Junior running back Eddie Vachon is averaging an NE-10 best 133 yards per game and earned NE-10 Player of the Week honors on Monday. |
Stonehill Opens Home Schedule Against AIC on Friday Night
Skyhawks look to build off
week two win as defending NE-10 champions
visit W.B. Mason Stadium
EASTON, Mass. (September 10, 2009) - Stonehill College will make its only home appearance in the month of September on Friday night as it hosts defending Northeast-10 Champions American International College at Timothy J. Coughlin Memorial Field at W.B. Mason Stadium at 7 p.m.
Tomorrow night's game is the centerpiece of "Kickoff Weekend" at the College with the departments of student activities and athletics conducting numerous events surrounding the game. Stonehill will also remember 9/11 with ceremonies before kickoff as well as at halftime, highlighted by the family of Timothy J. Coughlin, '80 a former Skyhawks football player and 9/11 victim, performing the coin toss along with President Rev. Mark T. Cregan.
Admission to all home Stonehill football games is $7.00 for adults and $4.00 for students and senior citizens. Stonehill faculty, staff and students are admitted free of charge with their "Hill Card." Children under the age of 12 will also receive free admission. For those who cannot make it to W.B. Mason Stadium, the game will also be available online via www.stonehillskyhawks.tv on a pay-per-view basis ($6.99).
Stonehill (1-1, 0-0 NE-10) will be looking to build off the momentum of last week's 45-42 victory at NCAA Football Championship Subdivision member Wagner College on Staten Island. Junior running back Eddie Vachon (Newton, Mass./Blair Academy) led the way for the Skyhawks with a career-high 215 all-purpose yards, including a career-best 191 yards rushing on 27 carries and three touchdowns. He earned NE-10 Player of the Week honors on Monday for his efforts. Junior safety Steven Good (Green Harbor, Mass./Marshfield) led the Skyhawks defense with a career-high 16 tackles (seven solo), including one for a loss and an interception that set up Stonehill's go-ahead touchdown just before halftime and collected NE-10 Defensive Player of the Week honors in the process.
Junior safety Steven Good is coming off a career-high 16 tackle performance at Wagner last weekend. |
Vachon is leading the Northeast-10 with 133.0 yards rushing per game, while his 184.5 all-purpose yards per game and 12.0ppg are both good for third in the NE-10. Three different quarterbacks have seen action through Stonehill's first two games of the season. Sophomore Tim Morrison (Billerica, Mass./Billerica Memorial) was an effective 5-for-13 last week at Wagner for 112 yards and two scores. Senior linebacker Greg Sanzari (Centerport, N.Y./St. Anthony's) and junior Nick Vardaro (Woburn, Mass./Austin Prep) share the team lead with 10.0 tackles per game so far, with Sanzari totaling 11 solo stops and a sack and Vardaro chipping in a sack.
American International enters tomorrow night's NE-10 opener having won 14-straight conference games dating back to early in the 2007 season. The Yellow Jackets boast the NE-10's top offense, averaging 422.5 yards of total offense and 39.5 points through their first two games. AIC opened the season with a 21-6 win over LIU-C.W. Post before topping Merrimack College in a non-conference battle last Saturday night, 58-34.
Junior quarterback Rob Parent (West Warwick, R.I./West Warwick) engineers the AIC offense and is averaging 271.5 yards passing per game through two weeks to go with five touchdowns. Freshman running back Jermayne Capdeville (Springfield, Mass./Springfield Central) is averaging 97.0 yards per game on the ground with three scores, while senior Kertis Hussey (Paterson, N.J./Paterson Catholic) is averaging 101.0 yards receiving on 7.0 catches per game with four touchdowns.
AIC is led defensively by junior linebacker George Hudson (Philadelphia, Pa./LaSalle) with 8.5 tackles per game, while senior Nate Thompson (Elizabeth, N.J./Elizabeth) adds 6.5 stops per game, including a team-best three tackles for lost yardage so far.
Tomorrow night marks the 13th meeting all-time between these two programs. American International has won each of the first 12 encounters, including a 24-10 decision in Springfield last fall. Parent was 17-for-25 through the air for 171 yards and two touchdowns for the Yellow Jackets. Sophomore Stephan Neville (Foxborough, Mass./Foxborough), who returned a kickoff 91-yards for a touchdown last weekend at Wagner, posted 143 yards on three kick returns, while Vachon picked up 129 all-purpose yards.
Stonehill gets back on the road next week when it visits Merrimack on Friday, September 18, at 7 p.m. After another road game at NE-10 newcomers University of New Haven on Saturday, September 26 (1 p.m.), the Skyhawks return home after a bye week to host Pace University on Saturday, October 10, at 1 p.m.
