2014 All-NEC Teams
 
Somerset, NJ – Cornerback Jarrett Dieudonne (Fort Lauderdale, FL/Dillard), center David Fredrickson (Staten Island, NY/Poly Prep), nose tackle Al Page (Bronx, NY/Christopher Columbus), linebacker Max Wassel (Totowa, NJ/Passaic Valley) and tight end Bryant Watts (Burlington, NJ/Florence) were named to the 2014 All-Northeast Conference (NEC) First Team, while safety Daniel Mack (Miami, FL/Dade Christian), and punter A.J. Firestone (Mercersburg, PA/Mercersburg Academy) earned Second-Team All-NEC honors, the league office has announced.

All four of Wagner's 2014 team captains – Dieudonne, Firestone, Fredrickson, and Wassel, earned All-NEC honors. As for the NEC individual award winners, Bryant lineman Jeff Covitz claimed Defensive Player of the Year honors while Saint Francis U running back Khairi Dickson was named NEC Offensive Player of the Year award. Red Flash freshman running back Marcus Bagley, who complemented Dickson as SFU averaged a league-high 208.8 yards rushing per game, earned NEC Offensive Rookie of the Year status. The NEC Defensive Rookie of the Year award went to Duquesne linebacker Nathan Stone while Sacred Heart head coach Mark Nofri was tabbed NEC Coach of the Year for the second straight season.

The Pioneers, (9-2, 5-1 NEC) who finished as NEC Co-Champions along with Wagner (7-4, 5-1 NEC), will represent the NEC in the 2014 NCAA FCS Division I Playoffs, winning the tiebreaker by virtue of a 23-7 win over the Seahawks (Nov. 1) will play at Fordham in Saturday's first round.

For Wagner, it marks the second NEC title in the last three years as the Seahawks won the 2012 championship en route to an appearance in the Division I NCAA Playoffs. Spearheading the Seahawk success was a relentless defense that led the NEC in a host of categories this season while also ranking in the NCAA Top 10 in three major categories – Rushing Defense, No. 2 (83.1), Total Defense, No. 6 (281.3) and Scoring Defense, No. 10 (18.0).

Dieudonne, a fifth-year senior, made his mark both on the NEC and on the national scene this season  delivered his FCS high third interception return for a touchdown in the season's penultimate game vs. Duquesne (11/15) which was his seventh pick overall. Those seven INTs moved him into a fourth-place tie with Hall of Fame member Mike Kelly on the Seahawk single-season list, with Kelly's five pilfers coming in 1965. His seven INTs are tied for second in the national FCS rankings.  The 6-1, 190-pound Dieudonne finished his sterling Seahawk career with 14 career interceptions, tied for fifth all-time with Wagner and tied for fifth on the NEC all-time list.

While recognized for his ball-hawking abilities, Dieudonne also  evolved into a true "shutdown" corner in 2014. Matched up against the NEC's leading receiver, Tyler Dube of Sacred Heart (72  receptions), the whole game back on Nov. 1, Dieudonne, limited him to one catch for five yards. Last week vs. Duquesne, Dieudonne was asked to mark the NEC's No. 3 receiver in Chris King (68 receptions) and held him to two catches for 10 yards. For the season, Dieudonne also had 33 tackles, including four tackles for loss, 17 pass deflections and 10 pass breakups.

Dieudonne, who earned 2012 NEC First-Team honors, like Fredrickson, was a true ironman during his Seahawk career, gaining starting assignments in all 46 games over the past four seasons. The 6-4, 290-pound Fredrickson, who has anchored the Seahawk offensive line throughout his career, was a 2014 Preseason All-NEC choice and backed up that nod with a tremendous final season on Grymes Hill.

Page, a transfer from Rutgers, wreaked havoc along the defensive line throughout the season and was someone all opposing offenses had to game plan against. A muscular, 6-2, 290-pound specimen, Page had 45 tackles, including 29 solo stops and 18 tackles for loss (No. 4 in NEC) which went for minus 46 yards. Equally disruptive against the run as he was the pass, the Bronx, NY product also recorded three sacks and six quarterback hurries.

Wassel was a terror all season from his inside linebacker spot. Seemingly always around the action, the 5-11,, 235-pound New Jersey native was tops on the team with 81 tackles, a 7.5 average per game, which ranked No. 6 in the NEC. In addition, his 21 tackles for loss (for minus 61 yards) ranked No. 2 in the NEC while his 52 solo tackles ranked No. 3 in the league. He added four sacks (minus 35 yards), along with three pass deflections, two interceptions and two forced fumbles. Against Sacred Heart on November 1, Wassel wowed the Seahawk faithful on hand as well as the audience viewing the game on ESPN3.com, by totaling an astounding 18 tackles, the highest individual tackling mark by an NEC player this season.

Rounding out the quintet of Seahawk All-NEC First-Team choices is Watts, a fifth-year senior and a physical prototype at 6-5, 245 pounds. Watts tied for fourth on the team in 2014 with 12 receptions for 160 yards, a 13.4 average, along with four TD catches. Three of those TD receptions came in the wild 46-39 double-overtime win over Saint Francis U (10/11). Firestone's Second-Team All-NEC honor makes him an All-NEC choice for the second straight season as he was a First-Team selection in 2013. A 2014 Preseason All-NEC pick, Firestone continued to be a major weapon, with 20 of his 68 punts downed inside the 20 with another six being fair caught. For the season, he averaged 36.0 yards with a long of 57.

Mack was a premier performer throughout the 2014 campaign from his string safety spot, finishing second on the team with 63 tackles, highlighted by 34 solo stops. A transfer from Wake Forest, the hard-hitting 6-0, 200-pounder led the NEC with three fumble recoveries, while adding two interceptions, three pass deflections and two tackles for loss.

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