Times Chronicle & Public Spirit
La Salle grad Morrissey wins Burlsworth Award
Pitts wins John Mackey Award
Pitt football’s Jimmy Morrissey (Huntingdon Valley/La Salle) was named Monday the winner of the 2020 Burlsworth Award, given to the nation’s most outstanding college football player who started his career as a walk-on.
Morrissey started at center for four straight seasons — starting all 47 games he played for the Panthers. He made the All-ACC Football Team for the third consecutive year in 2020, earning second team honors after being first team in 2019 and third team in 2018.
A two-time team captain, Morrissey has also selected to the AllACAA Academic Football team three times and has enrolled in Pitt’s Katz Graduate School of Business after earning a bachelor’s degree in finance and marketing.
· FLORIDA FOOTBALL’S KYLE PITTS (PHILADELPHIA/ARCHBISHOP WOOD) » Pitts was named the winner of the John Mackey Award Thursday, the award given to college football’s most outstanding tight end.
Pitts is the second tight end in Gators history to win the Mackey Award and was the first tight end to be a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award, presented to college’s best pass catcher.
A unanimous first-team AllAmerican — Florida’s first since 2015 — Pitts had 43 receptions for 770 yards (tied for second-most in a season by a UF tight end) and 12 touchdowns (second-best by a tight end in SEC history).
· VILLANOVA MEN’S BASKETBALL’S COLLIN GILLESPIE (HUNTINGDON VALLEY/ARCHBISHOP WOOD) » Gillespie was named to the John R. Wood Award Midseason Top 25 Watch List Wednesday.
Gillespie is second on the Wildcats (8-1, 3-0 Big East) in scoring with 15.3 points per game, is first in both assists (38) and steals (11) and is also averaging 2.9 rebounds per game.
· NATALIE KUCOWSKI (PHILADELPHIA/SAINT BASIL) » Kuckowski moved into 10th place in career points all-time for Lafayette women’s basketball Sunday as she finished with 15 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and two blocks in the Leopards’ 73-65 loss to Lehigh.
Last Saturday as Lafayette fell to Lehigh 81-75 in overtime, Kucowski collected 16 points, 21 rebounds, seven assists, four blocks and three steals.
· BUCKNELL WOMEN’S BASKETBALL’S TAYLOR O’BRIEN (LAFAYETTE HILL/PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH » O’Brien scored a game-high 18 points while also grabbing five rebounds and mak
ing two steals as the Bison bested Loyola (Md.) 59-44 Sunday.
· MATT FAW (KING OF PRUSSIA/UPPER MERION) » Faw finished with 13 points, six rebounds and a pair of block as the Holy Cross men’s basketball team defeated Boston University 68-66 Tuesday for its first win of the season.
· LIZZIE OLEARY (WILLOW GROVE/ABINGTON) » O’Leary had six points and two rebounds as the Delaware women’s basketball team topped Northeastern 68-61 Tuesday. NORTHEASTERN’S IZZY LARSEN (HATFIELD/ARCHBISHOP WOOD) » Larsen posted six points, four rebounds and an assist while Maddie Vizza (Southampton/Germantown Academy) added five points for the Huskies.
Monday in the Blue Hens’ 86-59 win over Northeastern. Oleary collected six points, four rebounds and three assists. Larsen had six points, five rebounds, one assist and one steal with Vizza having three points and an assist.
· JACK CLARK (CHELTENHAM/ CHELTENHAM) » Clark was one of five La Salle men’s basketball players in double figures last Saturday, scoring 15 points to go along with four rebounds as the Explorers routed Fordham 89-52.
CLIFTON MOORE (AMBLER/ HATBORO-HORSHAM) » Moore chipped in nine points, four rebounds, an assist and a block as La Salle improved to 5-5 (2-1 Atlantic 10) with its second straight victory.
· KATE CONNOLLY (HARLEYSVILLE/SOUDERTON) » Connolly had five points, four rebounds, two blocks and an assist as the Drexel women’s basketball team defeated UNCW 76-63 last Saturday. A day later in the Dragons’ 61-34 victory over UNCW, the junior forward finished with four points, four rebounds, three assists and a block.
· FAIRFIELD MEN’S BASKETBALL’S ZACH CRISLER (NORTH WALES/LA SALLE) » Crisler had 11 points, one rebound and one assist in the Stags’ 72-56 loss to Rider last Saturday.
· ANDREW FUNK (WARRINGTON/ARCHBISHOP WOOD) » Funk paced the Bucknell men’s basketball team with 16 points and also had five rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal as the Bison fell 78-69 to Navy last Saturday. Funk then collected nine points, three rebounds and two assists Sunday in a 63-60 loss to Navy.
· LA SALLE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL’S JAYE HAYNES (FORT WASHINGTON/GERMANTOWN ACADEMY) » Haynes was 3-for-3 from the field and 6-for-6 from the foul line to score a team-high 13 points in last Friday’s 72-69 loss to Rhode Island.
· RHODE ISLAND WOMEN’S BASKETBALL’S KASSONDRA BROWN (ABINGTON/ABINGTON) » Brown had eight points and three rebounds Tuesday in the Rams’ 4847 victory over UMass. Last Friday in a 72-69 win over La Salle, Brown finished with three points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals.