NEWTON, Mass. -- For the third consecutive week, a Mount Ida College freshman is the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) Rookie of the Week, and for the second time in a row, it is linebacker D'Andre Smith (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.).

The awards were announced on Monday afternoon by the ECFC conference office.

Smith was a leader for the Mustangs both on defense and special teams in their 38-19 defeat to Norwich on Saturday at Alumni Field. He racked up a team-high nine tackles on defense and also broke up three passes in the game, helping the Mustangs hold their opponents to just 56 yards passing.

On special teams, Smith helped set up the Mustangs with superb field position all day thanks to his kickoff returns. The freshman turned in 135 yards returning kickoffs and, though he is only credited with one return, Smith took several pitches from teammate Jovan Wilkins into Norwich territory. He also scampered for a 67 yard return himself.

Smith was honored a week ago for his three blocked kicks in Mount Ida's 36-25 win at Becker, and joins running back EJ Isom (Cranston, R.I.), who was the ECFC Rookie of the Week recipient when he rushed for 108 yards and two touchdowns on October 19th against Anna Maria.

The Mustangs (4-4, 3-2 ECFC) will play their final two games of the year on the road, beginning Saturday when they travel to the Bronx, N.Y. for a 1:00 pm showdown against Maritime.