Marlborough, Mass. - September 14, 2026 - The New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) has released its selection for the league's Football Athletes of the Week, for the week ending September 13. The second weekly award winners of the 2026 season include Bubba Mustain (Oro Valley, Ariz.) of Merchant Marine, Harry Ells (Barnstable, Mass.) of Norwich and Nathan Napier (Natick, Mass.) of WPI. The NEWMAC's weekly awards program is presented by SKYBOKX109 Sports Bar & Grill in Framingham, Massachusetts.

Offensive Athlete of the Week - Bubba Mustain - Merchant Marine - Junior - Oro Valley, Arizona

Merchant Marine quarterback Bubba Mustain ran for 216 yards on 19 carries (11.4 yards per carry) and found the end zone five times in Merchant Marine's 63-14 home win over Nichols on Saturday, helping the Mariners tie the Academy record for most points scored in a game. The junior found the end zone on runs from 18, 16, five, three and 59 yards. He also completed a 48-yard pass on the day.

Defensive Athlete of the Week - Harry Ells - Norwich - Junior - Barnstable, Massachusetts

Harry Ells delivered the game-winning play in Norwich's 17-10 victory over intrastate rival VTSU Castleton, returning an interception 17 yards for a touchdown with 37 seconds remaining to reclaim the Maple Sap Bucket for the Cadets. With the game tied at 10-10 and Castleton taking possession with 47 seconds left, Ells secured a deflected pass on the Spartans' first play of the drive and returned it untouched for the decisive score. The junior defensive lineman also recorded three tackles, a half-tackle for loss, and two quarterback hurries as part of a Norwich defense that forced four turnovers, registered three sacks and eight tackles for loss, and held Castleton to 63 rushing yards.

Special Teams Athlete of the Week - Nathan Napier - WPI - Sophomore - Natick, Massachusetts

Nathan Napier drilled a 50-yard field goal as time expired to provide WPI with a dramatic 22-21 victory in its home opener Saturday versus the University of New England. Trailing 21-17 in the fourth quarter, the Engineers embarked upon a 17-play, 64-yard drive, chewing up 9:55 of the game, only to come up empty on fourth-and-goal at the UNE 8-yard line. With only one timeout remaining, the Crimson and Gray forced a three-and-out, and the Nor’easters called timeout with 16 seconds remaining. UNE took an intentional safety, with the punter wisely running around in the back of the end zone, eluding WPI defenders for nine seconds before stepping out of bounds in the end zone to make the score 21-19. The visitors elected to kick off on the ensuing free kick and squib-kicked it 13 yards from their 20 to the 33-yard line, where it was downed by WPI with six seconds remaining. After a quick incomplete pass took four seconds off the clock, Napier came on to attempt a career-long 50-yard field goal, which he drilled right down the middle to provide the Engineers an improbable 22-21 victory.The sophomore, whose previous career-best was a 42-yard field goal versus UNE as a rookie in 2025, also connected on a 27-yard field goal and dropped two points inside the UNE 20 as the Crimson and Gray scored 17 unanswered points in the second quarter to take a 17-7 advantage into the locker room at halftime. The Engineers would not score in the second half until tallying five points in the final seven seconds. 

Results From Across The League: Week 2
Saturday, September 12
Curry 41, Coast Guard 35 - Box Score
WPI 22, University of New England 21 - Box Score
Merchant Marine 63, Nichols 14 - Box Score
Springfield 48, Husson 0 - Box Score
Norwich 17, Castleton 10 - Box Score
MIT 70, New England College 0 - Box Score
Salve Regina 24, Western New England 21 - Box Score
Kean 51, Maritime 17 - Box Score

NEWMAC Statistical Leaders: As of September 13
 

Rushing Yards	Passing Yards	Receiving Yards
1. Stanford Davis, Springfield (306)	1. Dylan Gallo, WPI (457)	1. Freddy Barber, Coast Guard (303)
2. Bubba Mustain, USMMA (301)	2. Landon Beecher, Norwich (417)	2. Jahmir Dixon, Norwich (164)
3. Gianni Spinelli, Maritime (208)	3. Sean Burns, Coast Guard (414)	3. Spencer Chapman, Salve Regina (156)
4. Bradley Barcello, Springfield (170)	4. Stephen Paradiso, Salve Regina (376)	4. Enrique Hernandez, Maritime (149)
5. Brendan Spellman, MIT (160)	5. Jaden Rotella, Maritime (352)	5. Dante Atwood, WPI (131)
Total Touchdowns Scored	Tackles	Sacks
1. Bubba Mustain, USMMA (6)	1. Rocco Del Giorno, Salve Regina (28)	1. Zatyk Holub, USMMA (3)
2. Gianni Spinelli, Maritime (4)	2. Owen Nanartowich, Salve Regina (20)	2. Aiden Avenia, Coast Guard (2.5)
T3. Sean Burns, Coast Guard (3)	3. Brady Botelho, Norwich (18)	3. Jonathan Wheeler, USMMA (2)
Jimmy Conners, MIT (3)	T4. Brody McKenna, Salve Regina (17)	T4. 15 Others Tied With 1
Colter Mahabir, MIT (3)	Noah Rohrer, Coast Guard (17)
Stanford Davis, Springfield (3)
Toby Wroe, Coast Guard (3)

NEWMAC Standings: As of September 13
 

Team	Overall Record	NEWMAC Record
MIT	2-0	0-0
Salve Regina	2-0	0-0
Springfield	2-0	0-0
Merchant Marine	2-0	0-0
Coast Guard	1-1	0-0
Norwich	1-1	0-0
Maritime	1-1	0-0
WPI	1-1	0-0

NEWMAC Top-10 Plays of the Week



2026 NEWMAC Football Athletes of the Week
September 8
Gianni Spinelli, Maritime (Offensive)
Dennis Matich, Maritme (Defensive)
Karson Bye, USMMA (Special Teams)
September 14
Bubba Mustain, Merchant Marine (Offensive)
Harry Ells, Norwich (Defensive)
Nathan Napier, WPI (Special Teams)

About the NEWMAC
The NEWMAC is an association of 13 selective academic institutions: Babson College, Clark University, U.S Coast Guard Academy, Emerson College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mount Holyoke College, Saint Anselm College (beginning reclassification process with NCAA in 2027-28), Salve Regina University, Smith College, Springfield College, Wellesley College, Wheaton College, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, that are committed to providing high quality competitive athletic opportunities for student-athletes within an educational and respectful environment that embodies the NCAA Division III Philosophy. The conference also partners with seven Associate Members: New York University (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), Norwich University (Football), Simmons College (Rowing), SUNY Maritime College (Football), SUNY New Paltz (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Football), and Vassar College (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), while sponsoring 21 sports.