Coach Gardner Speaks at Wednesday's New England Football Writers Luncheon
Stonehill Tailgating Information
Tickets:
$7.00 Adults
$4.00 (students & senior citizens)
12 and under are free
The Game: Stonehill College looks to get back on the winning track as it hosts American International College for a Northeast-10 Conference matchup as part of Alumni Weekend festivities at Timothy J. Coughlin (COG-lin) Memorial Field at W.B. Mason this afternoon. The Skyhawks have dropped two straight after a tough 31-12 setback to rival Bentley University here last Friday night, while the Yellow Jackets rallied from a 20-3 second quarter deficit to post an impressive 37-27 victory over Assumption College last Saturday.
Media Info: Live video of tonight's game is available on a pay-per-view basis ($6.99) via www.stonehillskyhawks.tv. Charlie Bergeron, the voice of the Skyhawks, is back for his 14th season of broadcasting the action powered by Pack Network. WSHL 91.3 FM will also be broadcasting the game with Craig Riotto and Matt Tardiff calling the action for the radio broadcast.
Coach to Cure MD: The Stonehill coaching staff, in conjunction with the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) will be wearing "Coach to Cure MD" patches this week to raise awareness and funding for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy research. The Skyhawks are one of more than 400 institutions participating in this year's event. Fans are encouraged to donate online at www.CoachtoCureMD.org or donate $5 by texting CURE to 90999.
Alumni Weekend: This afternoon's game is part of a busy Alumni Weekend at the College. Last night, the athletic department held its 23rd annual Athletics Hall of Fame induction ceremony at Pettit Atrium in the Shields Science Center. During a "Night of Champions," the 2003 NCAA Division II National Champion Women's Lacrosse team, the 2003 Equestrian Team that captured the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) Hunter Seat Collegiate Cup National Championship, and the 2005 NCAA Division II National Champion Women's Lacrosse team were all inducted into the Hall of Fame. Tomorrow's schedule features men's and women's tennis against Franklin Pierce at Charles Watt Tennis Courts at 11 a.m. (women) and 2 p.m. (men), field hockey hosting Lindenwood here at W.B. Mason Stadium at 1 p.m., and women's soccer taking on Southern Connecticut State at Skyhawk Field at 1:30 p.m.
The Series: This afternoon marks the 15th meeting all-time between these two programs. American International has won each of the first 14 encounters between the two in a series that dates back to 1997. The Yellow Jackets edged the Skyhawks 14-12 in Springfield last September, marking the closest margin since a 26-24 AIC win in the inaugural meeting in 1997. The Yellow Jackets are 3-0 here at W.B. Mason and 8-0 overall in Easton in the series, posting a 34-17 triumph here in their last visit in 2009. Head Coach Robert Talley is 0-4 in his career against AIC.
Neville |
A "Face in the Crowd": Senior All-America kick returner Stephan Neville (Foxborough, Mass.) will be featured in the "Faces in the Crowd" section of the September 26 issue of Sports Illustrated to hit newstands this weekend. Neville is recognized for breaking the NCAA Division II record for career kickoff returns set earlier this month with his ninth at Pace on September 10. He is the 12th Stonehill student-athlete to be honored in the national magazine and the first ever from the football program. Click here to view all Stonehill "Faces."
Defensive Gaines: Junior defensive back Jareed Gaines (Lumberton, N.J.), the 2009 NE-10 Co-Freshman of the Year, has led the Skyhawks in tackles in each of the first three games of the season, including a career-best 13 stops at Pace in week two. He ranks third in the NE-10 (23rd nationally in Division II) with 32 tackles, ranking fourth with 16 solo stops (54th nationally). His NE-10 best two fumble recoveries rank fifth nationally and he has also posted 3.5 tackles for a loss of eight yards (10th NE-10), including a sack for a loss of five and an interception returned 13 yards.
Punting Performance: Senior Chris Rooney (Quincy, Mass.) has proved quite effective in switching field position for Stonehill over his career. Rooney, a two-time All-Northeast-10 punter, ranks fourth in the NE-10 (48th nationally) with his 38.7 yards per punt this season. Last week against Bentley, Rooney pinned three kicks inside the Falcons ten yard line and one on the one. He had a long punt of 56-yards against Curry in week one, and has 11 punts of 50-plus yards over his career, including a career-long of 58 yards at Glenville State University in 2009. Rooney has placed 21 career punts inside the 20 and has pinned ten inside the five over his career.
Miela |
He's Blogging: Stonehill junior defensive back Mickey Miela (Foothill Ranch, Calif.) is maintaining a weekly blog for the Northeast-10 Conference on its website during the 2011 season. The website offers an insight into life as an NE-10 football student-athlete and will appear on www.northeast10.org and www.stonehillskyhawks.com.
Coach's Corner: www.stonehillskyhawks.com, the official website of Stonehill athletics will have weekly interviews with head coach Rob Talley throughout the season. Coach Talley will recap the previous week's game every Tuesday and then there will be a preview of the coming week's game each Thursday or Friday. Each interview is approximately ten minutes long and will give fans an inside look at each game this season. There will also be regular interviews with Skyhawks student-athletes as well.
Getting Social: Fans and media members of Stonehill athletics now have two social media outlets to get updates on all 20 varsity programs. The department's Facebook page is www.facebook.com/stonehillskyhawks, and you can also follow @SkyhawkTalk on Twitter!
On Deck: The Skyhawks hit the road for the next two weeks starting next Saturday when it visits NE-10 preseason favorites University of New Haven at 1 p.m. Stonehill's next home game is Saturday, October 15, when it hosts Pace University for a Northeast-10 clash at 1 p.m.