2018 New England Football Writers Division II/III All-New England Team

Jack Lavanchy of Bridgewater State, Rashaun Rivers of Framingham State, Antonio Mitjans of UMass Dartmouth, Travon Holder and Zach Howard of Westfield State and Jacob Maher of Worcester State were named to the 2018 New England Football Writers Division II/III All-New England team.

In 11 games during the 2018 season, Lavanchy hauled in 97 passes for 1,236 yards and 13 touchdowns as he broke his own BSU single-season mark for receptions. The Walpole, Massachusetts led the MASCAC in catches, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. Earlier this month, Lavanchy was named the MASCAC Offensive Player of the Year. He was also one of eight Bears named to the All-MASCAC Team as he garnered first team honors for the second straight season.

Rivers, a first team All-MASCAC selection, finished his senior season with 50 total tackles including 42 solo stops.  Rivers recorded three interception that were returned for 49 yards and added 18 pass breakups, two blocked kicks, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble.

A native of Ashland, Mass. and a graduate of Ashland High School, Mitjans was named as the 2018 MASCAC Offensive Lineman of the Year after anchoring a Corsair unit that averaged 412 yards of total offense and nearly 28 points per game.  A two-year team co-captain, Antonio is a three-time first-team all-MASCAC selection, and during the course of his career he helped UMass Dartmouth amass nearly 17,000 yards of total offense, score 153 total touchdowns and average nearly 28 points per outing.

For Westfield State, Holder led the MASCAC in rushing yards (1,132), yards per game (125.8) and touchdowns (15). His play landed him on first team All-Conference for the second straight year. In his four years at Westfield, he rushed for 3,428 yards, caught 37 passes for 314 yards and 38 total touchdowns. Holder is third on the all-time rushing list, second on the all-time scoring list and tied the school's record with 38 touchdowns.

Howard led the Owls defense with 78 total tackles. He had 3.5 sacks on the year along with 11.5 tackles for loss, one force fumble, two fumble recoveries and two interceptions. For his stellar defensive play he was named the 2018 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference football Defensive Player of the year and he was named first-team All-Conference for the third straight year.

Maher led the Lancers in every major receiving category this season, with 47 catches, 615 receiving yards, and seven touchdowns in 10 games played. The junior criminal justice major had a pair of two touchdown outings, first in Worcester State's loss to Salve Regina to open the season, and again two weeks later in the Lancers' victory over Fitchburg State.

The 2018 Division II/III All‐New England Team will be honored at the New England Football Writers Captains and Awards Banquet on Thursday, December 6th, at Rosaria Restaurant and Function Facility in Saugus, Massachusetts. 

Portions of this release courtesy of Bridgewater State, Framingham State, UMass Dartmouth, Westfield State and Worcester State Sports Information