Springfield Gardens, New York, sophomore running back picks up second All-America recognition after record-breaking season
D2Football.com All-America Teams
EASTON, Mass. (January 17, 2020) – Stonehill College sophomore running back Justin Felder has added a second All-America recognition to his impressive list of accolades from his record-breaking season with honorable mention All-America plaudits from D2Football.com, the website announced.
Felder, Stonehill's first Harlon Hill Trophy candidate, earned a spot on the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division II Coaches All-America second team last month and is the first in program history to be recognized by D2Football.com. In addition to his two All-America recognitions, Felder received the New England Football Writers College Division Gold Helmet Award as the top Division II/III player in New England, was named the Northeast-10 Conference's Most Valuable Player and D2Football.com NE10 Offensive Player of the Year. He is one of two NE10 players named to the D2Football.com All-America teams, along with Assumption College offensive lineman Quentin Hill.
Felder has earned All-Super Region 1 honors from Don Hansen's Football Gazette (first team) and D2CCCA (second team), while also being selected to the New England Football Writers Division II/III All-Star Team and All-NE10 first team. He enjoyed a breakout sophomore season for Stonehill, setting program records for rushing attempts (236), yards (1,513), touchdowns (16), total touchdowns (18), scoring (108 points) and all-purpose yards (1,611). He started the last eight games of the season and went on to lead the NE10 in each category listed above, ranking fourth in Division II for rushing yards per game (151.3), sixth for rushing yards, tenth for rushing touchdowns, 11th for total touchdowns, 12th in all-purpose yards, 17th in points scored, and 23rd for rushing yards per attempt (6.4).
Felder earned NE10 Offensive Player of the Week honors a program-record four times over the course of the season. He also received the New England Football Writers Division II/III Weekly Gold Helmet Award on November 10 and posted the first 100-point and 1,500-yard rushing season in program history, surpassing 100-yards in seven of ten games and is the first running back in NE10 history to rush for over 300-yards in back to back weeks. Felder set a school-record with his 314 yards on 24 carries with two touchdowns, averaging a program-best 13.1 yards per carry, in Stonehill's 41-20 win over Southern Connecticut State University on November 2. He followed that up with 311 yards on a career-high 40 carries and four touchdowns, with three rushing and another receiving, in the Skyhawks 34-22 win over Pace University on November 9.
Felder is already quickly moving up Stonehill's career rushing leaders after just 18 games played through his first two seasons. He ranks third in program history with his 18 career rushing touchdowns, which is just six shy of the program record of 24 by Eddie Vachon '11 and teammate Brian Kearns, Jr., while ranking seventh with 1,942 career yards, eighth with 21 total touchdowns and ninth with 331 rushing attempts.
Stonehill finished its 2019 season with a 6-4 record overall, including 5-3 in the NE10 to finish in third place in the Conference, just a game out of first place. In addition to Felder's Offensive Player of the Year selection by D2Football.com, head coach Eli Gardner was named the website's NE10 Coach of the Year after leading the Skyhawks resurgence from a 2-8 campaign a year ago and being picked sixth in the NE10 preseason coaches' poll. A program-record 14 from Stonehill earned All-NE10 honors this fall, including a program-best six on the first team, with a program-best five named to the Don Hansen's Football Gazette All-Super Region 1 teams.
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