Courtesy of Massachusetts Maritime Sports Information

Massachusetts Maritime senior standouts Brandon Rodrigues and John Moriarty joined a group of 838 student-athletes across all divisions who were recently named as members of the 2014 National Football Foundation’s Hampshire Honor Society, which is comprised of college football players who each maintained a cumulative 3.2 grade point average or better throughout their collegiate career.

The Hampshire Society memberships are the latest academic recognition that both Rodrigues, a native of Brockton, Mass. and a graduate of Brockton High School, and Moriarty, a native of Wilmington, Mass. and a graduate of Wilmington High School, have received this year.  Both were named to the 2013 Capital One Division III Academic All-America® national second team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America last fall, as Rodrigues became the first two-time Academic All-America® in Academy history while Moriarty became just the third Buccaneer student-athlete to earn the prestigious accolade.

Rodrigues has posted a 3.886 cumulative grade point average as a Marine Engineering major at the Academy, and last season he averaged 46 yards per kickoff and added a 30-yard field goal in the Buccaneers’ season-opening 24-20 Chowder Bowl victory over SUNY-Maritime.  He also converted seven PAT attempts and recorded four touchbacks for Head Coach Jeremy Cameron’s squad during his senior campaign, and as a junior, Rodrigues converted 31 extra point attempts and kicked a pair of field goals, setting a school record with eight PAT conversions in a 56-32 victory over Fitchburg State.  He also booted a game-tying fourth quarter field goal in Massachusetts Maritime’s 42-38 come-from-behind triumph over Coast Guard in September 2012 and ranked second on the team in scoring with 37 points.  Brandon was also named to the 2013 Fred Mitchell Award watch list as the nation’s top placekicker.

Moriarty boasts a 3.858 cumulative GPA as a Facilities Engineering major at Massachusetts Maritime, as he served as the Buccaneers’ starting right tackle for the past two seasons and has been part of an offensive line unit that has set 22 school records over that time span.  The Buccaneers ranked as high as second nationally in total offense last fall and finished with a mark of 494.2 yards per game, including a school-record 752 total yards in a 52-18 Admiral’s Cup victory at Maine Maritime on September 21^st.  Moriarty, who allowed just one sack in 509 quarterback passing and rushing attempts on the year, played in 876 of a possible 886 total offensive snaps, including 121 at Worcester State on September 28^th in a contest that saw Massachusetts Maritime set NCAA Division III single-game records for most plays and first downs (44), and he was part of an offensive line unit that amassed a record 4,942 yards of total offense in 2013.  Over the course of his career, Moriarty helped the Buccaneers collect 9,628 yards and average 34.1 points per game.

A first-team all-Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference selection and Massachusetts Maritime’s fifth All-New England honoree in school history, Moriarty was one of 170 semifinalists for the prestigious William V. Campbell Trophy presented by the National Football Foundation to the absolute best scholar-athlete across all divisions and was one of 39 Division III student-athletes to also be a semifinalist for one of the NFF’s 16 Scholar-Athlete Awards.  An ECAC Division III Northeast and D3football.com all-regional honoree, John will also receive the prestigious Jack Daly Award for Academics, Citizenship and Football from the Jack Grinold Eastern Massachusetts Chapter of the National Football Foundation this Sunday, May 4^th at the organization’s annual Scholar-Athlete Banquet at the Boston/Newton Marriott.

“Brandon and John have taken the term ‘student-athlete’ to new heights during their careers, and I continue to be extremely proud of their accomplishments on and off the field,” Cameron says of the NFF honor.  “They epitomize the commitment and work ethic that our program and our Academy stand for.”

Rodrigues and Moriarty, who are both perennial Presidential Scholars at the Academy, have been named to a combined 10 Massachusetts Maritime Athletic Director’s Honor Rolls as well as six MASCAC and New England Football Conference All-Academic squads.  They are two of seven student-athletes from MASCAC member institutions who also had student-athletes gain membership into the Hampshire Honor Society, including Bridgewater State’s Kyle Cocozza, Plymouth State’s Greg Callanan, Nate Dubois, Josh Morgan and Jason Stefano along with Westfield State’s Joe Kreinsen.

The National Football Foundation’s Hampshire Honor Society capitalizes on the NFF's current National Scholar-Athlete program greatly expanding the number of scholar-athletes the NFF can recognize each year.  The program further strengthens the organization's leadership role in encouraging academic performance by the student-athletes who play football at the more than 700 college and universities with football programs nationwide. The initiative has honored 4,927 student-athletes since its inception, and the program has experienced growth every year in either members or school participation since its launch in 2007. The 2014 class of 838 players represents a new high water mark for members, eclipsing the old record mark by 117 student-athletes.

Jon F. Hanson, the chairman and founder of The Hampshire Companies, provided the endowment to launch the NFF Hampshire Honor Society in 2007. He made the contribution as part of his legacy to the organization after serving as NFF chairman from 1994-2006. He currently serves the organization as a chairman emeritus. Each player awarded with membership in this year's Honor Society will receive a certificate commemorating their achievement.

"We have honored more than 4,900 student-athletes in the last eight years thanks to Jon Hanson's generosity," said National Football Foundation Chairman Archie Manning, "We are grateful for his passionate belief in the scholar-athlete ideal, and the Hampshire Honor Society allows us to showcase the names of tomorrow's leaders while inspiring future generations to follow in their footsteps."