Senior Brian Harrington earned All-Northeast-10 first team honors for the second-straight year. (PHOTO BY Andrew Katsampes) |
Skyhawks place five on All-Northeast-10 first team, four on second team
Two Stonehill freshmen named to NE-10 All-Rookie Team
EASTON, Mass. (November 28, 2014) – A program-record nine members of the Stonehill College football team have been named to the Northeast-10 All-Conference teams as selected by the league's ten head coaches.
Stonehill's nine All-Northeast-10 selections surpass the previous record of eight set last season, with five of the nine honorees repeat selections and the five first team pics matching the program-high set in 2009. Four members of the Skyhawks No. 7 nationally-ranked defense earned first team All-NE-10 honors, led by seniors Brian Harrington (Rockland, Massachusetts/Rockland), Sterry Codrington (Freehold, New Jersey/Freehold Boro) and Nate Morris (Bristol, Rhode Island/The Wheeler School) as well as senior punter Ryan Handy (Howell, New Jersey/Howell) and junior running back Colin Markus (Monroe, Connecticut/Masuk).
Senior Nate Robitaille (Attleboro, Massachusetts/Attleboro) headlines the Skyhawks voted to the All-NE-10 second team, doing so as both a wide receiver and return specialist. He is joined on the All-Conference second team by seniors Lucas Brum (Farmingville, New York/Sachem East) on the offensive side and Taylor Russell (Keene, New Hampshire/Keene) on defense. Rounding out the NE-10 postseason honors for Stonehill are freshmen defensive linemen Alex Parenteau (Keene, New Hampshire/Keene) and Jermel Wright (Dorchester, Massachusetts/Newton North) being selected to the All-Rookie Team.
Harrington, who earns All-Northeast-10 first team honors for the second straight season, is the quarterback of Stonehill's defense which ranks fifth nationally in Division II for total defense (284.5 yds per game), while also leading the NE-10 in rushing defense (95.2 yds/gm) and passing defense (189.3 yds/gm) and ranking second for scoring defense (19.6 ppg). He is just the second player in program history to surpass 100 tackles in two seasons, finishing his senior year with a team-high 105 tackles (3rd NE-10), with 35 solo, including 7.0 for a loss of 30 yards, 3.0 sacks for a loss of 20 yards, two interceptions, three quarterback hurries and a pass breakup in 11 games. Harrington's tackles are the fifth-highest single-season total after his program and NE-10 record 151 stops in 2013.
Harrington, who was voted to the Capital One Academic All-District team earlier this season, finished his career ranked fifth in program history with 281 tackles (122 solo) in 42 career games played. A Don Hansen second team All-American in 2013, Harrington also posted 14.0 tackles for loss, with 5.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, two interceptions and two pass breakups over his career. He was a finalist for the Inaugural Cliff Harris Award in 2013 when he was also named the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston's Joseph P. Zabilski Defensive Player of the Year Award winner and was also selected to the Daktronics All-Super Region 1 first team, Don Hansen All-Super Region 1 first team, New England Football Writers Division II/III All-New England team and earned D2Football.com NE-10 Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Harrington |
Codrington |
Morris |
Handy |
Markus |
Robitaille |
Brum |
Russell |
Parenteau |
Wright |
Codrington earns All-Northeast-10 first team honors for the first time after being selected to the second team in 2013. The Stonehill safety finished second on the team with 83 tackles (12th NE-10), with a team-high 42 solo (15th), including 7.0 tackles for a loss of 15 yards, five pass breakups, a school-record five blocked kicks and a fumble recovery. His five blocked kicks rank fourth nationally in Division II and he earned NE-10 Defensive Player of the Week honors once this season after posting 11 tackles (ten solo), a pass breakup and two blocked kicks in a 33-19 win over Merrimack College on September 27.
Codrington appeared in 39 games over his career at Stonehill and finished with 204 tackles (125 solo), including 16.5 tackles for a loss of 63 yards, 2.0 sacks for a loss of 21 yards, two forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, four interceptions, 17 pass breakups and a program-record seven blocked kicks. He also ranks eighth in program history for career solo tackles and seventh for pass breakups. Codrington earned All-Championship Team honors as a junior for the Skyhawks.
Handy earns All-Northeast-10 first team honors for the second-straight year after breaking his own single-season program record with a Conference-best punting average of 41.4 yards per kick, which also ranks 14th nationally in Division II. He also leads the NE-10 with 16 punts inside the opponent's 20 yard line, while ranking third with 53 punts, including a career-long 71-yard punt at American International College on September 20. Handy had eight punts in all of 50-plus yards and was named the NE-10 Special Teams Player of the Week following the Skyhawks win at Bentley University in week two. He also aided in a punt team that leads the NE-10 and ranks 15th nationally for net punting average (36.7 yards per return).
Handy, who surpassed his previous program record punting average of 40.7 yards set in 2013, finished his career with a program-record average of 40.1 yards per punt, surpassing the previous record of 37.8 yards per kick by Joe Crowley '04. He finished his career with 155 punts, averaging the school-record 40.1 yards per kick, with 47 punts inside the 20 yard line, 15 free catches and ten touchbacks. Handy owns three of the top ten punting average seasons in program history, adding a 37.3 yard average as a sophomore to rank tenth all-time.
Morris earns All-Northeast-10 first team honors for the first time after being named to the second team as a junior. He was a key member of a Stonehill defense which led the NE-10 and ranked 38th nationally for passing defense by yielding just 189.3 yards per game, posting a team-high five interceptions, which ranks second in the NE-10 and 37th nationally. Morris started all 11 games and finished with 58 tackles (39 solo), including 2.0 for a loss of two yards, a team-high 11 pass breakups (3rd NE-10) and a forced fumble. He is ranked 23rd in Division II for passes defended (16) and his five interceptions rank fourth on the program's single-season list. He also returned a blocked punt for a touchdown against Southern Connecticut State University on October 25.
Morris finished his career ranked tenth on Stonehill's career interceptions list with ten over his four years. He totaled 119 tackles (76 solo), including 3.5 for a loss of five yards, four forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries 16 pass breakups and a blocked kick in 37 career games played for the Skyhawks. Morris also ranks eighth in program history for forced fumbles and tenth for pass breakups over his career. He has been named to the NE-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll three semesters and Athletic Director's Honor Roll one semester over his career.
Markus earns All-Northeast-10 honors for the first time with his first team selection. Despite missing two full games and most of two others due to injury, Markus led the Northeast-10 in rushing with 712 yards and 79.1 yards per game, ranking second with 158 rush attempts, eighth with 4.5 yards per carry and tenth with five rushing touchdowns. He finished the season with four 100-plus yard rushing games, including a season-high 177 on 24 carries at American International College on September 20. His career-high 34 carries against the University of New Haven on October 4 is the third-highest single game total in program history as he finished with 111 yards and a touchdown that night.
Markus' season rushing average ranks sixth on Stonehill's all-time single-season list. He also finished the season ranked fifth among Northeast-10 leaders with 101.4 all-purpose yards per game, adding 164 yards on 18 receptions and 37 yards on two kickoff returns to his rushing totals for 913 all-purpose yards. Markus ranked second on the team with his five touchdowns for 30 points to rank fourth on the team in scoring.
Markus enters his senior year ranked sixth on Stonehill's career rushing list with 1,569 yards on 213 attempts, good for seventh all-time. He has rushed for 11 touchdowns and posted a rushing average of 5.1 yards per carry, which ranks fifth all-time at Stonehill. Markus has rushed for 100-plus yards eight times over his career, including one 200-yard game when he posted a career-best 203 yards against LIU Post in 2013.
Robitaille earns the second and third All-Northeast-10 awards of his career with second team honors as both a wide receiver and kick returner. He is the second player in program history to earn All-Conference honors at two positions in the same year after former All-American Stephan Neville '12 did so as a corner back and kick returner in 2009. Robitaille is the only receiver in program history to post over 1,000-yards in a season, doing so for the second-straight year this fall when he caught 72 passes (4th NE-10) for 1,035 yards (2nd) and four touchdowns, averaging 14.4 yards per catch (9th) and 94.1 yards per game (2nd). He also ranks 24th nationally in Division II for receptions per game (6.6) and his yardage total ranks second in program history only to his program-record total of 1,229 in 2013 and receptions second to his record of 91 that season as well.
Senior Nate Robitaille earned All-Northeast-10 honors at wide receiver and as a return specialist. (PHOTO BY Jay Mello/SportsPix) |
Robitaille leads the Northeast-10 with 20 punt returns for a Conference best 10.6 yards per return and one touchdown. The score proved to be the deciding touchdown in Stonehill's 33-19 win over Merrimack. He finished second among NE-10 leaders with his 132.6 all-purpose yards per game, adding 209 yards on ten kickoff returns (20.9 yds/return) and three rushing yards to his receiving and punt return yardage for a total of 1,459 all-purpose yards, which ranks third on the program's all-time single-season list. He finished the year third on the team with 32 points, scoring five total touchdowns as well as a two point conversion.
Robitaille, who earned All-Northeast-10 first team honors as well as Daktronics and Don Hansen All-Super Region 1 second team accolades following his record-breaking junior season, finished his career as the program's all-time leader with 196 receptions, 2,744 receiving yards and 25 touchdown receptions. He also ranks first all-time with 4.8 career receptions per game, second with 3,562 career all-purpose yards and 26 total touchdowns, fourth with 160 points scored and tenth with 14.0 career yards per reception. Robitaille was an All-New England pick by the New England Football Writers in 2013 and has been named the NE-10 Special Teams and Offensive Player of the Week once each over his career.
Brum earns All-Northeast-10 honors for the first time in his career with a spot on the second team. He started all 11 games for Stonehill at center this fall and the captain keyed an offensive line that ranks second in the NE-10 and 17th nationally in Division II for fewest sacks allowed with 11, while also ranking sixth in the Conference for rushing offense with 127.3 yards per game.
Brum played 42 games over his career, converting to the offensive side of the ball prior to his junior year after playing on the defensive line as a freshman and sophomore. He posted a career-best 26 tackles (13 solo), including 2.0 for a loss of four yards his freshman season.
Russell caps Stonehill's All-Northeast-10 picks with his first career selection and a second team award. He started all 11 games as a senior and was a dominant member of the Skyhawks top-ranked defensive unit at defensive tackle. Russell led the Skyhawks defensive linemen with 52 tackles (19 solo), including a team-high 11.0 tackles for a loss of 48 yards, 4.0 sacks for a loss of 27, three quarterback hurries, two pass breakups and a blocked kick. He ranked sixth among NE-10 leaders in tackles for loss He boasted a career-high 11 tackles (five solo), including 2.0 sacks for a loss of 11 in the Skyhawks 24-17 win at rival Bentley in week two.
Russell, a Gene Upshaw Lineman of the Year nominee, played 38 games over his career at Stonehill and finished with 117 tackles (43 solo), including 18.5 tackles for a loss of 79 yards, 8.5 sacks for a loss of 55, six fumble recoveries, an interception, three pass breakups and a blocked kick. He ranks seventh in program history for career fumble recoveries, while his four fumble recoveries shared the Division II lead in 2013 and rank fourth on Stonehill's all-time single season list. Russell has been named to the Northeast-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll one semester.
Parenteau and Wright both had an immediate impact for Stonehill as freshmen in the Skyhawks' defensive line rotation. Parenteau appeared in all 11 games and shared the team lead for tackles among freshmen with 20 (five solo), including 4.5 for a loss of 13 yards, a pass breakup and quarterback hurry. He posted a season-high five tackles (one solo) with 0.5 tackles for loss against New Haven on October 4, and registered four stops (one solo), including a season-best 2.0 tackles for a loss of eight against Southern Connecticut State on October 25.
Wright also appeared in all 11 games in his freshman season at Stonehill and finished with 17 tackles (five solo), including 2.0 for a loss of 12 yards, with 1.5 sacks for a loss of 11 and two quarterback hurries. He posted a season-best three tackle assists, including 1.0 for a loss of four yards, with 0.5 sacks for a loss of three in a win over Merrimack on September 27.
Stonehill finished its 2014 season with a 5-6 record overall, including a 4-5 mark in Northeast-10 play. The Skyhawks capped their season with a 19-11 victory over Saint Anselm College on NE-10 Championship Weekend in the No. 5 vs. 6 game. The Skyhawks boast the No. 7-ranked defense in Division II, leading the NE-10 for total defense, passing defense and rushing defense, while ranking second for scoring defense.
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