Bridgewater, NJ – Junior Wily,
Jaylen Bonelli, and
Steven Krajewski of the Wagner College football team received Northeast Conference (NEC) Player of the Week honors, the league announced on Monday.
Wily earned NEC Defensive Player of the Week honors for the second consecutive week, while Krajewski was named the league's Offensive Player of the Week. Freshman
Jaylen Bonelli earned NEC Rookie of the Week honors. This marks the second week in a row Wagner has received at least two NEC Player of the Week honors, with Wily and freshman
Ryan Liszner earning weekly honors last week.
Wily led the Seahawks with 12 total tackles, including 0.5 tackles for loss, and a crucial interception to set up one of Wagner's two second half touchdowns.
After Merrimack turned the game upside down on two special teams touchdowns that gave the Warriors a 21-17 lead late in the third quarter, Wily's pick set the offense up with good field position to start the fourth quarter. The offense capitalized, with Krajewski scoring on a nine-yard run to re-establish the Wagner lead at 23-21 with 12:55 to play.
With interceptions in consecutive weeks, Wily ranks 12
th in the country in interceptions per game. As a team, the Seahawks sit first in the NEC and 24
th nationally with four interceptions.
Krajewski enjoyed his best day in a Wagner uniform, scoring four touchdowns on the day to lead the Seahawks to their second consecutive victory. The veteran signal caller threw for two touchdowns, while rushing for two scores on a difficult day for football on the East Coast. In a gritty performance, Krajewski finished the day with 118 yards through the air on 14-26 accuracy while adding 42 yards on the ground in Wagner's second consecutive victory.
Krajewski is nationally ranked in multiple statistical categories. The graduate student ranks first in the NEC and 39
th in the country. with five passing touchdowns on the season and leads the conference with 42 points responsible for, good for 41
st nationally.
Bonelli hauled in five catches for 48 yards and his first collegiate touchdown. The first-year Seahawk was on the receiving end of a clutch fourth quarter touchdown on fourth down, which re-established the Wagner lead.
At the conclusion of Saturday's game, Krajewski and Wily were the recipients of the Robb and Lia trophies, given out to Wagner's offensive and defensive MVPs in the homecoming game. The James Robb Memorial Trophy is annually presented to the outstanding offensive player at Homecoming while the Nick Lia Memorial Trophy is awarded to the Seahawks' outstanding defensive player. Established in 1949, the Robb Trophy was named in memory of James Robb, a Seahawk gridiron star who was killed in action during World War II. It was presented to Wagner's outstanding individual player in the annual homecoming game until 1969. In that season, the Lia Trophy was introduced in honor of another Wagner football player, Nick Lia, who was killed in the Vietnam War. An outstanding defensive player and team captain, the Staten Island native was a graduate of Curtis High School. Today, the Robb Trophy goes to the offensive MVP, with the game's defensive MVP taking home the Lia Trophy.
Wagner will travel to FBS member Rutgers on Saturday, with kickoff set for 3:30 pm on CBSSportsNetwork.
