Easton, Mass. - It had been 60 games, spanning parts of seven seasons since the Stonehill defense pitched a shutout. That, like a lot of things surrounding the Skyhawk program has changed. In the 2007 home opener, in front of 1,757 spectators, Stonehill used two, first half turnovers to jump out to a 17-0 halftime lead and hand the visiting Pace Setters a 23-0 defeat at W.B. Mason Stadium.
Senior wideout J.J. Niamkey (Quincy, Mass.) hauled in a career-long 67-yard touchdown pass from Cruz Parsons (Signal Hill, Calif.) 23 seconds into the contest and then snared a 34-yard scoring strike midway through the second quarter, becoming the first Stonehill player to surpass the 100-yard receiving plateau since Mike Plichta had 138 yards against Merrimack on November 5, 2005.
Both plays were setup by the Skyhawk defense forcing turnovers. On the first play from scrimmage, Pace signal caller Ray Gregg was picked off down the far left sideline by Jared Zanello (Walpole, Mass.), giving the junior defensive back three interceptions in just two games. The very next play, Niamkey beat the Setters secondary for his first touchdown. Then after Niamkey recovered a fumbled punt on special teams, he got inside of a Setter defensive back and grabbed his fourth career score.
"I just wanted to help my team and get them going," said Niamkey, referring to the first score. He finished the day with 101 receiving yards.
Unlike a week ago where the Skyhawks used big plays on the ground to get the offense moving, Stonehill went to the air early and often, as Parsons racked up 188 yards passing, going 12-for-20. He got help as he connected with five different receivers, including freshman Eddie Vachon (Newton, Mass.) who picked up 43 yards on three grabs and added another 42 on the ground.
The Skyhawk defense remained stout from start to finish, holding the Setters to an average of 3.3 yards per play and only 49 yards on the ground.
Late in the second quarter, Stonehill put together a back-breaking, 16-play, 69-yard drive that culminated in a 39-yard field goal from senior Sean Donahue (Plymouth, N.H.) with five seconds left in the half.
That drive featured five runs by junior Jeffery Payne (West Haven, Conn.) and a key third-and-seven conversion, when Parsons found Payne for a 13-yard pickup.
Payne, who rushed nine times for 31 yards, tacked on the only score in the second half, a seven yard scamper off the left side with 8:13 left in the fourth quarter.
Pace's Joe Streany had a game-high nine tackles and a fumble recovery, while Lee Robinson chipped in with eight tackles (seven solo) and two sacks.
Chris Regan (Hanson, Mass.) led Stonehill in tackles with seven, while sophomore Andrew Lesko (Florence, Mass.) added six more. Freshman Brendan Taylor (Stoughton, Mass.) made four stops and forced a fumble and junior Kevin Bonnett (Manchester, N.H.) made four tackles, added a sack and a fumble recovery.
The last shutout for the Skyhawks was a 37-0 defeat of Mt. Ida College, in game three of the 2001 season. The last home shutout came, ironically, against these same Pace Setters in the ninth game of the 1996 season.
Stonehill, now 2-0 for the first time since 2005, travels to C.W. Post next Saturday for a noon kickoff.