Handy Named to All-New England Team

Skyhawks senior punter earns honors from New England Football Writers for first time in his career

2014 New England Football Writers Division II/III All-Star Team

EASTON, Mass. (December 11, 2014) – Stonehill College senior punter Ryan Handy (Howell, New Jersey/Howell) has been named to the 2014 New England Football Writers Division II/III All-New England team by the organization.

Handy earns the honors for the first time in his career and is among seven Northeast-10 Conference student-athletes selected to the Division II/III All-New England team this season. Handy earns All-New England honors after being selected to the All-Northeast-10 first team for the second straight year. He broke his own single-season program record with an NE-10 leading punting average of 41.4 yards per kick, which also ranks 14th nationally in Division II. He also ranks second in the NE-10 with 16 punts inside the opponent's 20 yard line, while ranking third with 53 punts, including a career-long 71-yard punt at American International College on September 20. He also aided in a punt team that leads the NE-10 and ranks 13th nationally for net punting average (36.7 yards per return).

 Handy had eight punts in all of 50-plus yards and was named the NE-10 Special Teams Player of the Week following the Skyhawks win at Bentley University in week two when he averaged 44.8 yards on four punts, with a long of 47 yards. He placed two kicks inside the Falcons 20 yard line, including one to the Falcons three which would eventually lead to great field position for a Stonehill field goal that sealed the key win. Handy gave Bentley an average starting field position of its own 15.5 yard line on the four punts.

Handy, who surpassed his previous program record punting average of 40.7 yards set in 2013, finished his career with a program-record average of 40.1 yards per punt, surpassing the previous record of 37.8 yards per kick by Joe Crowley '04. Handy finished his career with 155 punts, averaging the school-record 40.1 yards per kick, with 47 punts inside the 20 yard line, 15 free catches and ten touchbacks. Handy owns three of the top ten punting average seasons in program history, adding a 37.3 yard average as a sophomore to rank tenth all-time.

Stonehill finished its 2014 season with a 5-6 record overall, including a 4-5 mark in Northeast-10 play. The Skyhawks capped their season with a 19-11 victory over Saint Anselm College on NE-10 Championship Weekend in the No. 5 vs. 6 game. The Skyhawks boast the No. 6-ranked defense in Division II, leading the NE-10 for total defense, passing defense and rushing defense, while ranking second for scoring defense.

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