Stonehill Tailgating Information
Merrimack Pregame Release & Notes
Tickets (Available game day at ticket booth):
$8.00 Adults
$5.00 (students & senior citizens)
12 and under are free
Stonehill students are admitted free with their HillCard
| Coach's Corner with Robert Talley |
The Game: Stonehill College returns home to open a two game homestand as it hosts Merrimack College for a Northeast-10 Conference matchup at Timothy J. Coughlin (COG-lin) Memorial Field at W.B. Mason Stadium as part of Family Weekend tonight. The Skyhawks will be looking to bounce back from last weekend's disappointing 33-5 setback at American International College, while the Warriors are off to a 2-0 start in NE-10 play after their 19-17 home victory over LIU Post last Saturday.
Media Info: Live video of this afternoon'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 17th season of broadcasting the action powered by Pack Network. WSHL 91.3 FM will also be broadcasting the game back with Alex Patturelli and Pat Ahern calling the action.
MacDonald |
Remembering Coach Mac: The Stonehill football community was saddened by the passing of longtime Stonehill football coach Tom "Coach Mac" MacDonald, '53, at the age of 83 at his home in Nashua, N.H., last week. The College will conduct a moment of silence in honor of MacDonald prior to tonight's game and the Skyhawks will wear commemorative black "MAC" stickers on their helmet for the remainder of the season in "Coach Mac's" memory. MacDonald was a member of the College's second graduating class and a student-athlete for the baseball and boxing teams before serving many years as a member of the coaching staffs of the baseball and football programs. "Coach Mac" was inducted to the Stonehill Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999.
Coach to Cure MD: For the sixth year in a row, Stonehill head coach Robert Talley and his coaching staff will join college football coaches nationwide in support of the Coach To Cure MD program, which will be held during games this weekend. The rapidly growing annual effort has raised more than a million dollars to battle Duchenne muscular dystrophy. American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) members will wear a Coach To Cure MD logo patch on the sidelines and college football fans will be asked to donate to research projects supported by Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD), the largest nonprofit organization in the U.S. focused entirely on Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Football fans can donate to Duchenne muscular dystrophy research by either going online to www.CoachtoCureMD.org or by texting the word CURE to 90999 (a $5 donation will automatically be added to your next phone bill). Last year, more than 10,000 college coaches at more than 600 different institutions participated in Coach To Cure MD events. Both those figures are higher than in any of the program's first six years (2008-13). The five-year fundraising total is just over $1 million.
We Are Family!: It's Stonehill College's annual Family Weekend on the campus and a full schedule of events are planned, with tonight's football game the cornerstone event. Elsewhere in Stonehill athletics, the women's soccer team hosted New Haven for its "Purple & White" game this afternoon at 12:30 p.m., while volleyball hosted Post on Friday night and Saint Michael's this afternoon at 2 p.m. There will also be a carnival, a State of the College Address by our President, Fr. John Denning, CSC, and a performance by entertainer and mind reader Mark Toland.
Against the Warriors: Tonight marks the 19th meeting all-time between these two programs. Merrimack holds an 11-7 advantage in the all-time series which dates back to the 1996 season, but Stonehill has won each of the last two encounters, including a 26-14 victory in North Andover last November to clinch a share of the Northeast-10 regular season championship in the regular season finale for both. The Skyhawks claimed a 22-20 triumph here at W.B. Mason Stadium the Warriors last visit in 2012. That marked Stonehill's first-ever home win against Merrimack as the Warriors are 8-1 all-time in Easton, including a 3-1 clip here in W.B. Mason Stadium. Stonehill head coach Robert Talley is 3-4 in his career against Merrimack.
Harrington |
Brain and Brawn: Stonehill junior All-American linebacker Brian Harrington (Rockland, Mass.) was announced as one 167 semifinalists for the 2014 William V. Campbell Trophy and National Football Foundation (NFF) Scholar-Athlete Awards on Friday. It marks the second-straight year Stonehill has had a semifinalist on the prestigious list after James Lanier, '14 was a candidate last season. Harrington has earned a 3.30 cumulative grade point average as a criminology major at the College and was also a nominee for the AFCA/AllState Good Works team this fall. He plans to enlist in the military following graduation and aspires to become an Army Ranger and eventually a State Policeman.
They're Honored: Stonehill junior rover Peter Catal (Cornwall, N.Y.) and running back Colin Markus (Monroe, Conn.) have both been selected to the Northeast-10 Conference's weekly honor roll on Monday. Catal registered a career-high ten tackles (six solo) at American International on Saturday, with 2.5 tackles for a loss of four yards and a blocked field goal. Markus rushed the ball a season-high matching 24 times for a season-best 177 yards against the Yellow Jackets.
Top Target: Senior wide receiver Nate Robitaille (Attleboro, Mass.) enters this afternoon's game on the verge of becoming the program's all-time leader for touchdown receptions, needing one touchdown catch to surpass Dan Cahill, '96. Robitaille collected his program record matching 22nd career touchdown reception midway through the first quarter with a 46 yard scoring grab at Bentley in week two. He matched the program record with 13 touchdown receptions in 2013, setting program single-season marks for receiving yards (1,229), receptions (91) and receptions per game (8.27). Robitaille also enters today's game ranked fourth all-time with 1,891 career receiving yards - 551 yards shy of former teammate John Gomes, '13 record total of 2,442. Robitaille ranks third for career receptions with 137 - 36 behind Gomes record of 173.
Grzywacz |
Nobody Beats the Gryz: Junior kicker Steve Grzywacz (Manchester, N.H.) set a new program record for career field goals as his 28-yard field goal that opened the scoring at AIC on Saturday was the 21st of his career. He surpassed the previous record of 20 made field goals set by Joe Crowley, '04. Grzywacz's 31 career field goal attempts ranks second all-time behind Crowley's record 39 field goal attempts.
D-FENCE!: Stonehill leads the Northeast-10 and ranks 13th nationally in Division II for total defense, allowing just 258.3 yards per game. The Skyhawks are also ranked fourth in scoring defense (24.7 ppg), although the stat is a bit misleading as it includes all points allowed, including the 26 AIC points on turnovers last weekend, while the Skyhawks defense allowed just seven points. Opposing offenses have scored just 48 points (16.0/gm) against the Stonehill defense this season.
Finding the End Zone: Junior running back Colin Markus (Monroe, Conn.) posted his sixth career 100-yard rushing game with his 24 touches for a season-high 177 yards at American International last weekend. He posted his second career multi-touchdown game with his two one-yard scoring runs at Bentley in week two. Markus leads the NE-10 with his 349 rushing yards, averaging 5.9 yards per carry (3rd), and ranking fifth with his two TDs this fall. He ranks 25th nationally in Division II with 116.3 rushing yards per game.
No Fly Zone: The Stonehill defense ranks second in the NE-10 (15th nationally) for passing defense, yielding just 135.3 yards per game. The Skyhawks limited Bloomsburg to an NCAA Division II low 13 passing yards in week one as the Huskies completed just 3-of-18 passes, including a long of seven yards. The Skyhawks have broken up six passes this season, led by senior safety Sterry Codrington (Freehold, N.J.) with three to rank fifth among NE-10 leaders, to go with one interception.
Weekly Double: Senior All-American linebacker Brian Harrington (Rockland, Mass.) posted double-figure tackle totals for the 12th time over the last 13 games with his season-high matching 11 stops at Bentley in week two. He recorded double-digit tackles in each of his first eight games in 2013, notching six games with 16 tackles or more, including a career-high 17 stops in three games last season (at Assumption, at New Haven, at American International). Harrington ranks 11th in the NE-10 with his team-high 25 tackles this season.
Catal |
At a Loss: Junior linebacker Peter Catal (Cornwall, N.Y.) has made the most of his first three weeks on the field for Stonehill, ranking third nationally in Division II with his Northeast-10 leading 7.5 tackles for loss (20 yards). He posted a career-high ten tackles at American International, including a career-best 2.5 for a loss, and also blocked a field goal after posting seven tackles (five solo), including 3.0 tackles for a loss of four yards in his collegiate debut against Bloomsburg in week one. He is third on the team with 21 tackles, including a team-high 13 solo, through three weeks.
The Hall Calls: Stonehill will induct its Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2014 in a ceremony on Friday, October 24. Among the inductees is Stonehill's career sack leader, Dan Gamache, '95, who got the opposing quarterbacks 34.0 times over his career, including a record 14.0 in his senior year in 1994. Joining Gamache in this year's Hall of Fame class are: Mike Close, '00 (baseball/ice hockey), Mike Barros, '88 (men's basketball), Helen Phillips, '86 (softball/women's basketball), Karen Boen (cross country/track & field head coach) and Brian Murphy, '68 (contributor).
25th Anniversary: Stonehill will host a 25th anniversary reunion for its 1989 New England Football Conference (NEFC) Championship team at its game against the University of New Haven on Saturday, October 4, at 6 p.m. The team posted a 6-3 record overall, capped by a 24-12 victory over Bentley.
Leaders of the Pack: For the sixth-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. 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. Games can also be viewed on your iPad or iPhone.
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 is right back here at W.B. Mason Stadium next Saturday to host the University of New Haven for a Northeast-10 Conference matchup at 6 p.m.
