Stonehill Tailgating Information
Tickets (Available game day at ticket booth):
$7.00 Adults
$4.00 (students & senior citizens)
12 and under are free
| Meet Senior Defensive Back Mickey Miela |
| Coach's Corner with Robert Talley: Assumption Preview |
The Game: Stonehill College returns home for the third time in the first four weeks of the season as it hosts Assumption College for a Northeast-10 Conference football matchup as part of Family Weekend at Timothy J. Coughlin (COG-lin) Memorial Field at W.B. Mason Stadium tonight. The Skyhawks are off to a 2-0 start in NE-10 play for the first time since 2007 after winning the "Battle for the Ol' Bronze Hawk" for the seventh-straight year with a 35-20 decision at Saint Anselm College last Friday night. The Greyhounds are looking to bounce back from their second loss in the final minute this season to Bentley University last Friday night.
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 in his 15th season of broadcasting the action powered by Pack Network. WSHL 91.3 FM will also be broadcasting the game with Craig Riotto and Tim Culverhouse calling the action for the radio broadcast.
Week Three for the Skyhawks: Stonehill won the "Battle for the Ol' Bronze Hawk" for the seventh straight year and claimed its eighth straight series win with a grinding 35-20 victory over Saint Anselm in Manchester, N.H., last weekend. Senior Jermetrius Troy (Mattapan, Mass.) and junior Justin Willis (East Haven, Conn.) combined for 242 yards and two touchdowns to spearhead a Stonehill offense that pounded out 523 yards of total offense – the Skyhawks most since 539 total yards in a 49-0 win over Pace University last October. Willis added 19 rushes for a season-best 92 yards and a score. Senior wide receiver John Gomes (Hyannis, Mass.) caught six passes for a season-best 104 yards, while sophomore Nate Robitaille (Attleboro, Mass.) added four receptions for 77 yards and two scores. Sophomore Michael Hogan (Westborough, Mass.) led the Stonehill defense with nine tackles (two solo). Senior Mickey Miela (Foothill Ranch, Calif.) posted a pair of interceptions, both of which came inside the Skyhawks five yard line, two tackles (one solo) and a pass breakup in his return after missing the opening two weeks of the season to injury.
Scouting Assumption: The Greyhounds enter tonight's game looking to bounce back from their second last minute loss of the season after dropping a 21-14 decision to Bentley in Worcester last Friday night. Junior quarterback Bobby Jordan (Cromwell, Conn.) runs the Assumption offense, having completed 60-of-101 passes for 632 yards and five touchdowns with just one interception so far this season. Junior running back Matt Pedone (Holden, Mass.) is averaging 47 yards per game on the ground with one touchdown for an offense that gains 132.3 rushing yards per contest. Junior tight end Scott Simonson (Red Bank, N.J.) is averaging 70.0 receiving yards per game, having found the end zone twice. Junior linebacker Matt Colangelo (Cromwell, Conn.) leads the Greyhounds defense with 18 tackles (16 solo), including 2.0 for a loss of five yards. Junior linebacker Mike Bates (Holden, Mass.) has added 16 stops (13 solo), including 2.0 for a loss of seven yards with 1.0 sacks and a forced fumble. Junior Mike Stuppiello (Forked River, N.J.) has registered a team-high 5.0 tackles for a loss of 28 yards, including a team-best 4.0 sacks.
Against the Greyhounds: Tonight marks the 25th meeting all-time in the varsity era between these two programs in a series that dates well beyond Stonehill's first varsity season in 1988 as the two enjoy a rich club history as well. Stonehill holds an 18-6 advantage in the all-time series having won each of the last five encounters, seven of eight and nine of 11 dating back to 2000. The Skyhawks capped their 2011 season with a 28-23 victory over Assumption in Worcester last season. Stonehill is 8-4 all-time at home against the Greyhounds, winning the last two meetings, including an 18-0 triumph here at W.B. Mason Stadium in 2010. The Skyhawks are 2-1 against the Greyhounds at W.B. Mason Stadium. Head Coach Robert Talley is 5-0 in his career against Assumption.
Mickey Miela |
Defensive Player of the Week: Stonehill senior defensive back Mickey Miela (Foothill Ranch, Calif.) has been named the Northeast-10 Conference's Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts in last week's 35-20 victory over Saint Anselm. Miela, who missed the first two weeks of the season due to injury, earns the weekly honor for the first time in his career after he returned to the Stonehill lineup and intercepted two passes and broke up another while finishing with two tackles (one solo) in the "Battle for the Ol' Bronze Hawk." Both of Miela's interceptions came inside the Skyhawks five yard line, the second of which was with 1:27 remaining to seal the win. His first pickoff preserved the lead late in the first quarter and his breakup came two plays before his second interception.
They're Honored: Stonehill placed three players on the Northeast-10 Conference's weekly honor roll on Monday. Senior wide receiver John Gomes (Hyannis, Mass.) posted a game-high 164 all-purpose yards at Saint Anselm, including six receptions for 104 yards. Senior running back Jermetrius Troy (Mattapan, Mass.) rushed the ball a career-high 33 times for a season-best 150 yards and a touchdown, while junior Justin Willis (East Haven, Conn.) was the other half of the Skyhawks rushing attack with 19 carries for a season-high 92 yards and a score.
Skyhawks Going National: Stonehill College and the Northeast-10 announced this summer that its October 18 game against defending NE-10 champion and preseason No. 13 University of New Haven will be broadcast nationally on CBS Sports Network. Kickoff for the contest here at W.B. Mason Stadium is just after 8 p.m. It marks the football team's first national broadcast.
Get Your Tickets!: Stonehill has announced that it will be selling a limited number of advance tickets for its October 18 game against New Haven for $7.00 at its next two home games today against Assumption and Saturday, October 13 vs, Merrimack. All tickets for the New Haven game will be $7.00 and must be paid for with cash only. Phone orders for tickets will not be available.
Skyhawks Are Huge on the Panhandle: A sports radio station in Panama City, Fla., chose the Stonehill/Assumption game as one of the ten games (eight Division I and two Division II/III) being picked on the "Rocky and Randall Road Show" on WBPC-FM 95.1. Fans can listen online at www.beach951.com and are encouraged to call into the show to voice their support of the Skyhawks by calling 850-235-2951 between 8:15 and 10:30 a.m., Eastern time.
Saturday Night Lights?: Since W.B. Mason Stadium opened in 2005, Friday night football has been a regular occurance for Stonehill, but Saturday nights? Tonight marks the first Saturday night game for the Skyhawks in program history - home or away. Stonehill is 4-8 all-time under the lights at W.B. Mason Stadium.
2-and-OH-So Good: Stonehill is off to a 2-0 start in Northeast-10 play for the first time since head coach Robert Talley's first season at the helm in 1997. The Skyhawks started that season with a 4-0 NE-10 clip and 4-1 mark overall.
Turn 'Em Over: Stonehill enters Saturday night's game ranked 13th nationally in Division II for turnovers forced with a Northeast-10 leading ten through the first three weeks of the season. The Skyhawks rank14th in Division II with five fumble recoveries and 24th nationally with five interceptions.
Go For It!: Stonehill ranks seventh in Division II for fourth down conversion percentage, having successfully gained a first down on four of its five attempts on fourth down so far this season. On the flip side, the Skyhawks defense has yet to allow a fourth down conversion in five attempts by its opponents through three weeks - one of 20 teams in Division II and one of three NE-10 programs, including Assumption with has also held opponents 0-for-5 through three weeks.
In the Zone: Stonehill'd defense ranks eighth nationally in Division II for Red Zone Defense holding its opposition to an NE-10 low 44-percent scoring rate inside its 20 yard line. In nine opponent drives inside its red zone, the Skyhawks have allowed four scores (16 points) on one touchdown and three field goals.
Jermetrius Troy |
Keep Going to the Well: Senior running back Jermetrius Troy (Mattapan, Mass.) had a career-high 33 rushing attempts at Saint Anselm on Friday night - the third highest single-game total in program history. It also marked the most carries by a Stonehill player since Michael McSharry took the ball a program record 43 times against Sacred Heart in 1995.
A Team Possessed: Stonehill hogged the ball for a whopping 42:08 to dominate time of possession in Friday night's win at Saint Anselm. The Skyhawks time of possession is a school-record for a regulation game, besting the previous high of 40:05 in a 41-14 win over Curry College in 1996. Stonehill had 47:45 in a 12-6 overtime win over UMass Lowell in 1998.
Defensive Gaines: Senior defensive back Jareed Gaines (Lumberton, N.J.) leads Stonehill with 32 tackles (20 solo) through the first three weeks of the season. His tackle total is good for third in the NE-10 and 29th nationally in Division II. His 20 solo tackles lead the NE-10 and rank sixth nationally. Gaines also leads the NE-10 with two forced fumbles - good for sixth nationally.
3,000 Club: Junior quarterback Logan Meyer (Ventura, Calif.) became the fifth player in program history to pass for over 3,000 yards in his career when he passed the milestone with his 162 yards at Saint Anselm on Friday. He enters tonight's game just 50 yards shy of John Darak (1997-99) for fourth place on the program's career passing yardage list with his 3,084 career yards.
Top Ten: Senior running back Jermetrius Troy (Mattapan, Mass.) cracked Stonehill's career rushing top ten and moved all the way up to sixth all-time with his 150 yard effort at Saint Anselm on Friday. Troy, who entered the game just a yard shy of the top ten, has now rushed for 1,388 yards over his career and is now 181 yards behind Rob Olivar (2000-03) for fourth all-time with 1,569 career yards.
Hey Mickey!: Senior defensive back Mickey Miela (Foothill Ranch, Calif.) moved into a tie for seventh in program history with eight career interceptions after his two pickoffs at Saint Anselm on Friday night. He is presently tied with Glenn Pafford, '92, just one shy of Jon Kilborn, '09 for sixth. Miela has totaled 59 tackles (32 solo) in 27 career games played with five pass breakups.
Jareed Gaines |
Movin' On Up: Several Stonehill players are marching up Stonehill's career and single-season leader lists in program history: • Senior Jareed Gaines (Lumberton, N.J.) moved into ninth place on Stonehill's career tackles list with 242. He enters today's game nine tackles shy of Greg Sanzari (2006-09) for eighth all-time.
• Gaines ranks seventh all-time with 125 career solo tackles - 21 behind Richard White (1994-97) for sixth place.
• Gaines' 30.5 career tackles for loss rank sixth all-time - 3.0 behind Nate Weeman (1994-97) for fifth.
• Senior Jermetrius Troy (Mattapan, Mass.) moved into a tie for seventh in program history with 13 career rushing touchdowns, two shy of moving into the top five.
• Senior John Gomes (Hyannis, Mass.) ranks third on Stonehill's career receiving list with 1,887 career receiving yards, just 75 yards behind Brian Adamson's (1991-94) 1,962 yards for second all-time.
• Gomes is fifth all-time with 12 career touchdown receptions - three shy of Mike Plitchka (2004-05) for fourth place.
• Gomes has also moved into the program's career top ten for all-purpose yards with 2,503, ranking eighth all-time. He is 422 yards behind Mike McLucas (1991-94) for seventh all-time.
Back-to-Back-to-Back: Stonehill captured its third-straight Northeast-10 Presidents' Cup for the 2011-12 academic year, marking the eighth-straight year the Skyhawks have finished in the top three for the final standings. Stonehill captured its fourth Presidents' Cup overall by accumulating a program-best 189.5 points during the academic year to edge second place Southern Connecticut State University (177.0) by over 12 points.
Academic Success: Stonehill College has been recognized for its academic performance with regard to graduation rate by earning a 98-percent Academic Success Rating (ASR) for the second-straight year as released by the NCAA. The ASR considers the academic success rate of the institution based on the graduation rate of student-athletes while also giving credit for any student-athletes that transferred from the institution while in good academic standing. In addition to Stonehill's overall ASR of 98%, ten of Stonehill's 16 athletic programs (cross country and indoor and outdoor track & field are combined by the NCAA) received perfect scores of 100%. Stonehill's 98% ASR ranks second among NE-10 institutions behind just Saint Michael's College (99%) and is tied for third overall in NCAA Division II. The football team maintained an ASR of 96% for the second-straight year - signifigantly higher than the federal rate of 84%.
Leaders of the Pack: For the fourth-straight year, Stonehill College is partnering with Pack Network to provide live "Packcasts" of all home football and men's and women's basketball games along with other select athletic events. Fans can access the webcasts via www.stonehillskyhawks.tv. Viewers can opt to purchase single-game passes for $6.99 or purchase an "All-Access" pass for $59.99, however Skyhawks Fans who sign up for an All-Access pass before October 1 will receive a $10 discount. All-Access pass members can view all Stonehill webcasts for the entire year, while also gaining access to the archives and be able to watch the webcasts at any time.
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: Stonehill hits the road for the next two weeks for a pair of Friday night games, starting next week at rival Bentley University in Waltham on Friday, September 28, at 7 p.m. The Skyhawks visit American International College the following Saturday before returning home for its last two regular season home games as they host Merrimack College for Senior Day on Saturday, October 13, at noon.