BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Richmond captured two of the four Patriot League football weekly awards, presented by Credit Union 1, when the League office announced honors on Monday. Lafayette and Lehigh each earned one accolade.
Lafayette senior quarterback Dean DeNobile earned Patriot League Football Offensive Player of the Week, completing 26-of-34 passes for 322 yards and five touchdowns in the Leopards’ 62-24 win over Bucknell.
Lehigh senior defensive lineman Matt Spatny was named Patriot League Football Defensive Player of the Week after posting six tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss (TFLs) and two sacks in the Mountain Hawks’ 31-7 win over Columbia.
Richmond senior wide receiver/punt returner Ja’Vion Griffin claimed Patriot League Special Teams Player of the Week. He returned a punt for an 87-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to help the Spiders seal a 24-19 win over Colgate.
Richmond freshman punter Ned Gray was selected Patriot League Rookie of the Week. He averaged 39.7 yards on six punts, including a career-long 51-yarder in the Spiders’ win over Colgate.
Bucknell senior placekicker/punter Matt Schearer, Colgate junior quarterback Jake Stearney, Lafayette junior punter Christian Bush, Lafayette junior defensive end Jaylon Joseph, Lehigh senior wide receiver Geoffrey Jamiel, Richmond sophomore linebacker Peyton Seelmann and senior quarterback Ashten Snelsire received honorable mentions for their performances last week.
The Patriot League football players of the week are selected in a vote by League media members and each school’s football athletics communications contacts, who are not eligible to vote for their student-athletes.
2025 Patriot League Football Standings (as of October 13)
| School |
PL |
PL Pct. |
Overall |
Overall Pct. |
| Lafayette |
3-0 |
1.000 |
5-2 |
.714 |
| No. 7/7 Lehigh |
2-0 |
1.000 |
7-0 |
1.000 |
| Colgate |
1-1 |
.500 |
2-4 |
.333 |
| Bucknell |
1-2 |
.333 |
4-3 |
.571 |
| Richmond |
1-2 |
.333 |
4-3 |
.571 |
| Fordham |
1-2 |
.333 |
1-5 |
.167 |
| Georgetown |
0-1 |
.000 |
3-3 |
.500 |
| Holy Cross |
0-2 |
.000 |
0-6 |
.000 |
ONLINE SCHEDULE |
ONLINE STATS
Patriot League Football Credit Union 1 Offensive Player of the Week
Dean DeNobile, Lafayette, Sr., QB, Upper Saddle River, N.J./Morris Catholic
*DeNobile completed 26-of-34 passes for 322 yards and five touchdown passes in Lafayette’s 62-24 victory over Bucknell to improve to 3-0 in League play.
*He guided the Leopards’ offense to a program record 670 total yards and their first 60-point game since 1944.
*The senior signal-caller recorded his second straight 300-yard passing game and threw a career-high five touchdown passes, completing passes to eight different receivers.
Patriot League Football Credit Union 1 Defensive Player of the Week
Matt Spatny, Lehigh, Sr., DL, Medina, Ohio/Medina
*Spatny recorded six tackles, 3.0 TFLs and two sacks in Lehigh’s 31-7 win at Columbia to improve to 7-0 for the first time since 2012.
*His 3.0 TFLs set a new career-high for Spatny, helping the Mountain Hawks hold the Lions to 39 rushing yards and nine first downs.
*He leads the Patriot League with 8.5 TFLs and is second with five sacks.
Patriot League Football Credit Union 1 Special Teams Player of the Week
Ja’Vion Griffin, Richmond, Sr., WR/PR, Williamston, N.C./Riverside Martin
*Griffin returned a punt for an 87-yard, game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter of Richmond’s 24-19 victory at Colgate.
*The senior wide receiver recorded the longest punt return in the Patriot League this season, and was three yards shy of the League record.
*His punt return for a touchdown is the first for a Spider since Nov. 25, 2023.
Patriot League Football Credit Union 1 Rookie of the Week
Ned Gray, Richmond, Fr., P, Melbourne, Australia/St. Leonard’s
*Gray had six punts for an average of 39.7 yards, including a career-long 51-yarder to help give the Spiders favorable field position in a 24-19 win over Colgate.
*He placed two punts inside the Colgate 20-yard line.
Honorable Mentions
Matt Schearer, Bucknell, Sr., P/K, Canonsburg, Pa./Central Catholic
*Schearer connected on a 50-yard field goal, matching the longest of his career, in Bucknell’s loss at Lafayette. He also punted eight times for an average of 41.0 yards per punt.
Jake Stearney, Colgate, Jr., QB, Chicago, Ill./Loyola Academy
*Stearney completed 25-of-45 passes for 322 yards and two touchdowns in Colgate’s 24-19 loss against Richmond. His 322 passing yards are the second most of his career, helping him become the eighth Raiders quarterback to record multiple 300-yard passing games during his Colgate career.
Christian Bush, Lafayette, Jr., P, West Chester, Pa./Episcopal Academy
*Bush averaged 42.8 yards per punt on four attempts with a career-long of 67 yards in a win vs. Bucknell. He landed two of his four punts inside the Bucknell 20-yard line.
Jaylon Joseph, Lafayette, Jr., DE, Houston, Texas/North Shore
*Joseph posted two sacks for a loss of 12 yards and forced a fumble in Lafayette’s 62-24 victory over Bucknell. He was part of a Leopards’ defense that limited Bucknell to 97 yards. The junior defensive end leads Lafayette with 5.5 TFLs this season.
Geoffrey Jamiel, Lehigh, Sr., WR, West Yarmouth, Mass./Deerfield Academy
*Jamiel caught nine passes for a career-high 182 yards and a touchdown in Lehigh’s 31-7 victory over Columbia. The senior wide receiver recorded a
SportsCenter Top 10 play on a 45-yard, one-handed catch in the second quarter and grabbed a career-long 63-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter.
Peyton Seelmann, Richmond, So., LB, Mechanicsville, Va./Hanover
*Seelmann finished with a team-high 12 tackles, 1.0 TFL and his first collegiate interception in Richmond’s 24-19 win at Colgate. The sophomore linebacker registered double-digit tackles for the third straight game
Ashten Snelsire, Richmond, Sr., QB, Berlin, Md./Stephen Decatur
*Snelsire completed 13-of-19 passes for 199 yards and one touchdown pass. He also rushed for a touchdown in the Spiders’ 24-19 victory at Colgate. The senior quarterback tossed a career-long 75-yard touchdown pass to Andreas Hill in the fourth quarter.
Offensive Player of the Week
9.1 – Treyvhon Saunders, Colgate, Sr., WR
9.8 – Kente Edwards, Lafayette, Jr., RB
9.15 - Kente Edwards, Lafayette, Jr., RB
9.22 – Kente Edwards, Lafayette, Jr., RB
9.29 – Geoffrey Jamiel, Lehigh, Sr., WR
10.6 – Ralph Rucker IV, Bucknell, 5th, QB
10.13 – Dean DeNobile, Lafayette, Sr., QB
Defensive Player of the Week
9.1 – Tymir Wynn, Colgate, Jr., DB
9.8 – GianCarlo Rufo, Georgetown, Jr., LB
9.15 – Tyler Ochojski, Lehigh, Sr., LB
9.22 – Cam Santee, Holy Cross, Jr., LB
9.29 – James Conway, Fordham, Gr., LB
10.6 – Trooper Price, Colgate, Sr., LB
10.13 – Matt Spatny, Lehigh, Sr., DL
Special Teams Player of the Week
9.1 – Alijah Cason, Holy Cross, So., WR/KR
9.8 – Nicholas Dunneman, Georgetown, Sr., WR/RS
9.15 – Connor Poole, Lehigh, So., P/K
9.22 – Nick Garrido, Lehigh, Sr., K
9.29 – Nick Garrido, Lehigh, Sr., K
10.6 – Max Mosey, Holy Cross, Sr., WR/PR
10.13 – Ja’Vion Griffin, Richmond, Sr., WR/PR
Rookie of the Week
9.1 – Brian Allen, Georgetown, Fr., DB
9.8 – Dean Mangiocavallo, Georgetown, Fr., DL
9.15 – Zachary Corna, Bucknell, Fr., S
9.22 – Joseph Williams, Holy Cross, Fr., RB
9.29 – Yohan-Li Louis, Fordham, Fr., RB
10.6 – James Schlendorf, Bucknell, Fr., DB
10.13 – Ned Gray, Richmond, Fr., P
ABOUT THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
The Patriot League is in its fourth decade of academic and athletic achievement, continually demonstrating that student-athletes can excel at both academics and athletics without sacrificing high standards. The Patriot League’s athletic success is achieved while its member institutions remain committed to its founding principle of admitting and graduating student-athletes who are academically representative of their class. Participation in athletics at Patriot League institutions is viewed as an important component of a well-rounded education.