Felder earns NE10 Offensive Player of the Week honors for third time
Stoneking collects second NE10 Rookie of the Week award
Felder earns NE10 Offensive Player of the Week honors for the third time this season (PHOTO BY Mary Gettens) |
EASTON, Mass. (November 4, 2019) – The Stonehill College football team's two offensive catalysts to Saturday's 41-20 victory over Southern Connecticut State University have earned weekly honors from the Northeast-10 Conference, the league announced today.
Sophomore running back Justin Felder has been named the NE10's Offensive Player of the Week for the third time this season, while junior quarterback Anton Stoneking is the NE10 Rookie of the Week for a second time. The duo were the key leaders in Stonehill posting 533 yards of total offense in the win over Southern Connecticut State.
Felder is the first Stonehill student-athlete to earn NE10 Offensive Player of the Week honors three times in a season after posting the first 300-yard rushing performance in program history on Saturday. He carried the ball 24 times for a program-record 314 yards and two touchdowns, all but the final one-yard touchdown plunge coming over the first three quarters of play. Felder shatters the previous single-game record of 250 yards by 2018 Stonehill Athletic Hall of Famer Michael McLucas, '95 against Nichols University in 1994, while also setting a program mark by averaging 13.1 yards per carry. He reeled off runs of 44, 52 (first two carries of the game), 57, 18 and 65 yards – the latter of which marked his first touchdown of the afternoon one play after Southern Connecticut State had turned the Skyhawks lone turnover of the game into its first touchdown of the day.
Felder |
Stoneking |
Felder posted 98 yards on six carries in the first quarter, had 190 yards in the first half on 12 attempts, and then added 123 on nine carries in the third quarter before finishing his day with his second touchdown from a yard out on the first play of the fourth quarter to give Stonehill a 41-13 lead. He also set a new rushing record for W.B. Mason Stadium, besting the previous mark of 288 yards by American International College's Marlon Beckles in 2005.
With Felder's third weekly award of the season, Stonehill has now picked up five NE10 Offensive Player of the Week Awards over the nine weeks of the season to date. Felder earned the honors on September 23 and October 7 as well, with senior wide receiver Andrew Jamiel collecting the accolade on September 9 and October 21.
With his record-breaking performance on Saturday, Felder takes over the NE10 lead with his 1,038 rushing yards this season (11th nationally), marking just the fourth 1,000-yard season in program history and first since Eddie Vachon, '11 posted 1,117 yards in 2010. Felder moved into ninth place on the program's career rushing chart with his 1,467 yards in just 16 games played. Felder's 12 touchdowns scored this season rank second in the NE10 (20th nationally) and are two shy of Vachon's single-season program record, while his 11 rushing touchdowns rank second in the NE10 (17th), and are one shy of the program's single-season mark by Vachon in 2010 and matched by senior teammate Brian Kearns, Jr. last year.
Felder ranks seventh in Division II with his NE10-best 129.8 rushing yards per game, ranking second in the NE10 (28th nationally) with 6.1 yards per carry and 140.3 all-purpose yards per game (26th). He has rushed for 100-plus yards five times this season, scoring multiple touchdowns in four games. Of Felder's 12 touchdowns this season, seven have been scored in the first quarter, including three in Stonehill's 38-14 win at Saint Anselm College on September 21.
Stoneking is the NE10 Rookie of the Week for a second time (PHOTO BY Mary Gettens) |
Stoneking picks up NE10 Rookie of the Week honors for the second time, after being named on September 23, completing 17-of-22 passes (77.3%) for 206 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for another on Saturday. His 15-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter opened the scoring and then his 39-yard touchdown pass in the second gave Stonehill a 24-0 lead after posting his nine-yard touchdown earlier in the frame.
Stoneking has started all eight games at quarterback for Stonehill this season, completing 126-of-195 passes (64.6-percent) for 1,610 yards and 13 touchdowns for a 148.8 pass efficiency rating. He has also added another 72 yards and four touchdowns on the ground (12th NE10). Stoneking leads the NE10 for completion percentage (14th nationally), pass efficiency (31st) and 8.3 yards per attempt (29th), while ranking second with 201.3 passing yards per game, third with 15.8 completions per game and passing touchdowns and fourth in passing yards.
Stonehill (5-3, 4-2 NE10) is back in action on Saturday, when it hosts Pace University for a key NE10 matchup on Senior Day at W.B. Mason Stadium at 1 p.m. Please note the time change from the earlier posted 3 p.m., and note that the game will be played in conjunction with the College's second Skyhawk Welcome Day, so please allow extra time for parking and tailgating will be held adjacent to the Holy Cross Center parking lot.
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