By: Liam Cooney | Staff Writer
Despite the disappointment of no football in the fall or spring of the 2020-2021 academic year, your Salve Regina Seahawks are now 4-0 heading into Commonwealth Coast Conference play.
The Seahawks are coming off a 50-35 shootout home win against Rowan University, in which the Seahawks were down 35-10 with 3:45 left in the first half. Senior RB Joey Mauriello (Colts Neck, NJ) and his offensive line led a steady second half rushing attack for Salve, as Senior WR Max Devito (Cedar Grover, NJ) caught an impressive three straight TD passes to swing momentum in the home team’s favor. One grab with only 0:31 left in the first half, and two to start the second half, Devito played a key role in sparking the comeback.
A great start to the season is a testament to the type of work the program has been putting in during such a long absence from the field. After all, Salve’s last real game competition prior to this season was a win vs. Curry College on November 19th of 2019. Quite a long break from competition for any program, at any level, in any sport.
Head coach Kevin Gilmartin, now in his 9th season at the helm for the Seahawks, explained that COVID-19 restrictions are partly responsible for such a hot start: “They have been working so hard through the pandemic, through the preseason and into this fall,” Gilmartin said. He added that the culture and morale the team has been able to cultivate has translated to success on the field: “It’s been a great team, they have become so close together and have made the Salve football family so strong.”
Sophomore DB Jack Zingaro (Newtown, CT) also spoke to the type of unbreakable bond that has been established this year, now that the team is back together full time. He said simply, “this season has been awesome… our team has a great bond that comes from countless upperclassmen being great leaders and bringing us together.” As someone who missed his entire freshman season, like any other athlete from the class of 2024, Zingaro seemed relieved to finally be playing college football and have a chance to put his skills on display at this level. Although he missed out on any game action as a young freshman last year, the sophomore DB told me he tried his best to look at the positives of the difficult situation. Those positives included having a whole academic year to learn the whole system, meet all the coaches, better himself in the weight room, and adapt to be a student athlete before ever even stepping on the field.
“It’s been a great team, they have become so close together and have made the Salve football family so strong.”
Perhaps another reason Gilmartin’s squad has been able to jump out to a 4-0 start would be the presence of that strong culture, stemming from a great group of leaders – many of whom are graduate seniors – taking the opportunity the NCAA had presented of a 5th and final year of eligibility (due to the missed COVID season), and coming back to play one more year of college football. The Seahawks were lucky enough to have a total of 7 graduate seniors elect to come back and play this season. Guard Blake Guerreri (Old Greenwich, CT), DB John Goode (Rockland, Mass), DB Matt Sylvia (East Greenwich, RI), OL Pete Noonan (Ardmore, PA), DL Dylan Nagy (Franklin Square, NY), WR Dylan Nagy (Plymouth, Mass), and WR John Whitehouse (Foxboro, Mass) all chose to take their 5th year of eligibility and come back for one more year with the Seahawks.
As you can imagine, all these returning players certainly give the Seahawks a welcomed boost on the field, but they also contribute just as much off the field. I had the chance to interview grad senior and starting DB Matt Sylvia, a 2x 1st team all-CCC selection, tying the program record for interceptions (8) in his 2018 sophomore season. When I asked Sylvia why exactly he chose to come back to play another year, he mentioned “the culture and what we were building.” He felt he had to come back and couldn’t let his career end by missing his last year of football: “Not having a senior season was tough, there were several times when I saw everyone else my age moving on with life, which made me not feel 100% confident to stay, but I felt like I owed it to myself to use up all my eligibility.”
This support from players like Sylvia, and the six others mentioned, has clearly given the Seahawks a boost on the field with a current 4-0 record. This is clearly a positive team that really loves being around each other.
Heading into conference play, Gilmartin’s squad will take on the Western New England Golden Bears (2-2) this Saturday in beautiful Springfield, Massachusetts. Kickoff is at 1:00PM ET as the Seahawks will look to defeat the defending CCC champion Bears, who won the last conference crown in 2019.
Following Western New England, Salve will take on the University of New England, Nichols, Endicott, Curry, and then conclude the regular season away at Husson on November 6th.
Photos by George Corrigan, @gcorrphotos, gcorrphotos.com
