Week Eight Game Notes: at Saint Anselm "Battle for the Ol' Bronze Hawk"
Tickets:
Adults - $6.00
Children over the age of 12 - $3.00
Senior Citizens - $3.00
Non-Saint Anselm Students - $3.00
Children under the age of 12 – FREE
| Stonehill Spotlight: Senior OL Brandon Joseph |
| Coach's Corner with Robert Talley |
The Game: Stonehill College travels to Manchester, N.H., to face Saint Anselm College for Northeast-10 Conference football action at Grappone Stadium. The Skyhawks look to rebound from a 45-21 home loss to Southern Connecticut State University, after leading by eight at halftime, last Saturday. The Hawks have dropped three-straight after last weekend's narrow 45-40 loss at Assumption College in NE-10 play. Today's matchup marks the fifth annual Battle for the Ol' Bronze Hawk between the two teams, signifying play between the two "'Hawk" rivals since 2006.
Media Info: Live video of today's game is available on a pay-per-view basis ($5.95) via www.saintanselmhawks.tv. Ben Altsher (play-by-play) and Nick Anastos (color) will be broadcasting the action powered by Pack Network. WSHL 91.3 FM will also be broadcasting the game back to Easton, Mass., with Craig Riotto and Nick Toyas calling the action for the radio broadcast.
Battle for the Ol' Bronze Hawk: For the fifth-straight year, Stonehill and Saint Anselm will duke it out for the Ol' Bronze Hawk, given to the winner of the annual football matchup between the Skyhawks and Hawks. Since the bronze statue was unveiled in 2006, Stonehill was held possession of the valued hardware each of the four years so far, outscoring Saint Anselm 146-44 in that time. This afternoon marks the 12th meeting all-time between these two programs. Stonehill took a 6-5 lead in the all-time series between the two programs that dates back to 1999 with a 31-28 victory at W.B. Mason Stadium in Easton, Mass. The Skyhawks have won five-straight and six of the last seven in the series. The two programs have split the six previous meetings here at Grappone Stadium in Manchester, with the Skyhawks winning their last two visits by a combined 59-9 margin, including a 35-0 victory here in 2008. Head Coach Robert Talley is 3-0 in his career against the Hawks. A little repair work had to be done to the bronze Hawk in preparation for last year's game as it had a wing clipped while being loaded into the team's equipment van after Stonehill's 35-0 win in Manchester, N.H., in 2008.
"Battle for the Ol' Bronze Hawk" Goes National!: Word about the Hawk Classic is spreading nationally, not unlike the battle for the "Jeweled Shillelagh" between Notre Dame and USC. For the second-straight year, a sports radio station in Panama City, Fla., has chosen the Classic as one of the ten games (seven Division I and three Division II/III) being picked on the Rocky and Randall Road Show on WBPC-FM 95.1. Fans can listen online at www.beach951.com and are encouraged to call into the show to voice their support for their of the Skyhawks by calling 850-235-2951 between 8:15 and 10:30 a.m., Eastern time.
Special Teams Player of the Week: Stonehill junior cornerback/return specialist Stephan Neville (Foxborough, Mass.) was named the Northeast-10 Conference's Special Teams Player of the Week by the league office on Monday. He compiled 156 yards on four kick returns (39.0/return), including an 89-yard touchdown return on the opening kickoff of the game to lead the Skyhawks against Southern Connecticut State on Saturday. Neville scored two of the Skyhawks three touchdowns on the afternoon as he stripped an Owls receiver of the ball and returned the fumble 35 yards for a touchdown for a 14-7 Stonehill lead late in the first quarter. He finished with four tackles (three solo) on defense for the afternoon.
He's Honored: Senior defensive lineman Clark Leger (Waltham, Mass.) was named to the Northeast-10's weekly honor roll on Monday. He posted a season-high eight tackles (four solo) with three sacks for a loss of 14 yards and a quarterback hurry in Saturday's matchup with Southern Connecticut State.
Senior Eddie Vachon is on the brink of breaking Stonehill's career rushing record. (PHOTO BY Richard Orr) |
Record Breaking Eddie: Senior captain Eddie Vachon (Newton, Mass.), who has already set program records for career all-purpose yards (4,314), career rushing attempts (569), career rushing touchdowns (25) and total touchdowns scored (21), enters today's game just two yards shy of Tyrone Jefferson's career mark for rushing yards (2,701) set from 1998-00. Vachon is also just one touchdown away from matching the program's single season record of 13 set by Mike Plichta in 2005 and his ten rushing touchdowns this year is just one shy of Mike McSharry's single season record of 11 set in 1995.
He. Could. Go. All. The. Way!: Junior Stephan Neville (Foxborough, Mass.) has returned a school-record seven career kickoffs for a touchdown and has touchdowns returns in three-straight home games after taking the opening kickoff against Southern Connecticut State last weekend 89-yards for a score. Neville's career-high matching three returns this season leads all of Division II and he also leads the NE-10 in yards per return with 31.2 (3rd nationally) after leading the country last season at 36.7 per return - leading a Stonehill return corps which led NCAA Division II by averaging 26.7 yards per kickoff return.
Coach's Corner: www.stonehillskyhawks.com, the official website of Stonehill athletics will have weekly interviews with head coach Robert Talley throughout the season. Coach Talley will recap the previous week's game every Tuesday and then there will be a preview of the coming week's game each Thursday or Friday. Each interview is approximately ten minutes long and will give fans an inside look at each game this season. There will also be regular interviews with Skyhawks student-athletes as well.
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 launched its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/stonehillskyhawks at the end of August and you can also follow @SkyhawkTalk on Twitter!
Schedule Advisory: Stonehill and Bentley have moved their regular season finale on Saturday, November 13, in Waltham, Mass., up one hour for a noon kickoff from its originally scheduled time of 1 p.m.
On Deck: Stonehill is back in action next Saturday to host Assumption College for Easton Appreciation Day and Senior Day at W.B. Mason Stadium at noon.
