe (Beverly, MA/Beverly) to hold down the middle of the tough Endicott defense this season.
Under center, Alex Smith (Winthrop, MA/Winthrop) and Vinny Orlando (Manchester, MA/Manchester Essex) will once again be in the mix for the starting quarterback job. The duo threw for 968 yards and nine touchdowns last season.
Hauling in half of Endicott's TD receptions in `06 was returnee Ryan MacLean (Mansfield, MA/Mansfield). MacLean's 559 receiving yards placed him amongst the best in the NEFC last year. The Gulls also return a talented trio of tight ends in Ray Lynch (West Hartford, CT/Conard), Jake Maxfield (Newport, NH/Newport Middle) and Andrew Bettencourt (Peabody, MA/Peabody).
On the offensive line, the Gulls will rely heavily on George Samaras (Manchester, NH/Manchester Central), who was an All-NEFC selection in 2006. Veterans Evan Rosenberg (Wellesley Hills, MA/Wellesley) and Jeff Learned (Clinton, MA/Clinton) will be called upon to open holes for running backs Angelo Ortiz (Mashantucket, CT/St. Thomas More) and Mark Killinger (Rockland, MA/Rockland). Ortiz led the Gulls ground attack in 2006, as he rushed for a team-high 429 yards on 83 carries.
Leading the Gulls as team captains in 2007 will be seniors Jared Giblin, Alex Smith, Jay Munroe, Pego Jean-Paul and Nick Bauer. Jean-Paul and Munroe were featured as 2006 captains and will return to their duties this season as the Gulls continue their push for an NEFC title.
"As usual, our expectations are very high," said head coach JB Wells. "We expect to challenge for the Divisional Championship and play in the Conference title game every season."
The 2007 Gulls schedule once again features strong competition in non-league play as Endicott travels to RPI on September 8th to open the season. The Gulls begin their quest for NEFC glory in mid-September as they open their Conference schedule with Massachusetts Maritime.
