Marlborough, Mass. - September 8, 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 7. The first weekly award winners of the 2026 season include Gianni Spinelli (Holtsville, NY) of Maritime, Dennis Matich (Floral Park, NY) of Maritime and Karson Bye (Floral Park, NY) of Merchant Marine. The NEWMAC's weekly awards program is presented by SKYBOKX109 Sports Bar & Grill in Framingham, Massachusetts.

Offensive Athlete of the Week - Gianni Spinelli - Maritime - Sophomore - Holtsville, New York

Maritime sophomore running back Gianni Spinelli rushed for 161 yards and four touchdowns in the Privateers' season-opening 42-41 win over Worcester State. Spinelli opened the scoring with a 15-yard TD run to cap the game's first possession and finished off a 14-play, 84-yard drive with his fourth touchdown of the game, a 10-yard scurry, that tied it at 41-41 midway through the fourth quarter. The sophomore also had TD runs of six and two yards and ran seven times on Maritime's final drive, gaining three first downs, including one on a 3rd-and-3 that allowed the Privateers to run out the clock. Overall, Spinelli carried the ball 29 times while adding two catches for 14 yards.

Defensive Athlete of the Week - Dennis Matich - Maritime - Senior - Floral Park, New York

Maritime senior linebacker Dennis Matich returned an interception 54 yards for a touchdown to give Maritime a 14-0 lead against Worcester State on Saturday. His first career interception and touchdown was the Privateers' first pick-six since 2023. The senior also recorded six tackles in the season-opening 42-41 victory.

Special Teams Athlete of the Week - Karson Bye - Merchant Marine - Senior - Floral Park, New York

Merchant Marine sophomore kicker Karson Bye converted five PATs and averaged 60.1 yards per kick on seven kickoffs with two touchbacks, while also picking up a special teams tackle in the Mariners' 41-24 road victory at Montclair State on Thursday.

Results From Across The League: Week 1
Thursday, September 3
Merchant Marine 41, Montclair State 24 - Box Score

Friday, September 4
MIT 35, Nichols 7 - Box Score
St. Lawrence 18, Norwich 10 - Box Score
Salve Regina 21, UMass Dartmouth 13 - Box Score
Springfield 42, Western New England 28 - Box Score

Saturday, September 5
RPI 35, WPI 7 - Box Score
Coast Guard 49, University of New England 35 - Box Score
Maritime 42, Worcester State 41 - Box Score

NEWMAC Statistical Leaders: As of September 8
 

Rushing Yards	Passing Yards	Receiving Yards
1. Stanford Davis, Springfield (187)	1. Landon Beecher, Norwich (304)	1. Freddy Barber, Coast Guard (166)
2. Gianni Spinelli, Maritime (161)	2. Sean Burns, Coast Guard (273)	2. Jahmir Dixon, Norwich (139)
3. Bradley Barcello, Springfield (135)	3. Dylan Gallo, WPI (268)	3. Dante Atwood, WPI (89)
4. James Wheeler IV, Coast Guard (127)	4. Jaden Rotella, Maritime (240)	4. Sebastian Quartarolo, Maritime (80)
5. Bubba Mustain, USMMA (85)	5. Ryan Treptow (180)	T5. Angelo Cimino, USMMA (79)
Michael Porter, Coast Guard (2)		Spencer Chapman, Salve Regina (79)
Total Touchdowns Scored	Tackles	Sacks
1. Gianni Spinelli, Maritime (4)	1. Brady Botelho, Norwich (13)	1. Aiden Avenia, Coast Guard (1.5)
2. Toby Wroe, Coast Guard (3)	2. Owen Nanartowich, Salve Regina (12)	T2. Trent Sterner, USMMA (1)
T3. Sean Burns, Coast Guard (2)	3. Rocco Del Giorno, Salve Regina (11)	Jonathan Wheeler, USMMA (1)
Angelo Cimino, USMMA (2)	T4. Corey Stone, Norwich (9)	Zatyk Holub, USMMA (1)
T5. Caleb Callahan, USMMA (1)	Madux McGrath (9)	Kevin Zhang, MIT (1)
Jimmy Conners, MIT (1)	Simon Wareham (9)	Justin Smith, Springfield (1)
Michael Dennison, MIT (1)	Aiden Avenia (9)	Noah Rohrer, Coast Guard (1)
Bubba Mustain, USMMA (1)		Lucas White, Coast Guard (1)
Joshua Lock, USMMA (1)
Harrison Garrido, USMMA (1)

NEWMAC Standings: As of September 8
 

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

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.