GAMEDAY CENTRAL: Stonehill Hosts Southern Connecticut State for Hall of Fame Weekend

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Stonehill Tailgating Information

Full Stonehill Game Notes

Southern Connecticut State 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

The Game: Stonehill College returns home, where it will play two of its remaining three regular season games, to host Southern Connecticut State University for a Northeast-10 Conference football matchup on Hall of Fame Weekend at Timothy J. Coughlin (COG-lin) Memorial Field at W.B. Mason Stadium this afternoon. The Skyhawks are looking build off last weekend's 33-0 victory at Pace for a strong finish to move up the NE-10 standings as they still have a chance to earn a second-straight NE-10 Championship appearance with three wins and some help from the teams ahead of them in the standings. The Owls have lost four straight after a 38-7 home setback to Bentley 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 with Alex Patturelli and Pat Ahern calling the action. A live audio webcast is also available via www.sportingnewsct.com with Don Boyle on the play-by-play.


Dan Gamache, '95

Hall of Fame Weekend: Stonehill is conducting its 2014 Athletics Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Friday night at the Martin Institure at 7:30 p.m. 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. Gamache, who will serve as honorary captain for the coin toss this afternoon, is the tenth member of the football program to be inducted into the College's Athletics Hall of Fame. Joining Gamache in this year's Hall of Fame class are: Michael 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 (administrator).

Coaching 4 Change: Stonehill is happy to welcome former men's basketball standout Marquis Taylor, '06, and students from his Coaching 4 Change program. Coaching 4 Change is designed as a sports-based youth development organization that entices and motivates young people to complete high school and continue their education. Its model is designed to provide opportunities for disengaged urban youth to learn more about leadership, college, and career/job readiness. For more information visit www.c4cinc.org.

Against the Owls: This afternoon marks the 19th meeting all-time between these two programs. Southern Connecticut State holds a 16-2 advantage in the all-time series which dates back to 1997, but Stonehill has won two of the last three encounters, including a 23-21 comeback win in New Haven, Conn., last fall. The Owls are also 9-1 all-time here in Easton, with a 4-1 mark at W.B. Mason Stadium. Southern posted a 13-10 triumph here in its last visit to Easton on NE-10 Championship Weekend in 2012 after the Skyhawks earned their first ever win in the series with a 13-0 triumph in the regular season meeting between the two. The last four games between the two teams have been decided by an average of seven points. Head Coach Robert Talley is 2-6 in his career against Southern.


Catal

Rookie of the Week: Stonehill junior linebacker Peter Catal (Cornwall, N.Y.) has been named the Northeast-10 Conference Rookie of the Week for his efforts in Saturday's 33-0 win at Pace. He earns the weekly honors for the first time after helping lead a Stonehill defense which posted its first shutout in over two years with a 33-0 victory at Pace University on Saturday. He posted six tackles (three solo), an interception and pass breakup as the Skyhawks defense limited Pace to 199 total yards with 126 passing yards and 73 yards on the ground, while intercepting four passes for the afternoon. Catal's interception came at the Skyhawks one yard line to keep the game scoreless in the first quarter.

They're Honored: Stonehill senior wide receiver Nate Robitaille (Attleboro, Mass.) and sophomore quarterback Tom Sydeski (Brockport, N.Y.) were both named to the Northeast-10 Conference's weekly honor roll on Monday for their efforts in Saturday's 33-0 win at Pace. Robitaille posted 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. Sydeski completed 23-of-41 passes for a season-high 290 yards and two touchdowns in the win.


Nate Robitaille

Movin' On Up: Members of the Stonehill football team climbing the career record lists at Stonehill include:
    • Colin Markus (Monroe, Conn.): 7th on career rushing list with 1,506 yards (63 shy of Rob Olivar for 6th all-time)
    • Nate Robitaille (Attleboro, Mass.): 2nd on career receptions list with 166 (7 shy of John Gomes', '13 record of 173); 2nd on career receiving list with 2,298 yards (144 yards behind John Gomes, '13 school-record 2,442 yards); 3rd for total touchdowns scored with 25 (one shy of Rob Olivar for 2nd); 7th for career all-purpose yards with 2,978 yards (44 yds behind Dan Cahill, '96 for 6th and 91 yds behind Rob Olivar, '03 for 5th and 133 yards behind Mike McSharry, '98 for 4th all-time)
    • Gordon McLeod (Weymouth, Mass.): 6th on career receiving list with 1,288 yards (486 yards behind Kevin Adamson, '93 for 5th); 10th for career receiving touchdowns with 10 (one shy of Glen Lidstrom for 7th).
    • Brian Harrington (Rockland, Mass.):  10th on career tackles list with 239 (12 tackles behind Greg Sanzari, '10 for ninth all-time).

D-FENCE!: Stonehill leads the Northeast-10 and ranks 15th nationally for total defense, allowing just 297.0 yards per game. The Skyhawks also lead the NE-10 for rushing defense (18th nationally) at 103.9 yds/gm and are second for both passing defense (45th) at 213.0 yds/rm and scoring defense (41st) at 20.6 points per game. Stonehill's scoring defense average is a bit misleading as it includes all points allowed, including the 26 AIC points on turnovers in week three, while the Skyhawks defense allowed just seven points. Opposing offenses are scoring just 16.9 yards per game against the Stonehill defense this season.

Clean Sheet: Stonehill's 33-0 shutout victory at Pace last weekend marks its first shutout since a 13-0 win over Southern Connecticut State University here at W.B. Mason Stadium on September 8, 2012. It also marked the Skyhawks fifth shutout win over the Setters in the 20 game series history.

Big Protection: Stonehill's offensive line has yielded just six sacks so far this season. The Skyhawks line ranks second in the NE-10 for that category and 14th nationally. The offensive line is anchored by senior captain Lucas Brum (Farmingville, N.Y.) at center, with junior Jake Mikos (North Haven, Conn.) and sophomores Joe MacInnis (Raynham, Mass.), Anthony Siciliano (Monroe, N.Y.) and Christian Dyer (Seabrook, N.H.).


Handy

Handy Ryan: Senior Ryan Handy (Howell, N.J.), a first team All-Northeast-10 selection last season, ranks fifth nationally with his Northeast-10 leading 44.0 yard punting average. He leads the Conference with 13 punts inside the opponents 20 yard line, while his career-long 71 yard punt at American International in week three is tops in the NE-10 this season. His 40.5 career average is on pace to break Joe Crowley's, '04, record of 37.84 from 2000-03 after setting a new single-season program record with his 40.7 average last fall, which he is on pace to surpass again this fall. Stonehill ranks third nationally for net punting at 39.9 yards per punt.

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., in September. The Skyhawks are wearing 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.

For Henry: The Stonehill football team continues to maintain locker in a place of prominence in the team lockerroom for Henry Thevenin, '14, who passed away due to complications from leukemia in June 2011 after his freshman season. In week one of the 2011 season against Curry, the team honored Thevenin by playing its first defensive play with ten players. Thevenin appeared in seven games for the football team, starting the last six, as a freshman in 2010. He totaled 18 tackles, eight solo, with a pass breakup for the Skyhawks. Thevenin was a 2009 graduate of nearby Brockton High School and prepped one year at Suffield Academy in Connecticut.

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 back on the road next Saturday with it visits Saint Anselm College for the "Battle for the Ol' Bronze Hawk" in Manchester, N.H., at noon. The Skyhawks return to W.B. Mason Stadium the following Saturday, November 8, to host Assumption College for Senior Day at noon.