Harrington |
Kibarian |
Harrington collects fourth NE-10 Defensive Player of the Week award
Kibarian named NE-10 Rookie of the Week
EASTON, Mass. (October 15, 2013) – Two key members of the Stonehill College defensive unit earned weekly football honors for their efforts in Saturday's 23-21 comeback win at Southern Connecticut State University from the Northeast-10 Conference today.
Junior linebacker Brian Harrington (Rockland, Mass./Rockland) was named the Northeast-10's Defensive Player of the Week for the fourth time in six weeks this season, while freshman defensive end Andrew Kibarian (Lynnfield, Mass./Lynnfield) earned Rookie of the Week honors. The duo were key members of a Stonehill defense that held Southern Connecticut State scoreless and to just 115 yards of total offense in the second half to spark the Stonehill rally from a 14 point halftime deficit. It marked the Skyhawks first win in eight visits to Southern's Jess Dow Field as they rallied after the Owls scored 21 points on 350 total yards in the opening half.
Harrington posted his sixth double-figure tackle performance in as many games this season for Stonehill with a game-high 16 stops, including a career-high 11 solo, and a fumble recovery in the win. He also earned a spot on the NoontimeSports.com New England Football Weekly Honor Roll for his efforts for the fifth time this season.
Harrington leads the Northeast-10 and ranks second nationally in Division II with 82 tackles, including a Conference-best 42 solo (8th nationally), with 3.5 tackles for a loss of 12 yards, including 1.5 sacks for a loss of seven, a forced fumble and fumble recovery. He also leads the NE-10 with 40 tackle assists and has at least shared the team lead for tackles in all six games this season.
Harrington, who earned the Skyhawks' Special Teams MVP award following his sophomore season, has appeared in 26 games over his career at Stonehill and totaled 107 tackles (56 solo), including 3.5 tackles for a loss of 12 yards, 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble and fumble recovery. He has been recognized for his efforts in the classroom with NE-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll status all four semesters at the College as well as Athletic Director's Honor Roll accolades two semesters.
Kibarian earns Rookie of the Week honors for the first time after matching his season-high with eight tackles (six) solo, including a season-best 2.0 for a loss of five yards at Southern Connecticut. Kibarian also earned a spot on the NoontimeSports.com New England Football Weekly Honor Roll for the first time for his efforts.
Kibarian leads all Stonehill freshmen and ranks fifth on the team overall with 36 tackles (17 solo) in his first collegiate season. He has a team-leading 4.5 tackles for a loss of 13 yards, including 1.5 sacks for a loss of six, a forced fumble and quarterback hurry in six games played. Kibarian also posted a season-high eight stops (five solo), including 0.5 sacks for a loss of five in the Skyhawks 41-38 overtime win at Assumption College in week three.
Stonehill (4-2, 4-1 NE-10), among teams receiving votes in this week's American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division II poll, is back in action on Saturday when it returns to the Elm City area to visit the University of New Haven (5-1, 5-0 NE-10), also receiving votes nationally, with first place in the NE-10 standings on the line at DellaCamera Stadium at 1 p.m. The game will be televised live throughout Connecticut on CPTV Sports. The Skyhawks return home the following weekend, October 26, to host LIU Post for an NE-10 matchup at noon.
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