GAME DAY CENTRAL: Stonehill Hosts Merrimack in Key NE-10 Matchup on Senior Day

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Full Stonehill Game Notes

Merrimack Game Notes

Tickets (Available game day at ticket booth):
$7.00 Adults
$4.00 (students & senior citizens)
12 and under are free

Offensive Coordinator Pat McCann speaks at the weekly New England Football Writers Luncheon

The Game: Stonehill College returns home looking to get back on the winning track as it hosts Merrimack College in a key Northeast-10 Conference matchup on Senior Day at Timothy J. Coughlin (COG-lin) Memorial Field at W.B. Mason Stadium this afternoon. The Skyhawks dropped a 28-17 setback at American International College last Friday night, surrendering a ten point halftime lead. The Warriors are winners of two straight after posting a 63-14 victory at Pace University heading into a bye week last weekend.

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.

Saluting Our Seniors: Prior to today's game, Stonehill will take a few moments to recognize its 21 seniors. Seniors Kevin Anderson (Topsfield, Mass.), Ray Bass (Canton, Mass.), Chris Bolte (Tilton, N.H.), Sean Bresnan (Brooklyn, Conn.), Neal Dotterer (Macedon, N.Y.), Fabrice Dragon (Stoughton, Mass.), Ryan Friedlander (Attleboro, Mass.), Ed Gaffney (Stonington, Conn.), Jareed Gaines (Lumberton, N.J.), John Gomes (Hyannis, Mass.), James Hodges (Wethersfield, Conn.), Ryan Hunt (Yonkers, N.Y.), Matt Lohrey (Dunellen, N.J.), Taylor May (Sparta, N.J.), Mickey Miela (Foothill Ranch, Calif.), Kyle Norwood (Rehoboth, Del.), Daniel Oakes (North Haven, Conn.), Tyler Perry (Panorama City, Calif.), Jermetrius Troy (Mattapan, Mass.), Andrew Valeri (Saugus, Mass.) and Tyler Williams (Hamden, Conn.) have all been a part of a program which has win 17 games, including 13 in NE-10 play over their four years.


Senior Jareed Gaines

Week Six For the Skyhawks: American International climbed out of a ten point halftime deficit with 21 unanswered points in the second half to claim a 28-17 victory over Stonehill last Friday night in Springfield. American International erased a 17-7 halftime lead by piling up 24:12 of possession time in the second half, limiting Stonehill to just 15 offensive plays after halftime, including three in the third quarter. The Yellow Jackets finished with 384 yards of total offense, including 309 on the ground, while the Skyhawks were held to 136 total yards, with 56 rushing and 80 passing, and just nine first downs on the night. Senior Jareed Gaines (Lumberton, N.J.) led Stonehill with a career-high 14 tackles (six solo), including 1.5 for a loss of eight yards and 1.0 sacks for a loss of seven. Sophomore Michael Hogan (Westborough, Mass.) also finished with 14 tackles (four solo), while junior Tim Bennett (Fillmore, Calif.) added a career-best 11 stops (three solo), including 0.5 for a loss of a yard. Senior Ray Bass (Canton, Mass.) rounded out the double-figure tacklers with ten (six solo), including 2.5 for a loss of three yards. Senior John Gomes (Hyannis, Mass.) finished with 115 all-purpose yards as he caught three passes for 43 yards and a touchdown and returned three kickoffs for 72 yards. Junior Justin Willis (East Haven, Conn.) rushed the ball 14 times for 50 yards and a score. Classmate Jesse Hunt (Winchendon, Mass.) completed 8-of-21 passes for 80 yards and a touchdown.

Scouting the Warriors: Senior Joe Clancy (Newburyport, Mass.) runs the Merrimack offense, averaging 375.8 passing yards per game with 12 touchdowns and just six interceptions while completing 66.8-percent of his passes. Senior Isaiah Voegeli (Hyannis, Mass.) is his top target with 146.6 receiving yards per game and six touchdowns. Senior Jimon Hill (North Chicago, Ill.) averaged 65.4 yards on the ground with three touchdowns. Junior Jimmy Holland (Billerica, Mass.) leads the Warriors defense with 41 tackles (23 solo), including 5.0 for a loss of 17 yards, with 1.0 sacks, two pass breakups and a quarterback hurry. Senior Artis Holt (Baltimore, Md.) adds 34 tackles (26 solo) with an interception, four pass breakups and a fumble recovery. Junior Ervin Johnson (Bradenton, Fla.) leads the team with two interceptions, while junior Matt Tripicchio (Lake Zurich, Ill.) leads the defense with 7.5 tackles for loss.

Raise Talley's Tally: Fans can now vote for head coach Robert Talley for the NCAA Division II Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year program at coachoftheyear.com. The Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award recognizes college football coaches who demonstrate Sportsmanship, Integrity, Responsibility and Excellence both on and off the field. Endorsed by the College Football Hall of Fame, the program awards one winning coach from each NCAA division (I-FBS, I-FCS, II, and III) with $50,000 to donate to a charity of their choice, a $20,000 grant to each school's alumni association, and the Coach of the Year trophy. Remember to #votetalley every day!

He's Honored: Senior defensive back Jareed Gaines (Lumberton, N.J.) has been named to the Northeast-10 Conference's weekly honor roll. He led the Stonehill defense at American International on Friday night with a career-high 14 tackles (six solo), including 1.5 for a loss of eight yards, with a sack for a loss of seven.

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 at 8:06 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 today's game against 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. Stonehill students will be admitted free of charge on game day with the first 1,000 students receiving a free commemorative t-shirt to wear at the game. Stonehill faculty and staff will also be admitted free and can obtain their ticket in advance October 8-12 in the athletic department from noon to 4 p.m. Faculty and staff can also purchase additional tickets at that time as well.


Todd Dawson, '93

The Hall Calls: Stonehill held its 2012 Athletic Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony last night. This year's Hall of Fame Class includes former All-Conference offensive lineman Todd Dawson, '93, Dianna Chivakos, '05 (cross country/track & field), Joseph Kelly, '85 (baseball), former women's basketball coach Kelly Hart, longtime athletic administrator Cynthia MacDonald and former "Voice of Stonehill" John Murphy, '69.

#skyhawknation #spiritweek: #SkyhawkNation, the go-to Facebook fan page for Stonehill students, is holding #SpiritWeek October 9-18. #SkyhawkNation is promoting a contest where students will earn preferred seating at "Midnight Madness" on Thursday, October 25, a pizza party prior to the event, free Stonehill gear and infinite residence hall pride. Residence halls will receive points based on attendance to all Stonehill athletic events held during #spiritweek as well as bonus points for "Fan of the Game" among other factors.

Tough Stretch: Stonehill is in the midst of a three game stretch over 14 days with the middle contest in that span today againt Merrimack. The Skyhawks three opponents are a combined 12-3 during that stretch, capped by #5 New Haven (5-0) in just five days to cap the string heading into a much-needed bye-week.


Senior John Gomes

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 up three spots into fourth place on Stonehill's career tackles list with 280. He enters today's game ten shy of Matt Walsh (1999-02) for third all-time.

• Gaines ranks seventh all-time with 143 career solo tackles - three behind Richard White (1994-97) for sixth place.

• Gaines' 37.0 career tackles for loss rank fifth all-time - 1.5 behind Tony Pires (2003-06) for fourth. 

• 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.) became Stonehill's second 2,000 yard receiver in program history last weekend at Bentley, joining Dan Cahill (1992-95) as the only two 2,000 yard receivers in program history. Gomes' 2,053 career yards are 192 yards behind Cahill's school-record total of 2,245.

• Gomes is fifth all-time with 13 career touchdown receptions - two 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 2,779, ranking eighth all-time. He is 146 yards behind Mike McLucas (1991-94) for seventh all-time.

Defensive Gaines: Senior defensive back Jareed Gaines (Lumberton, N.J.) leads the Northeast-10 with 70 tackles (eighth nationally) and 39 solo stops (4th) this season. He also leads the NE-10 with 7.5 tackles for a loss of 20 yards, two forced fumbles (37th) and six pass breakups.

On Deck: Stonehill has a short week ahead of it as the bright television lights decend on W.B. Mason Stadium on Thursday when it hosts current No. 5-ranked University of New Haven for a Northeast-10 Conference clash at 8 p.m. The game will be televised live on CBS Sports Network as part of the NCAA Division II Game of the Week package.