Sophomore cornerback Donovan Phanor received his weekly Gold Helmet Award from head coach Robert Talley at the New England Football Writers luncheon at Harvard's Dillon Fieldhouse this afternoon. (PHOTO COURTESY Harvard Athletic Communications) |
Portsmouth, N.H., sophomore cornerback is first Skyhawks defensive player to collect prestigious weekly honor
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (September 9, 2015) – Stonehill College sophomore cornerback Donovan Phanor (Portsmouth, New Hampshire/Portsmouth) received the New England Football Writers Weekly Gold Helmet Award for Divisions II and III, sponsored by the Jack Grinold Eastern Massachusetts Chapter of the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame, at the opening New England Football Writers weekly luncheon of the season at Dillon Fieldhouse on the campus of Harvard University today.
Phanor earns the weekly award for the first time in his career and is the seventh weekly Gold Helmet Award winner from Stonehill in program history, but the first defensive player to receive the prestigious award. He is the first Skyhawk to earn the honors since Logan Meyer, '14 collected the award on September 25, 2013. Also earning Gold Helmets from Stonehill were quarterback Cruz Parsons (October 5, 2005), running back Tyrone Jefferson (2000), quarterback Dan Field (1995), running back Mike McLucas (1994) and quarterback Tony Dello Iacono (1994).
Phanor, who also collected Northeast-10 Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors for his efforts on Tuesday, led a Stonehill defensive effort which held Bloomsburg University, ranked 11th in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division II preseason poll and 14th in the D2Football.com preseason poll, to just 264 total yards in Saturday's 27-10 triumph. He made his first career start for the Skyhawks and registered a career-high seven tackles (three solo), an interception, fumble recovery and pass breakup in the win as the Skyhawks limited Bloomsburg to just 178 passing yards, while 68 of the Huskies yards of total offense came in their final drive late in the fourth quarter. Phanor's fumble recovery helped set up Stonehill's first touchdown of the day, while his interception in Skyhawks territory kept the Huskies scoreless at the time and led to a field goal that put the visitors up 10-0 in the second quarter.
Phanor ranks 20th among NE-10 leaders with his seven tackles, while ranking second for interceptions (11th nationally) and is one of four Conference student-athletes with a fumble recovery (4th nationally) over the opening weekend of the season. Phanor appeared in all 11 games as a freshman, recording two tackles (one solo). The finance major was named to the NE-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll both semesters and Athletic Director's Honor Roll for the fall semester for having a semester grade point average over 3.20.
Born in Miami, Florida, Phanor is the son of Miguel Phanor and Ann St. Remy of Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
Stonehill (1-0, 0-0 NE-10), among teams receiving votes in this week's AFCA Division II poll, is back in action after a short week when it visits Merrimack College for its NE-10 opener in North Andover, Massachusetts, on Friday at 7 p.m. The Skyhawks home opener is the following Saturday, September 19, when it hosts Pace University for a Conference matchup at W.B. Mason Stadium as part of Kickoff Weekend and Presidents' Cup Celebration at 6 p.m.
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