Five seniors from the Bates College football team – including Kyle Flaherty of Litchfield – were honored recently as the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame announced the members of the 2019 Hampshire Honor Society. The society is comprised of college football players from all divisions of play who maintained a cumulative 3.2 GPA or better throughout their college career. Flaherty is a running back majoring in history.

His four teammates receiving the honor were Art Churchwell of Newton, Mass., a defensive back majoring in economics; Connor DeSantis of Georgetown, Mass., a defensive lineman majoring in economics and minoring in philosophy and mathematics; Calvin Johnstone of Hopkinton, N.H., a defensive lineman majoring in environmental studies and minoring in rhetoric; and Walter Washington of Rockland, N.Y., a defensive lineman majoring in politics and minoring in rhetoric.

Qualifications for membership in the NFF Hampshire Honor Society include: being a starter or a significant contributor in one’s last year of eligibility (or a senior who has declared for the NFL Draft) at an NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision, Division II, Division III or an NAIA college or university; achieving a 3.2 cumulative grade point average throughout the entire course of undergraduate study; and meeting all NCAA/NAIA-mandated progress towards degree requirements.