GAME DAY CENTRAL: Stonehill Looks to Keep Momentum Going at Merrimack on Saturday

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Week Eight Game Notes (PDF)

Merrimack Game Notes (PDF)

Tickets (Available game day at ticket booth):
$7.00

Coach's Corner: Merrimack Preview

The Game: Stonehill College heads back out on the road for back-to-back road games for the second time this month as it visits Merrimack College for a Northeast-10 Conference football matchup at Martone-Mejail Field this afternoon. The Skyhawks are looking to keep the momentum of a 49-0 victory over Pace last Saturday, while the Warriors attempt to shake off a 44-24 setback to Assumption College in Worcester last Friday night.

Media Info: WSHL 91.3 FM will also be broadcasting the game back to Easton with Craig Riotto and Tim Culverhouse calling the action for the radio broadcast. Merrimack also offers a pay-per-view video webscast via www.merrimackwarriors.com with links also available via www.stonehillskyhawks.com.

Light the Night Walk: Members of the Stonehill football team, as well as the women's basketball program, participated for the first time at the Light the Night Walk to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society at Boston Common on Thursday, October 13, in honor of teammate Henry Thevenin, '14 who lost his courageous battle with leukemia in June. The Skyhawks were part of "Team H-Luv" that has raised $4,678.70 to date towards it's goal of $5,000.

The Series: This afternoon marks the 16th meeting all-time between these programs. Merrimack holds a 10-5 advantage in the series which dates back to 1996 after claiming its third-straight win in the series with a 42-39 triumph in Easton last September. All five of Stonehill's wins in the series have come here in North Andover with the Skyhawks posting a 5-2 clip here all-time. The Warriors posted a 42-21 victory the last time they met here in 2009. Head Coach Robert Talley is 1-3 in his career against Merrimack. 


Jermetrius Troy

Offensive Player of the Week: Junior running back Jermetrius Troy (Mattapan, Mass.) was named the Northeast-10 Conference's Offensive Player of the Week on Monday. He spearheaded Stonehill's rushing attack that piled up 376 yards and all seven touchdowns in a 49-0 victory over Pace on Saturday. Troy carried the ball 18 times for a career-best 214 yards and school-record matching four touchdowns and also caught two passes for ten yards to finish with a career-high 224 all-purpose yards. He scored the first four touchdowns of the game on runs of ten, four, 20 and a career-long 80 yards. 

He's Honored: Sophomore running back Jamal Johnson (Brockton, Mass.) was named to the Northeast-10 Conference's weekly honor roll for his part in a Stonehill offense that racked up 376 rushing yards against Pace on Saturday. Johnson carried the ball nine times for a career-high 102 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 11.3 yards per carry. He scored on second quarter runs of one and a career-best 65 yards to put the Skyhawks up 42-0 at halftime.

Man of Troy: Junior running back Jermetrius Troy (Mattapan, Mass.) ranks second in the Conference with 110 carries and 602 yards rushing. He ranks third in the NE-10 with his 86.0 yards per game (47th nationally) and seventh with his 5.5 yards per carry. Troy is also second on the team with 19 receptions, adding another 166 yards (8.7/rec), and is averaging a team-high 109.7 all-purpose yards per game.

Breaking Up is Easy To Do: Junior cornerback Kevin Anderson (Topsfield, Mass.) ranks third in the NE-10 with six pass breakups, ranking 56th nationally in Division II with eight passes defended. He is fourth on the team with 40 tackles (17 solo), including 1.0 for a loss of a yard, and a fumble recovery. Anderson is a three year starter for the Skyhawks, totaling 129 tackles (75 solo), 22 pass breakups, five interceptions and three forced fumbles.


Chris Rooney

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, is averaging 36.4 yards per punt this season. Rooney pinned three kicks inside the Bentley ten yard line, including one on the one, in week three. He had a long punt of 56-yards against Curry in week one, and has 12 punts of 50-plus yards over his career, including a career-long of 58 yards at Glenville State University in 2009. Rooney has placed 26 career punts inside the 20, including 11 this season (4th NE-10), and has pinned 11 inside the five over his career. 

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 are back on the road next weekend with a Northeast-10 Conference clash at Southern Connecticut State University on Saturday at 1 p.m. Stonehill returns home on Saturday, November 5, for its lone remaining home game when it hosts Saint Anselm College for the "Battle for the Ol' Bronze Hawk" on Easton and Military Appreciation Day with kickoff at noon. Stonehill will also honor its senior class prior to kickoff.