Junior Deontae Ramey-Doe rushed for a pair of touchdown to help lead the Skyhawks past Pace today. (PHOTO BY Bob Blanchard) |
Skyhawks force four turnovers for first shutout in over two years
OSSINING, N.Y. (October 18, 2014) – Stonehill College got back on track with a well-rounded performance in a 33-0 victory over Pace University in Northeast-10 Conference football action at Ann M. Dorner Middle School this afternoon.
Stonehill posted its first shutout since a 13-0 victory over Southern Connecticut State University on September 8, 2012, holding Pace to 199 total yards and posting a season-high four interceptions. The Skyhawks defense, which entered the game with six interceptions over the first six games of the season, limited the Setters to 126 yards passing and 73 rushing yards for the afternoon.
Senior All-American linebacker Brian Harrington (Rockland, Massachusetts/Rockland) posted a team-high seven tackles (five solo) for Stonehill, while junior Peter Catal (Cornwall, New York/Cornwall) added six stops (three solo), an interception and pass breakup. Senior Dante Brito, Jr. (New Haven, Connecticut/Hamden Hall) contributed five tackles (three solo) and an interception, while freshman Andrew Beidermann (Bedford, New Hampshire/Bedford) posted a season-high three tackles (two solo), including 2.0 sacks for a loss of five yards.
Junior Peter Catal regisetered six tackles and a key interception for the Skyhawks defense. (PHOTO BY Jan Volk/SportsPix) |
Sophomore quarterback Tom Sydeski (Brockport, New York/Brockport) steered the Stonehill offense which posted a season-high 441 total yards by completing 23-of-41 passes for a season-best 290 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions and no sacks. Junior Deontae Ramey-Doe (Dorchester, Massachusetts/BC High) rushed the ball 20 times for a career-high 77 yards and two scores for his first career multi-touchdown game. The Skyhawks finished with 151 yards on the ground to go with its 290 passing yards.
Senior Nate Robitaille (Attleboro, Massachusetts/Attleboro) led Stonehill with a game-high 169 all-purpose yards as he caught a season-high ten passes for a season-best 144 yards and a touchdown, while adding a 21 yard kickoff return and four rushes for four yards. With his 144 receiving yards today, Robitaille moves past Dan Cahill, '96 into second place on the program's career yardage list with 2,293 yards – trailing only former teammate John Gomes', '13 record of 2,442 career receiving yards. Robitaille's 166 career receptions are just seven shy of Gomes' career mark of 173 catches. He also moved into seventh all-time at Stonehill for career all-purpose yards with 2,978 yards and he extended his program record for career touchdown catches with his 24th today.
Junior Jamir Gee (Paterson, New Jersey/Monroe College) led the Pace defense with a game-high ten tackles (five solo), including 2.5 for a loss of five yards and an interception. Classmate Tyler Owens (Salem, New Jersey/Salem) added nine stops (four solo), including 1.0 for a loss of two yards and two blocked kicks, while freshman Issac Esson (Loxahatchee, Florida/Seminole Ridge) chipped in six tackles (three solo), including 1.0 for a loss and two pass breakups.
Senior Ransford Quarrie (Hamilton, New Jersey/Notre Dame) rushed the ball 12 times for 53 yards for the Setters, while junior Kyle Johnson (Elmont, New York/Elmont Memorial) caught six passes for 57 yards. Senior Brian Beeker (Spring Hill, Florida/Springstead) completed 13-of-33 passes for 81 yards with three interceptions.
Sophomore Tom Sydeski passed for a career-high 290 yards and two touchdowns. |
Stonehill was looking for a spark when it appeared headed for a third punt to go with a drive ended by an interception over its first four possessions of the game, when junior Ryan Hollis (Hawthorne, New Jersey/Hawthorne) took a direct snap on fourth and one at the Pace 47 and rushed the ball 39 yards to the eight to keep the drive alive. It marks the Skyhawks 13th fake punt over the last five seasons and they capitalized two plays later when junior Gordon McLeod (Weymouth, Massachusetts/BC High) rushed the ball in from five yards out for his fourth touchdown of the season with 1:08 to play in the first quarter.
Stonehill extended its lead to 13-0 (the extra point was blocked on the first score) with a 13 play, 78-yard drive on its next possession, capped by Ramey-Doe's first one yard touchdown run on fourth down. It marked the second time on the drive that the Skyhawks converted on fourth down with Sydeski keeping the possession alive by connecting with junior Corey White (Bergenfield, New Jersey/Bergenfield) for a 25 yard pass play on fourth and seven from the Setters 27. Ramey-Doe had three carries for 30 yards on the drive.
Stonehill was able to run its lead to 19-0 before halftime when Sydeski connected with Robitaille for a 73-yard touchdown pass with 43-seconds remaining in the second quarter. It marks Stonehill's first passing play of 70-yards or more since David Pringle caught a Cruz Parsons pass for a 70-yard touchdown against Bentley University on September 26, 2008.
Senior Nate Robitaille caught a season-high ten passes for a season-best 144 yards to move into second place on the program career receiving yardage list. (PHOTO BY Jan Volk/SportsPix) |
Stonehill pushed the lead to 26-0 on its first possession of the second half when Ramey-Doe capped an 11 play, 78-yard drive over 4:54 with his second one yard plunge of the day and third score of the season. The Skyhawks converted twice on third down on the drive, with Sydeski completing five of six passes for 59 yards.
Stonehill capped the scoring on the day when Sydeski found senior Zaire Reiph (Norwalk, Connecticut/Saint Luke's School) for a 29 yard touchdown pass with 12-seconds left in the third quarter. The Skyhawks started with great field position after Robitaille called for a fair catch on a Pace punt at the Setters 47. Stonehill sealed the shutout from there by collecting two interceptions and forcing a pair of turnovers on downs in the fourth quarter.
Pace's best scoring opportunity came on its second possession of the afternoon after junior Addison Casey (Eliot, Maine/Marshwood) intercepted Sydeski at midfield. The Setters drove to the Stonehill 14, but Beeker was picked off at the one yard line by Catal to end the threat and keep the game scoreless. Pace drove to the Stonehill 22 with five minutes left in the first half, but sophomore O'Shea Bell (Bronx, New York/The Taft School) intercepted Beeker at the 13. The Setters reached the Skyhawks 49 and 21 yard lines on two possessions in the fourth quarter, but failed to convert on fourth down both times to turn the ball over on downs.
It marks the fifth time in the 20-game series history between the two programs that Stonehill has held Pace scoreless. The Skyhawks now hold an 11-9 edge in the all-time series after their first shutout of the Setters since a 49-0 triumph in Easton, Massachusetts, in 2011.
Stonehill (3-4, 3-3 NE-10) returns home next Saturday to host Southern Connecticut State University for a Northeast-10 matchup on Hall of Fame Weekend at the College at 1 p.m. Pace (0-7, 0-6 NE-10) visits Bentley University next Saturday at 1 p.m.
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