Lewis Garners 2007 ECAC Rookie of the Year Award
Fourth in Nation in Tackles per Game and First in Northeast Conference
Cape Cod, Mass. – Freshman linebacker Scott Lewis (South Fork, Pa./Bishop McCort) has added a fifth decoration to his previous triumphs in his initial campaign for the Red Flash football program. Lewis was bestowed with the 2007 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Rookie of the Year Award on January 14, 2008. Lewis’ enshrinement onto the 2007 ECAC Football Championship Subdivision (FBS) All-Star roster marks his second Rookie of the Year tribute in one season. On November 27, 2007, Lewis was tabbed as the 2007 Northeast Conference Defensive Rookie of the Year.
In addition to Lewis' compliments of his two Rookie of the Year awards, Lewis was also named to the NEC All-NEC First Team Defense, the first time since 2004 a freshman was voted to such an extraordinary rank. Lewis was also the recipient of two NEC Rookie of the Week awards for his standout play against Duquesne in Week 6 and Wagner in Week 10.
Lewis’ nomination of ECAC Rookie of the Year is the first time a member of the Red Flash football team has acquired a nod from the selection committee since wide receiver Michael Caputo was listed as a 2005 ECAC Division I-AA Football All-Star First Team Offense selection. Lewis’ ECAC nomination stands as the first time a freshman has been honored on the ECAC All-Star list in Saint Francis history.
“Scott has proven week in and week out that he is as dedicated of a player as they come,” stated head coach Dave Opfar, now heading into his seventh season at the helm of the Red Flash. “Scotty certainly deserves everything he’s won this year, but he now must understand that it will get much tougher for him from here on out. He’s not a secret weapon anymore.”
Lewis represented the NEC as one of three affiliates to be named to this specific ECAC post-season listing. Central Connecticut State’s Ryne Nutt (First-Team Offense) and Wagner’s Al Phillips (First-Team Defense and Special Teams) were also nominated to the roster.
So much attention has been centered on Lewis’s play this season because he was the overall leader in the NEC with 12.6 tackles per game and finished tied for sixth with 1.00 tackles for loss per game. Nationally, Lewis finished fourth in tackles for Division I-FBS. Lewis was also only one of three freshman in the top 40 for that category. Lewis’ 126 total tackles in a single season earned him a fifth place ranking all-time for Saint Francis. The blue-chip linebacker racked up 10 total tackles for loss and three sacks on the season.
“It is an honor to be associated with such admirable names as part of the ECAC All-Star Team,” Lewis was quoted. “I can’t wait for the 2008 season.”
The ECAC will honor all players in each division and region on February 19, 2008 at the annual Eastern College Football Awards Banquet presented by FieldTurf Tarkett, an event held in the Pegasus Restaurant at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, N.J.
The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) is the nation's largest athletic conference and only multi-divisional conferences, with 322 member institutions and over 122,000 student-athletes ranging across 16 states from Maine to North Carolina and westerly to Illinois. Established in 1938 with 58 charter members, the ECAC has since emerged as the nationwide leader in service. The ECAC honors more than 3,000 student-athletes during the academic year through its all-star and player of the week programs. Each week, the conference has recognized 12 football athletes, including offensive and defensive, in the Football Championship Subdivision (IAA), Division II, and Division III (Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, and Southwest Regions).