|
The Game: Stonehill College, among teams receiving votes in this week's American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), opens the second month of the season as it returns home for its Purple & White game as it host Southern Connecticut State University for a Northeast-10 Conference matchup at Timothy J. Coughlin '80 Memorial Field at W.B. Mason Stadium tonight. The Skyhawks are off to a perfect 4-0 start after last weekend's wild 40-37 comeback win at LIU Post, while the Owls still seek their first win after dropping a 28-14 decision to cross-city rivals University of New Haven last Friday night.
Purple & White: Tonight marks the Stonehill football team's Purple & White game. Each of Stonehill's 20 intercollegiate varsity athletic teams have a Purple & White Game that highlights rivalry games or other big games on their schedule. In addition, Stonehill's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee will be taking donations for the Make a Wish Foundation - the official charity of NCAA Division II SAAC.
Coach to Cure MD: Stonehill football head coach Robert Talley and all the Skyhawks coaching staff are joining coaches all over the country in wearing a patch on their left arms in honor of Coach to Cure MD weekend. The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) is working to raise awareness and research funding to cure Duchenne (doo-SHEN) Muscular Dystrophy, the most prolific genetic killer diagnosed in childhood. Fans can donate online at CoachToCureMD.org or text the word "CURE" to 90999 to donate $5.00 on your next mobile phone bill.
Media Info: Live video of tonight's game is available on a pay-per-view basis ($6.99) via www.stonehillskyhawks.tv. Charlie Bergeron, the voice of the Skyhawks, returns for his 18th season of broadcasting the action powered by Pack Network.
Golden Performances: Sophomore quarterback Matt Foltz (Mount Joy, Pa.) was selected as the New England Football Writers Division II/III Gold Helmet Award winner, sponsored by the Jack Grinold Eastern Massachusetts Chapter of the National Football Foundaion, following his record-breaking effort in Saturday's 40-37 comeback win at LIU Post. Foltz was presented with his award at the New England Football Writers Luncheon, host by Harvard University, at Dillon Fieldhouse on Wednesday. Foltz is the eighth Stonehill football player to receive the weekly award and the second this season after classmate Donovan Phanor (Portsmouth, N.H.) collected the honors after the Skyhawks week one victory at No. 11/14 Bloomsburg. It marks just the second time in program history two players have garnered Gold Helmets in the same season and Foltz is the fifth Stonehill quarterback to earn the honor. Hall of Famer Tony Dello Iacono '95 and Mike McLucas '95 both collected the honors during the 1994 season.
Stonehill New England Football Writers Gold Helmet Award Winners
Matt Foltz, So, QB - September 30, 2015
Donovan Phanor, So, CB - September 9, 2015
Logan Meyer, Sr, QB - September 25, 2013
Cruz Parsons, Fr, QB - October 5, 2005
Tyrone Jefferson, RB - 2000
Dan Field, QB - 1995
Tony Dello Iacono, QB - 1994
Mike McLucas, RB - 1994
Home Sweet Home: After playing three of four games in the month of September on the road, including overnight trips to No. 11/14 Bloomsburg in week one and LIU Post last weekend, Stonehill will play four of five in October here at W.B. Stadium. The Skyhawks host Southern Connecticut State tonight and then American International next Saturday (1 p.m.), before hitting the road against October 17 at New Haven. Stonehill then closes out the month at home against rival Bentley (Oct. 24) and Saint Anselm (Oct. 31.)
Masucci a Campbell Trophy Semifinalist: Senior safety Anthony Masucci (East Haven, Conn.) has been announced as one of 135 semifinalists by the National Football Foundation for the 2015 William V. Campbell Trophy, presented by Fidelity Investments, as candidates for the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards. The NFF will announce the 15 finalists on Oct. 29 and each will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class. Masucci, who has earned a 3.59 cumulative grade point average as a finance major at Stonehill, is one of 20 semifinalists from NCAA Division II - three of which come from the Northeast-10. It marks the third straight year Stonehill has had a Campbell trophy and NFF Scholar-Athlete Award semifinalist after teammates Brian Harrington '15 and James Lanier '14. The 2015 Campbell Trophy winner will be culled from the 15 finalists and announced at the 58th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on December 8 in New York City and have his scholarship increased to $25,000.
#VoteChiocco: Fans can vote for senior defensive lineman Nick Chiocco (Mansfield, Mass.) for Allstate AFCA Good Works Team Captain through November 25 by going to espn.com/allstate. Fans can vote once per day per device for Chiocco, the first Stonehill football student-athlete named to the Good Works Team®. He is one of 11 out of the 22 honorees recognized from NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), Division II, Division III and NAIA out of a record 197 nominees from across all levels of college football. He was the lone Northeast-10 Conference student-athlete nominated and one of just three NCAA Division II student-athletes to earn a spot on the Good Works Team®.
Offensive Player of the Week: Sophomore quarterback Matt Foltz (Mount Joy, Pa.) was named the Northeast-10 Conference's Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season for his record-breaking performance in Saturday's 40-37 comeback victory at LIU Post. Foltz penned his second fourth quarter comeback in three weeks as he posted the first 400-yard passing performance in program history, tossing a program-record matching six touchdown passes. He completed 30-of-46 passes for a record 421 yards, with just one interception, connecting on 14-of-24 yards for 245 yards and four touchdowns (no interceptions) in the fourth quarter alone. Foltz completed three touchdown passes in the final 1:02, including a 41-yard scrambling Hail Mary to White after the Skyhawks had recovered an onside kick with 5.9-seconds to go. His 30 completions are tied for the second-highest single game total in program history, while his six touchdown tosses are one shy of the NE-10 mark. Foltz also produced the first three 100-yard receivers in a game in program history. He also collected NE-10 honors following the Skyhawks comeback win at Merrimack in week two. Foltz was also named Stonehill's Ace's Champions Choice Male Student-Athlete of the Week.
Rookie of the Week: Freshman tight end Kaleb Lutton (Middletown, Conn.) earned Northeast-10 Conference Rookie of the Week honors for the second time this season on Monday for his efforts in Saturday's 40-37 comeback win. Lutton caught three of sophomore Matt Foltz's (Mount Joy, Pa.) record matching six touchdown passes, including the first of Stonehill's three scores in the final 1:02 with a 13-yard grab. He finished the afternoon with season-highs of eight receptions and 131 yards for his first career 100-yard receiving effort. Lutton caught a 24-yard touchdown pass from Foltz midway through the third quarter to put Stonehill on the scoreboard and draw within 10-6. His five yard touchdown catch with five seconds remaining in the third quarter stopped a run of 20-straight points for LIU Post and sliced the Skyhawks deficit to 30-13 heading into the fourth quarter when Stonehill scored 27 points. Lutton also earned Rookie of the Week honors following the week two win at Merrimack.
He's Honored: Senior wide receiver Corey White (Bergenfield, N.J.) was named to the Northeast-10 Conference's weekly honor roll on Monday. White joined Lutton with over 100 yards receiving in Saturday's 40-37 comeback win at LIU Post as he caught four passes for a career-best 117 yards and two touchdowns, including the game winning 41-yard Hail Mary from Foltz to cap the comeback win. His 32-yard touchdown catch drew the Skyhawks within 30-20 with 9:30 remaining in the fourth quarter after trailing by as much as 30-6 in the third.
Votes of Confidence: Stonehill remains among teams receiving votes in this week's American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division II poll. The Skyhawks have a season-high 11 points in the poll and it marks the fourth straight week the Skyhawks have earned votes in the national poll after returning after week one for the first time since receiving votes six weeks, including a string of five-straight weeks, during the 2013 NE-10 Championship season.
Hot Starts: Stonehill has won its first four games for the first time since a 7-0 start under Connie Driscoll in 1995.
Perfection: Stonehill is one of just 26 programs in Division II without a loss heading into the fifth week of the season.
A Comeback for the Ages: Stonehill rallied from a 30-6 deficit late in the third quarter in Saturday's 40-37 win at LIU Post and trailed 37-20 after a late Pioneers touchdown with 2:13 left in the fourth. Sophomore quarterback Matt Foltz (Mount Joy, Pa.) tossed four fourth quarter touchdowns, including three in the final 1:02, capped by a 41-yard Hail Mary to senior wide receiver Corey White (Bergenfield, Mass.) after the Skyhawks recovered an onside kick with 5.9 seconds left.
Passing Records: Sophomore quarterback Matt Foltz (Mount Joy, Pa.) posted the first 400-yard passing game in program history in Saturday's comeback win at LIU Post. He passed for a program record 421 yards and matched the program record with six touchdown passes, while his 30 completions are tied for the second-highest single-game total in program history. Foltz also moved into tenth place on the program's career passing yardage list with 1,605 yards in just seven career games.
Triple Hundreds: Stonehill had three receivers with over 100-receiving yards for the first time in program history in Saturday's 40-37 comeback win at LIU Post. All three receivers had career-high yardage totals led by freshman tight end Kaleb Lutton (Middletown, Conn.) with 131 yards on eight receptions, while senior wide receiver Corey White (Bergenfield, N.J.) had four receptions for 117 yards and classmate Cody Page (Sylmar, Calif.) added ten receptions for 101 yards.
Turn the Page: Senior wide receiver Cody Page (Sylmar, Calif.) caught the first ten passes of his career in Saturday's comeback win at LIU Post, finishing with 101 yards. He had appeared in 12 career games prior to Saturday, primarily on special teams.
Double Digits: Junior linebacker Anthony Leggio (Commack, N.Y.) posted his first career double-figure tackle effort in Saturday's comeback win at LIU Post, finishing with a career-high 11 stops (four solo) to lead the Skyhawks defense.
DE-FENCE!: The Stonehill defense has picked up right where it left off in 2014 when it boasted the top defense in the Northeast-10 (#6 nationally). The Skyhawks lead the NE-10 in scoring defense (20.0 ppg), total defense (243.8 ypg), pass defense (135.5 ypg) and rush defense (108.2 ypg). Stonehill ranks 11th nationally in Division II for total defense, 14th for pass defense, 37th for scoring defense and 38th for rush defense. The Skyhawks also rank 14th nationally by allowing just 12.8 first downs per game.
The Rest of the Story: Stonehill leads the NE-10 and ranks 37th nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 20.0 points per game. However, of the 80 points the Skyhawks opponents have scored this season, seven came off a kickoff return, seven off a blocked punt for a touchdown, six on a one yard run after a goal line fumble by the offense and seven on a touchdown off an interception to the Skyhawks six. Opponents have scored just 53 points off offensive drives through four games - an average of just 13.3 points per game.
A Team Possessed: Stonehill ranks second nationally in Division II for time of possession, leading the Northeast-10 with an average 36:31 time of possession through the first four games. The Skyhawks have won the possession battle in all four games this season, holding onto the ball for over 36 minutes in three of the four games. Stonehill had the ball for 40:31 in its week three win over Pace after it held the ball for 36:22 in their week one win at #11/14 Bloomsburg and 36-minutes flat in week two at Merrimack.
Mr. Efficiency: Sophomore quarterback Matt Foltz (Mount Joy, Pa.) leads the Northeast-10 and ranks ninth nationally in Division II with his 172.99 pass efficiency rating through the first four weeks of the season. He has completed a Conference-best 67.2-percent (80-for-119) of his passes (13th nationally) with his league-high 14 touchdown passes (3rd) and just two interceptions. Foltz also leads the NE-10 for passing yards (37th nationally) and yards per game (249.0), while ranking second for completions. His 14 touchdown passes rank eighth on Stonehill's all-time single season list - just 12 shy of the single-season record.
He Only Catches Touchdowns: Freshman tight end Kaleb Lutton (Middletown, Mass.) has made an immediate impact for Stonehill in his first collegiate season. He leads the NE-10 with five touchdown catches (11th nationally) through the first four games of his collegiate career. Lutton's five touchdoown, including a season-best three at LIU Post on Saturday, have come on 12 total receptions for the season. He leads the Skyhawks with 189 yards on the 12 receptions (15.8 yards/rec).
Get Off The Field: Stonehill leads the NE-10 and ranks ninth nationally for third down percentage defense, limiting its first four opponents to 23.1-percent conversion percentage (12-for-52) on third down. Conversely, Stonehill ranks second in the NE-10 and 26th nationally for third down conversion offense at 47% (27-for-57).
Off the Markus: Senior running back Colin Markus (Monroe, Conn.), who led the NE-10 in rushing in 2014, ranks fourth in the Conference for rush attempts (84) and fifth for rushing yards (463), rushing touchdowns (4) and yards per game (115.8). He ranks 21st nationally in Division II for rushing yards and 26th for yards per game. Markus also ranks tenth in the NE-10 for scoring with his 24 points.
Spread the Wealth: Sophomore quarterback Matt Foltz (Mount Joy, Pa.) has tossed his NE-10 leading 14 touchdown passes (3rd nationally) to six different receivers so far this season. Freshman tight end Kaleb Lutton (Midddletown, Conn.) leads the NE-10 with five touchdown receptions so far this season (11th nationally), while ten different receivers have caught passes this season.
Hey, You, Get Off of McLeod: Senior co-captain Gordon McLeod (Weymouth, Mass.) went over 100 career receptions in the Skyhawks week one win at No. 11/14 Bloomsburg and currently ranks sixth all-time at Stonehill with 1,501 career receiving yards, while his 12 career touchdown grabs ranks seventh all-time.
On The Mark: Senior kicker Steve Grzywacz (Manchester, N.H.) enters tonight's game just 12 point shy of the program's career scoring record of 204 points scored by Eddie Vachon '11. Grzywacz has scored 192 points over his Stonehill career, holding the program records with 31 career field goals and 99 career PATs in 36 career games played. He surpassed the previous record of 20 made field goals set by Joe Crowley, '04, last fall and has converted 31 of 46 field goal attempts over his Stonehill career, beaking Crowley's all-time record of 39 field goal attempts as well. Grzywacz's 99 career PAT kicks broke the previous record of 87 by Pat Matthews, '95 at Merrimack in week two.
Aye, Aye, Captains: Head Coach Robert Talley named seniors Anthony Masucci (S) and Gordon McLeod (WR) as team captains for the 2015 season after a vote of the returning players last spring. The team will also typically have one game day captain chosen for his hard work during the week.
New Home of Stonehill Athletics and Recreation: As the football team was returning to preseason training camp, Stonehill unveiled its 50,000-square foot Rev. Mark T. Cregan, CSC, Athletic and Fitness Center as part of the renovated Sally Blair Ames Sports Complex adjacent to W.B. Mason Stadium. The new Sports Complex includes:
• Locker rooms for 12 teams, as well as visiting intercollegiate athletic teams
• Additional group exercise and dance rooms
• Weight and fitness rooms for community members and varsity student-athletes
• Enhanced space for athletic training and equipment
• Program offices for recreational sports, athletics and football as well as team meeting rooms
• A multipurpose room that can serve a variety of campus groups
• The Lou Gorman '53 Pavilion
Champions On and Off the Field: Brockton mayor Bill Carpenter welcomed the Stonehill football team as guests of honor at Brockton High School in recognition of their volunteer efforts during last winter's historic snowstorms. Members of the football team shoveled out homes of "at risk" elderly who had called the city's emergency hotline.
Skyhawks NE-10 Presidents' Cup Celebration: Stonehill captured its fifth NE-10 Presidents' Cup in 2014-15 in wire-to-wire fashion as it led the standings following the fall, winter and spring seasons, accumulating 207.5 points to win the Cup by a dominant 18.5 points over two-time defending champions Adelphi.
Academic Success: Stonehill College has been recognized for its academic performance with regard to graduation rate by earning a 96-percent Academic Success Rating (ASR) as released by the NCAA last year. The ASR considers the academic success rate of the institution based on the graduation rate of student-athletes while also giving credit for any student-athletes that transferred from the institution while in good academic standing. In addition to Stonehill's overall ASR of 96%, 12 of Stonehill's 16 athletic programs (cross country and indoor and outdoor track & field are combined by the NCAA) received perfect scores of 100%. Stonehill's 96% ASR ranks third among NE-10 institutions and ranks eighth overall in NCAA Division II. The football team has an ASR of 90% - signifigantly higher than the federal rate of 73%. Stonehill has earned the NCAA Division II Presidents' Award all four years of its existence for having an ASR of 90% or higher.
Making an IMPACT: The Stonehill College football team is proud to have Nick Claudio (Mattapoisett, Mass.) as a part of its program through Team IMPACT (Inspire, Motivate, Play Against Challenges, Together) for his third season. Team IMPACT is a New England based non-profit that aims at improving the quality of life for kids facing life-threatening illnesses by creating unparalleled team based support systems with area college athletic teams. Nick is the latest from Team IMPACT to join the Skyhawk family as the football team joins the men's and women's basketball, field hockey and ice hockey teams to be involved with the program. Nick, 15-years old, was diagnosed with a brain tumor on his optic nerve in July, 2010, that put so much pressure on his optic nerve that it led to losing his vision. He has remained upbeat, being quoted as saying in a recent news article, "A loss of sight is never a loss of vision, you need to be able to look forward and keep moving." After losing his vision, he has adapted to life being blind by teaching himself braille, learning to ski and graduating from his elementary school at the top of his class. In July 2012, doctors found two additional tumors, one on his auditory nerve. In an effort to save his hearing, doctors opted to treat it with chemo and radiation rather than doing surgery which carries the threat of him going deaf.
Leaders of the Pack: For the seventh-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! Stonehill football also has its own Facebook and Twitter accounts: @SCskyhawksFB.
On Deck: Stonehill is right back in action here at W.B. Mason Stadium, where it will play four of the next five games, next Saturday when it hosts American International College for a Northeast-10 matchup at 1 p.m.
|
