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The Game: Stonehill College hosts American International College for a Northeast-10 Conference matchup at Timothy J. Coughlin (COG-lin) '80 Memorial Field at W.B. Mason Stadium this afternoon. The Skyhawks look to bounce back following a 28-17 setback to Southern Connecticut State here at W.B. Mason Stadium last Saturday night, while the Yellow Jackets will be trying to build off a commanding 44-17 triumph over LIU Post in Springfield.
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.
#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®.
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He's Honored: Junior linebacker Ryan Doherty (Methuen, Mass.) has been named to the Northeast-10 Conference's weekly honor roll following Saturday's matchup with Southern Connecticut State. Doherty helped pace a Skyhawks defense which yielded just 14 points not directly off turnovers with a career-high 14 tackles (one solo), including a career-best 3.0 tackles for a loss of nine yards with 1.5 sacks for a loss of seven, a forced fumble and fumble recovery.
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 in week four, Stonehill is in its second week of a stretch of four of five in October here at W.B. Stadium. The Skyhawks are back on the road next Saturday at New Haven, but then closes out the month at home against rival Bentley (Oct. 24) and Saint Anselm (Oct. 31.)
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 rank second in the NE-10 for scoring defense (21.6 ppg), total defense (266.8 ypg), pass defense (147.0 ypg) and rush defense (119.8 ypg). Stonehill ranks 13th nationally in Division II for total defense, 18th for pass defense and 39th for rush defense. The Skyhawks also rank 19th nationally by allowing just 14.6 first downs per game.
A Team Possessed: Stonehill ranks ninth nationally in Division II for time of possession, ranking second in the Northeast-10 with an average 33:43 time of possession through the first half of the season. The Skyhawks have won the possession battle in all four wins this season, holding onto the ball for over 36 minutes in three of the four games, but had a time of possession of 23:12 against Southern Connecticut on Saturday. 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.
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Mr. Efficiency: Sophomore quarterback Matt Foltz (Mount Joy, Pa.) leads the Northeast-10 and ranks 25th nationally in Division II with his 153.08 pass efficiency rating through the first half of the season. He leads the NE-10 with his 1,213 passing yards and 15 touchdown passes (9th nationally), ranking second for completions and third with his 61.6 completion percentage (98-for-159), with just three interceptions. His 15 touchdown passes rank eighth on Stonehill's all-time single season list - just 11 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 ranks second in the NE-10 with five touchdown catches (20th nationally) through the first five games of his collegiate career. Lutton's five touchdoown, including a season-best three at LIU Post on Saturday, have come on 15 total receptions for the season. He leads the Skyhawks with 242 yards on the 15 receptions (16.1 yards/rec).
Get Off The Field: Stonehill leads the NE-10 and ranks 14th nationally for third down percentage defense, limiting its first five opponents to 26-percent conversion percentage (18-for-68) on third down.
Off the Markus: Senior running back Colin Markus (Monroe, Conn.), who led the NE-10 in rushing in 2014, ranks second in the Conference for rush attempts (95), fourth for rushing yards (511) and fifth for rushing touchdowns (4), averaging 102.2 yards per game (4th). He ranks 36th nationally in Division II for rushing yards.
Spread the Wealth: Sophomore quarterback Matt Foltz (Mount Joy, Pa.) has tossed his NE-10 leading 15 touchdown passes (9th nationally) to six different receivers so far this season. Freshman tight end Kaleb Lutton (Midddletown, Conn.) leads the Skyhawks with five touchdown receptions so far this season (20th 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 1,567 career receiving yards, while his 13 career touchdown grabs ranks seventh all-time.
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On The Mark: Senior kicker Steve Grzywacz (Manchester, N.H.) enters today's game just seven point shy of the program's career scoring record of 204 points scored by Eddie Vachon '11. Grzywacz has scored 197 points over his Stonehill career, holding the program records with 32 career field goals and 101 career PATs in 37 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.
No Ground Attack: Stonehill held its first three opponents well under 100 yards rushing and ranks second in the NE-10 in rushing defense (39th nationally). The Skyhawks held No. 11/14 Bloomsburg to just 86 yards in week one, while Merrimack had just 17 yards on the ground in week two and a Pace team that led the NE-10 in rushing offense to just 66 yards in week three.
Feeling Offensive: Stonehill ranks second in the NE-10 for scoring offense with 31.8 points per game.
For Score: Senior kicker Steve Grzywacz (Manchester, N.H.) ranks seventh among Northeast-10 scoring leaders with his team-high 31 points - good for second in scoring among NE-10 place kickers. Grzywacz has converted 19-of-20 extra points this season and is 4-for-7 on field goal attempts.
Four Fingers: Stonehill improved to 34-2 under head coach Robert Talley when leading after three quarters with its 2-0 record this season. The Skyhawks last loss when leading heading into the fourth quarter was their 23-17 overtime setback to New Haven on October 4, 2014.
He's the Sack Man: Senior defense end Eric Schneider (Ventura, Calif.), a two-time All-Northeast-10 selection who missed last season due to injury, is second on the team with 2.5 sacks this season. He now ranks ninth in program history with 15.5 sacks in 29 career games played.
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Top Five: Senior running back Colin Markus (Monroe, Conn.) vaulted up to fourth place on Stonehill's career list for rushing touchdowns with 15 after his career-high matching three scores against Pace in week four. He became the fifth player in program history to surpass 2,000 career rushing yards at LIU Post on Saturday, entering today's game with 2,096 yards. He is also ranked tenth all-time for all-purpose yards with 2,588 career yards.
No Fly Zone: Sophomore cornerback Donovan Phanor (Portsmouth, N.H.) leads the team with seven passes defended through five games. He has a team-high six pass breakups (3rd NE-10) and an interception.
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 heads out on the road next Saturday when it will visit the University of New Haven for a Northeast-10 matchup at 1 p.m. The Skyhawks return home the following Saturday, October 20, to host rival Bentley University for Family Weekend at 1 p.m.
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