Dartmouth College senior safety Harrison Keith, and UMass Dartmouth senior running back Mekhi Wilson are this week’s recipients of the New England Football Writers Association Gold Helmet Awards presented by the Jack Grinold/Eastern Massachusetts Chapter of the National Football Foundation.
Keith, a native of Fairfield, Conn., and a graduate of Choate School, led a secondary that allowed no points in the fourth quarter and helped create a turnover in the Big Green’s 27-21 win over Merrimack. Keith had five pass break-ups, one of them in the fourth quarter, that produced an interception off the tip at the Merrimack 24 leading to a Dartmouth field goal. Keith also broke up a third-and-1 pass in the third quarter to force a Merrimack punt. He added nine tackles, six of them solo.
Wilson, from Narragansett, R.I., and a graduate of Narragansett High School, set the UMass Dartmouth single-game rushing record with 340 yards on a career-high 39 carries (8.7 yards/carry) in the Corsairs’ 49-40 victory at Worcester State. The 340 rushing yards is the best in Division III this season. Wilson ran for a pair of touchdowns in both the second (7 and 14 yards) and fourth (13 and 11 yards) quarters including 75 yards in the possession that lead to the game clinching score.
For the twelfth straight year, the Jack Grinold/Eastern Massachusetts Chapter of the National Football Foundation is the presenting sponsor for both the weekly and end-of-year Gold Helmet Awards presented to student-athletes from FBS, FCS, Division II and Division III institutions throughout New England. The awards will be presented at the NEFW Captains and Awards Banquet on December 10 at the Renaissance Framingham Hotel & Conference Center.
For more information on the Grinold Chapter, please visit www.grinoldchapter.com.
2026 NEW ENGLAND FOOTBALL WRITERS ASSOCIATION
WEEKLY GRINOLD CHAPTER GOLD HELMET AWARD RECIPIENTS
Division I (FBS/FCS)
September 6 William “Pop” Watson, III - UMass
September 13 Joquez Smith, New Hampshire
September 20 Dante Reno, Yale
September 27 Xaden Benson, Harvard
October 4 Dante Reno, Yale
October 11 Charlie Smith, Harvard
October 18 Harrison Keith Dartmouth
Division II/III
September 6 Mathias Fowler, Framingham
September 13 Sean Lynch, Endicott
September 20 Christian Shapiro, Tufts
September 27 Bryan Ferreira, Endicott
October 4 Michael Mendicino, Springfield
October 11 Chris Donohue, Dean
October 18 Mekhi Wilson, UMass Dartmouth
Copyright 2026: New England Football Writers - All Rights Reserved.
newenglandfootballwriters@gmail.com
@NEFballWriters