Jack Grinold/Eastern Massachusetts Chapter
National Football Foundation
Sacred Heart’s Summers, Bates' Lynskey Named 2025 Week 7 Recipients of NEFW/Grinold Chapter Gold Helmet Awards
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – – Sacred Heart University freshman running back Mitchell Summers and Bates College junior running back Ryan Lynskey are this week’s recipients of the New England Football Association Gold Helmet Awards presented by the Jack Grinold/Eastern Massachusetts Chapter of the National Football Foundation.
Summers, a native of Greensboro, N.C., and a graduate of Grimsley High School, rushed 18 times for 243 yards and two touchdowns including an early 80-yard scamper in the Pioneers 32-14 win over Howard University. Summers’ second score was a 49-yard run in the fourth quarter that put the game out of reach.
Lynskey, from Cranford, N.J., and a graduate of Cranford High School, carried the ball 32 times for 221 yards and four touchdowns to lead Bates to a 35-28 come-from-behind win at Tufts Saturday afternoon. Lynskey scored the Bobcats’ final four touchdowns in the game including the tying score from 2 yards out with 4:21 left and the winning touchdown on a 24-yard run scamper with just 58 seconds left.
For the eleventh straight year, the Jack Grinold/Eastern Massachusetts Chapter of the National Football Foundation is the presenting sponsor for both the weekly and end-of-year Gold Helmet Awards presented to student-athletes from FBS, FCS, Division II and Division III institutions throughout New England. The awards will be presented at the NEFW Captains and Awards Banquet on December 11, at the Sheraton Framingham Hotel & Conference Center.
For more information on the Gold Helmet Awards and the New England Football Writers Association, please visit www.newenglandfootballwriters.com.
FOURTH 2025 GRINOLD CHAPTER NEW ENGLAND DIVISION III FOOTBALL WEEKLY RANKINGS RELEASED
The fourth Grinold Chapter New England Division III Football Coaches poll of the 2025 season has been released, and Endicott College retains the spot at the top of the rankings. The Gulls hold the #1 position for the second consecutive week. The New England Small College Athletic Conference leads the way with four teams in the top 10. Three New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference teams appear in the poll.
Endicott received 10 of 12 first place votes to top Plymouth State, the only unbeaten team in the region, by 24 points in the poll. Plymouth received one first-place vote. Salve Regina, Springfield (one first place vote) and the University of New England are in third through fifth respectively. The poll is rounded out by the Coast Guard Academy, Trinity, Wesleyan, Williams, and Amherst.
The New England Division III Football Poll is presented by the Jack Grinold/Eastern Massachusetts Chapter of the National Football Foundation, which also serves as the title sponsor of the weekly Gold Helmet Awards presented by the New England Football Writers Association throughout the season.
A panel representing four New England Division III playing conferences serve as voters in this year’s poll, and rankings will be released each week through November 18th. Members of this year’s voting panel are Nat Clark (Husson), Jason Lebeau (Western New England), Mike Lichten (University of New England), Jeremy Cameron (Massachusetts Maritime), Tom Kelley (Framingham), and Joe Verria (Bridgewater), Jack Cosgrove (Colby), Jeff Devanney (Trinity), Jay Civetti (Tufts), Kevin Gilmartin (Salve Regina), C.C. Grant (Coast Guard) and Chris Robertson (WPI),
GRINOLD CHAPTER NEW ENGLAND DIVISION III FOOTBALL POLL
Week #4 – October 14, 2025
Rank School (First Place Votes), Record, Points, Previous Rank
1 Endicott (10), 4-1, 118, 1
2 Plymouth (1), 5-0, 90, 2
3 Salve Regina, 4-1, 81, 3
4 Springfield (1), 3-2, 76, 4
5 University of New England, 4-1, 67, 6
6 Coast Guard, 4-1, 61, 5
7 Trinity, 4-1, 52, 7
8 Wesleyan, 4-1, 40, 8
9 Williams, 4-1, 25, receiving votes
10 Amherst, 4-1, 24, 9 (tie)
Also Receiving Votes: Framingham (16), WNEU (5), Curry (5)
Belmont Hill's Onuoha Named to NFF Team of Distinction
Belmont Hill School senior Sampson Onuoha has been named as the
Jack Grinold/Eastern Massachusetts Chapter of the National Football
Foundation representative for the NFF’s Team of Distinction that
recognizes standout performers in competition, in the classroom and
in the community throughout the country.
A resident of Hyde Park, Onuoha earned all-NEPSAC and all-ISL
honors on the defensive line in each of his final two seasons at
Belmont Hill, where he was a three-year letterwinner. The second-
ranked recruit in the state of Massachusetts last fall, Sampson
earned Boston Herald all-scholastic accolades in 2024 after matriculating from the United Kingdom. Prior to his arrival in the United States, he had never played football before his sophomore season, and he will now travel south to continue his playing and educational career at Duke University.
A three-sport athlete at Belmont Hill, Onuoha was also a letterwinner in wrestling and track & field. He was a member of the Venture Capital Group, Business Club and Brother 2 Brother (Black Affinity Group).