WORCESTER, Mass. (Dec. 10) -- Six members of the Nichols College football team have been named to the Worcester Area Football Association All-Star Teams. The Bison had three from each side of the ball, offense and defense, named to the All-star squads. Senior DT Bill Hassett (Oxford, Mass.) and junior CB Brandon Wallace (Windsor, Conn.) earned First Team accolades, while senior WR Anthony Pillari (Lumberton, N.J.), senior OT Brandt Genga (Middletown, R.I.), first year OG Charles Baker (Milton, Mass.), and junior DE Patrick Gregory (Webster, N.Y.) earned Second Team honors.
Hassett earned All-Worcester Area honors for the third-straight year, and First Team accolades for the second consecutive season in addition to All-NEFC Boyd Division First Team honors. Although he missed two games due to injury in 2009, Hassett was the core of the Bison's defense. He finished the season with the most tackles per game among defensive linemen and 12th among all players in the NEFC with 8.4 per game. He posted three 10+ tackle games and finished 18th in the nation in tackles for a loss with 1.81 per game – a total of 14.5 for a loss of 38 yards in eight games. Hassett ranked fifth in the NEFC with six sacks, helping Nichols to the conference's third-highest team total (24).
Wallace joins Hassett on the All-Worcester Area First Team in addition to his All-NEFC Boyd Division Second Team honors. He was a ball-hawk in 2009, intercepting a team-high three passes on the season and breaking up another three. He also proved to be a solid tackler as he finished the season with 47 stops. On special teams Wallace proved to be a key member.
Pillari, also an All-NEFC Boyd Division First Team honoree, rewrote the Nichols' record books in 2009, as he broke the program's single-game, single-season, and career receptions mark. He makes his second-straight appearance on the All-Worcester Area All-Star Team after earning Second Team honors last season. He led the Bison with 107.9 all-purpose yards per game in 2009, hauling in a school-record 59 catches for 756 yards, scoring a pair of touchdowns at Plymouth State. His 139 career receptions mark the career record for the Bison. Pillari finished the year ranked third in the NEFC in both receptions and receiving yards per game with 5.90 catches and 75.5 yards per game.
Genga also makes his second consecutive appearance on the Worcester Area All-Stars Second Team, and was also an All-NEFC All-Boyd Division First Team selection. He's been a four-year starter for the Bison and served as co-captain in 2009. For four years he's been a dominant force for Nichols that pass-rushers and run-stoppers alike have had little success against.
Baker had an outstanding rookie campaign, also earning All-NEFC Boyd Division Second Team accolades. Baker picked up the conference's game style faster than most first year players. He was key on screen blocks for the Bison's and potent pass game and is an excellent puller.
Gregory proved to be an all-around defensive end, both as a pass-rusher and run-stopper. He led the Bison in sacks with six this past season for a total loss of 31 yards. He was third on the team in tackles with 61. He even picked a ball off in a game in 2009. In two games this season he had double-digits in tackles, at Framingham State and at Endicott College.
Nichols finished the season with a 4-6 record, doubling its win total from the season before.
