Greyhounds land five Northeast-10 Conference football all-stars

November 14, 2008

EASTON, Mass. --- Four members of the Assumption College football team have earned first-team all-Northeast-10 Conference honors in a vote of the conference coaches.

Sophomore running back HERBERT WOODARD (Salem, NJ/Salem) is the lone representative on the offense, while junior middle linebacker DUSTIN ZITZMANN (Pinellas Park, FL/Dixie Hollins) and senior safety/captain CHRIS MARTINO (Lincroft, NJ/Middletown South) were on the defensive team. Freshman punter GREG NOWAK (West Palm Beach, FL/Wellington) was named to the first-team and also the all-rookie team.

Sophomore offensive tackle MATTHEW SIDEBOTTOM (Franklin, MA/Franklin) was named to the second-team.

Woodard was the Greyhounds leading rusher (seventh in the conference) with 550 net yards and six touchdowns despite missing one game and most of another with injury. He also finished seventh in the conference in all-purpose offense (106.1 yards per game), 10th in total offense (415 yards), sixth in scoring (48 points) and second in punt return average (12.7). He had the longest punt return in Hounds' history at Merrimack (85 yards) (9/19/2008).

Zitzmann finished as the fourth-leading tackler in the conference with 31-54--85 total and led the league in forced fumbles (4). He also became the ninth Greyhound to reach 300 career tackles (109-192--301 to date) in the last game against Merrimack (11/08/2008) and first to do it as a junior. Hall of Famer Bill Guilfoil ‘95 finished with a career record 409 total tackles.

Martino led the Northeast-10 Conference with 51-56--107 tackles with 3.5 tackles-for-loss and seven pass breakups. He had two interceptions including a team-record 99-yard return against Southern Connecticut (11/01/2008). He finished his career with 151-156--307 tackles (sixth-place overall) and a team-record for a defensive back. His 151 initial hits are also a team mark for a member of the secondary.

Nowak is the first Greyhound to lead the conference in punting average. Only Tim Longden in 2000 has had a 39.5 yards-per-kick average or higher for the Greyhounds since the mid-80s. He set the Greyhounds team record with a 50.3 average at Sacred Heart (8/30/2008) including a season-high 67 yarder.