GAMEDAY CENTRAL: Football Looks to Send Seniors Out on Winning Note

Stonehill College Skyhawks
(4-6, 4-5 NE-10)

at

Bentley University Falcons
(5-5, 5-4 NE-10)

Saturday, November 12, 2016
Bentley Football Field
Waltham, Mass.
Noon

 

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Full Stonehill Game Notes

Bentley Pregame Release

The Game: Stonehill College and Bentley University close out the 2016 season with their matchup during the Northeast-10 Conference’s Championship Weekend. The Skyhawks are seeded sixth this weekend after posting a 17-10 overtime victory at Pace University on Saturday. The Falcons are seeded No. 5 and have dropped their last two games, both in the City of New Haven, after posting a win over the Skyhawks here three weeks ago.

Media Info: Live video of today’s game is available via bentleyfalcons.tv, with links to the live stream and stats also available through stonehillskyhawks.com. Parker Wheeler will have the call of the game on play-by-play, with Roger Crosley providing the color.  

One of the Best Small College Rivalries in the Country: This afternoon marks the 32nd meeting all-time between these two programs in what is regarded by some as one of the best small college football rivalries in the country. Bentley holds a 22-8-1 advantage in the all-time series after the Falcons snapped a three-game Stonehill winning streak with a 27-7 victory in Waltham on October 22. Saturday also marks the third time in series history the two rivals have met twice in a season. Stonehill and Bentley met twice in 1995 and 2008, with the teams splitting the series both times. The Skyhawks claimed a memorable 39-36 win over the Falcons here in Waltham in 1995, before meeting a week later in the EFC Bowl where Bentley posted a 46-3 triumph. Bentley won the first meeting 17-14 in 2008, before the Skyhawks snapped a 14-game losing streak to the Falcons in the second meeting with a 35-7 win.

Rookie of the Week: Freshman wide receiver Andrew Jamiel (West Yarmouth, Mass.) was named the Northeast-10 Conference’s Rookie of the Week for the fourth time this season on Monday. He recorded his sixth double-figure reception game of the season in Saturday’s 17-10 overtime win at Pace, returning after missing the previous week to injury, to collect 11 receptions for 111 yards and a touchdown at Pace, marking his fourth 100-yard receiving game of his freshman season. Jamiel’s 23-yard touchdown catch from junior quarterback Matt Foltz (Mount Joy, Pa.) early in the second quarter gave the Skyhawks a 7-3 lead. He was first recognized after his then school-record 16 receptions for a then season-high 149 yards and a touchdown in week two at Southern Connecticut State. He was honored again after the Skyhawks win at Saint Anselm when he had ten receptions for 153 yards and two scored. His third award came following Stonehill’s 21-17 comeback win over New Haven in week seven, when he also collected Offensive Player of the Week accolades for the first time, by breaking his own single-game program record with 18 receptions for a season-high 169 yards and two touchdowns. Jamiel’s second touchdown grab was the game-winning score from ten yards out with 1:26 remaining to cap the Skyhawks rally from a 17-7 deficit after three quarters of play.

They’re Honored: Senior safety Justin Kaffenberger (Monroe, N.Y.) and junior quarterback Matt Foltz (Mount Joy, Pa.) were both named to the NE-10’s weekly honor roll on Monday. Kaffenberger totaled a game-high 11 tackles (ten solo), with an interception and two pass breakups in Saturday’s 17-10 overtime win at Pace. Foltz completed 17-of-25 passes for 165 yards and two touchdowns, including the gamewinning 21-yard score in overtime.

Saluting Our Seniors: Stonehill honored its 21 seniors playing in their final regular season home game with No. 16/25 Assumption. This group have been a part of the Skyhawks first NE-10 Championship when they claimed a share of the regular season title in 2013, entering today’s game with a 23-19 record overall in their careers, including 20-15 in Northeast-10 play. The class’ 24 wins are tied for the fifth-highest four year total in the program’s varsity era (since 1988).  

Getting Good Reception: Freshman Andrew Jamiel (West Yarmouth, Mass.) has posted double-digit reception totals in six of the nine games he has played this season, including a program-record 18 against New Haven in week seven. He leads Division II for receptions per game with 9.6. Jamiel’s 86 receptions this season are just five shy of the program’s single-season record of 91 by Nate Robitaille ‘15 in 2013 and seven behind the NCAA Division II record for freshman (93) set by Jarett Vito from Emporia State University in 1995.

Ryan Saving Defense: Senior linebacker Ryan Doherty (Methuen, Mass.) is one of just 18 players in Stonehill history with 200-plus career tackles and he has moved into tenth place on the program’s all-time list with 256 stops in 40 career games played. He is currently eight tackles behind Ed Brooks ‘96 (264) for ninth place all-time, while his 24.0 career tackles for loss are three shy of cracking the program’s career top ten. Doherty has posted eight career double-figure tackle performances, including 11 stops (six solo) against New Haven in week seven. He shares the team lead with his 71 tackles this season (40 solo) - good for 11th in the NE-10.

Iron Man: Senior defensive end Andrew Kibarian (Lynnfield, Mass.) started his 41st straight game on the Stonehill defensive line against Pace on Saturday. He has started 41 of his 44 games played over his career and moved into a tie for tenth on the program’s career list for tackles for loss with 27.0 for his career, matching Mike Minicucci ‘98.

Block That Kick: Stonehill leads the Northeast-10 Conference and ranks fourth nationally in Division II with its program-record matching seven blocked kicks this season. The Skyhawks have matched the record total set in 2014. Junior linebacker Andy Steck (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.) leads the NE-10 and ranks fourth nationally with his team-high three blocks, which is tied for second on the program’s single-season list, while senior Mark Trudeau (Duxbury, Mass.) is tied for second in the NE-10 and eighth nationally with two blocks. Kaffenberger was the fourth Skyhawk with a blocked kick this season.

You Complete Me: Junior Matt Foltz (Mount Joy, Pa.) ranks second in the Northeast-10 with his 206 completions this season, including a program-record 37 passes (on just 45 attempts in Stonehill’s week seven 21-17 win over New Haven. Foltz broke the previous single-game mark of 34 completions by Logan Meyer ‘14 against Southern Connecticut State in 2012. It was the second time in his career Foltz has recorded 30-plus completions and he ranks second in program history with his 423 career completions, trailing only Meyer’s program record 545 completions. Foltz also ranks second in the NE-10 for completion percentage at 63-percent and is on pace to set a program record with his 60.2-percent career completion percentage.

Academic Success: Stonehill College was 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 fifth 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 five years of its existence for having an ASR of 90% or higher.

Getting Social: Fans and media members of Stonehill athletics now have three 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 and “StonehillSkyhawks” on Instagram. Stonehill football also has its own Facebook and Twitter accounts: @SCskyhawksFB.