Felder named NE10 Offensive Player of the Week for the first time
Haite earns second Special Teams Player of the Week this fall
Stoneking collects NE10 Rookie of the Week accolades
Felder rushed for three first quarter touchdowns to lead the Skyhawks and earn NE10 Offensive Player of the Week honors for the first time (PHOTO BY Jan Volk/SportsPix) |
EASTON, Mass. (September 23, 2019) – The Stonehill College football program collected three of the Northeast-10 Conference's weekly awards, the league announced today.
Sophomore running back Justin Felder earns NE10 Offensive Player of the Week accolades for the first time in his career, while senior placekicker Matt Haite is the NE10 Special Teams Player of the Week for the second time this season (third career) and junior quarterback Anton Stoneking has been named NE10 Rookie of the Week for the first time. The trio led Stonehill to a 38-14 triumph in the NE10 opener at Saint Anselm College, winning the Battle for the Ol' Bronze Hawk for the 16th-straight year, on Saturday night.
Felder rushed for three touchdowns in the opening quarter to spur Stonehill to a 21-0 lead it would not relinquish on the way to victory. He went over 100 yards rushing for the first time in his career, posting career-highs for rushing attempts, yards and nearly matching a program record for touchdowns in a game. Felder finished with 139 yards on 27 carries and the three touchdowns, all in the first quarter, when he racked up 76 yards on 11 attempts. His three touchdowns fell just one shy of the program's single game mark accomplished four times, most recently by Jermetrius Troy, '13 in 2011.
Felder has appeared in all three games for Stonehill this season and totaled 233 yards on 58 carries with the three touchdowns scored on Saturday night. He leads the NE10 in rushing attempts, ranks fourth with his 77.0 yards per game and is tied for second in touchdowns after the first three weeks of the season. Felder also shares the team scoring lead with 18 points, which ranks fifth in the NE10.
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Felder has appeared in 11 games over his first two seasons at Stonehill and totaled 662 yards on 153 carries with five touchdowns, averaging 4.3 yards per attempt. He posted 429 yards on 95 rushing attempts in eight games as a freshman, finding the end zone twice and ranking second on the team in rushing.
Haite, who also earned NE10 Special Teams Player of the Week honors following Stonehill's week one win at Bloomsburg (Pa.) University, totaled eight points in Saturday night's win, while averaging 64.4 yards with six touchbacks on his seven kickoffs. He converted all five extra points in the win and capped the Skyhawks scoring on the night when he drilled a career-best 51-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. The kick was just a yard shy of the program record by Joe Crowley, '04 against Bryant University in 2003 and two yards better than Haite's previous personal-best accomplished twice over his career.
Haite ranks third among NE10 leaders for kicker scoring with his 18 points this season, good for fifth in the NE10 overall. He leads the NE10 with nine made PATs and is fourth for made field goals with four. Haite is also averaging 62.4 yards per kick on his 15 kickoffs this season with ten touchbacks. He is 2-for-2 on field goal attempts between 30 and 39 yards and 1-for-2 on attempts over 40 yards after the first three weeks of the season.
Haite, a third team All-NE10 selection last fall, now ranks second in program history with 32 career field goals – just one shy of the program record of 33 by Steve Grzywacz, '16. He is also second in program history with 91 career PAT conversions, 22 behind Grzywacz's record of 113 and third in scoring with 187 points, 25 behind Grzywacz's program mark of 212 points. Haite is on pace to finish second all-time for career PAT percentage at 92.9-percent (91-for-98), trailing just Brendan Gorey, '10 (93.2%), and field goal percentage at 69.9% (32-for-46).
Haite earns Special Teams Player of the Week honors for the second time this year and third time overall (PHOTO BY Jan Volk/SportsPix) |
Haite has been named to the Fred Mitchell Award "Watch List" four times over his Stonehill career, and earned NE10 Academic All-Conference honors as a junior. He has been named to the NE10 Academic Honor Roll all six semesters to date and Athletic Director's Honor Roll four times. Haite was an NE10 All-Rookie pick as a freshman.
Stoneking went the distance at quarterback for Stonehill in Saturday night's win, marking his first complete game at the position after splitting the duties the first two weeks of the year. He completed 15-of-24 passes for a career-best 188 yards and two touchdowns on the night, finishing with 205 total yards.
Stoneking has started all three games this season for Stonehill and leads the NE10 with a 145.8 passing efficiency rating, having completed 28-of-43 passes (65.1%) for 343 yards and three touchdowns. He has also added 29 yards on 15 carries and another score to rank fourth in the NE10 for points responsible at 8.0 points per game. Stoneking has been named to the NE10 Academic Honor Roll all four semesters at the College, receiving Academic Distinction status for having a semester GPA between 3.50 and 3.99 last spring, while earning Athletic Director's Honor Roll honors three semesters.
Stonehill (2-1, 1-0 NE10) has its bye week this weekend, before returning to action on Saturday, October 5, to host American International College for its Purple & White Game at W.B. Mason Stadium at 1 p.m.
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