 |  |
Skyhawks Visit Pace On Saturday
|
| Senior George Whetstone and the other members of the Skyhawk defense were relentless in getting after the quarterback in the win over Wagner last week. |
STONEHILL SKYHAWKS at PACE SETTERS
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2008, 12 P.M.
PACE FIELD
Opening Statement
Having won their season opener for the second season in a row, the
Skyhawks make the trip to New York to face Pace in their
Northeast-10 Conference opener. Stonehill is 1-5 lifetime on the
road at Pace, including being dealt a 7-0 defeat in their last
contest in Pleasantville on September 16, 2006.
Open and Shut
The Skyhawks are 4-8 in all-time Northeast-10 Conference
openers. On two occasions, Stonehill has opened its Northeast-10
schedule against Pace, losing contests in both the 1999 and 2000
seasons by a combined score of 42-27.
Level-Headed
Of those 12 openers, six have been played on the road and Stonehill
is a combined 3-3, including last year's 20-14 win over Assumption.
Program First
In its 2008 season opener, Stonehill defeated Division I-AA Wagner,
14-13, for its first-ever win over a Football Championship
Subdivision team.
Clock Killing Drive
Trailing 13-7 entering the fourth quarter, Stonehill held the ball
for 11:05 of the final frame. Most of that time was gobbled up
during a 20-play, 80-yard drive that took 10:32 off the clock and
resulted in the winning score.
85 Percent Of The Time
Of the 20 plays that took place on the game-winning drive,
17 were runs.
1st And 10
The Skyhawks picked up seven first downs on the drive,
including the final one on 4th and 1 from the Wagner two yardline.
What Could Have Been
In the win over the Seahawks, Torrey Price (Sleepy
Hollow, N.Y.) returned a punt 63 yards for an apparent touchdown
but the score was nullified by a blocking in the back penalty.
Dan Cahill was the last Stonehill player to return
a punt for a touchdown on November 11, 1995 (38 yards versus
Bentley).
Don't Know Much
Freshman Stephan Neville (Foxboro, Mass.) made two
solo tackles and had a interception in his first collegiate
contest. He also returned a kickoff 29 yards deep into Wagner
territory on a reverse.
Even Steven
The Skyhawks are 2-2 under head coach Rob Talley in their four road
contests.
60 Is Nifty
It had been 60 games, spanning parts of seven seasons since the
Stonehill defense pitched a shutout when the Skyhawks defeated Pace
23-0 last season.
Seven-Eleven
In 11 games under Rob Talley, the Skyhawks have yielded an
average of 17.9 points per game. In three of those contests, the
Stonehill defense held its opponent to seven points or less.
Redzone Effectiveness
Stonehill has scored on 82 percent of its redzone possessions since
Rob Talley took over as head coach.
Keys To Success
With Rob Talley at the helm, Stonehill is 6-2 when it wins the
turnover margin and 4-1 when it has no turnovers.
Sweet 17
The Skyhawks are +17 in turnover margin in 11 contests with Rob
Talley as head coach.
Ball Security
With Rob Talley as head coach the Skyhawks have five contests with
no turnovers.
Ground Game
In the 11 contests Stonehill has played under Rob Talley, the team
averages 42 rushing attempts. In the win over Wagner, the Skyhawk
ballcarriers had 59 opportunities.
Grind It Out
Stonehill is 5-0 under Rob Talley when they rush for more
yardage than their opponent.
Gorey's Glory
Junior Brendan Gorey (West Islip, N.Y.) entered
the 2008 season with one career extra point attempt. After the
first week of the season he has a 37.5 yard punt average, including
a 53-yard boot, three that dropped inside the 20 and was a perfect
two-for-two in extra points, in the 14-13 win over Wagner.
Eddie Is Money
Sophomore running back Eddie Vachon (Newton,
Mass.) has five touchdowns in 11 career contests. Two of the five
have been through the air, including his career-long 49 yard
scoring grab in the win over Wagner.
The Wright Stuff
After going the entire 2007 season without a catch, junior
wide receiver Cory Wright (Manchester, N.H.) had a
10-yard reception, (the second of his career) in the season-opening
win over Wagner.
Finding Comfort
Former quarterback Jon Kaloyanides
(Cranston, R.I.), who switched to tight end in the offseason, made
his first collegiate catch count. He hauled in a six yard pass on
third and five to keep the game winning drive alive in the win over
Wagner.
Payne Provides Punch
Senior Jeff Payne (West Haven, Conn.) ran
for 144 yards in the win over Wagner, the second most yards in his
career.
Gimme Five
With his 183 all-purpose yards in the win over Wagner,
Jeff Payne has gone over 100 yards in that
category in five straight contests.
Payne-Staking Measures
Jeff Payne racked up 1,037 all-purpose yards in 2007, the
eighth highest total in school history.
Room 306
Coupled with his career high total of 162 yards in the
2007 season finale versus American International, Payne has rushed
for 306 yards in his last two games on 56 carries, for an average
of 5.4 yards a carry.
Twenty Equals 100-Plus
In the four career contests in which Jeff Payne
has topped the 20 carry mark, he is averaging 129.2 yards per game.
Freshman 15?
Actually, the Class of 2012 has 37 members.
Second Time Around
The five previous head coaches at Stonehill have gone a combined
26-26 in their second season.
Second Hand Advice
Of those five previous head coaches, all but Connie
Driscoll won more games in their second year than their
first. Driscoll went 7-2 in his first season (1993) and 6-4 in his
second (1994).
So Honored
After finishing with a team-high 10 tackles and his first
career sack, senior linebacker Greg Sanzari
(Centerport, N.Y.) was named Northeast-10 Defensive Player of the
Week.
Sanzari Says
Greg Sanzari, recorded 46 tackles as a junior
while appearing in all 10 contests, and has now registered double
digit tackles in three of his last four contests, including a
career-high 14 at Southern Connecticut last season.
Cruz-ing Along
Senior quarterback Cruz Parsons (Signal Hill,
Calif.) was an efficient 5-of-7 for 90 yards and a touchdown
through the air and added eight yards and a touchdown on the ground
in the win over Wagner.
Looking Back
The Skyhawks went 5-5 in 2007, marking the first time since 1996
that the program did not finish below the .500 mark.
Depth In Numbers
After entering the 2007 season with 69 members, the Skyhawks have
90 members on the 2008 squad.
Guess Who's Back?
Stonehill returns 17 starters from a season ago, including
nine on defense.
Captains A Plenty
Seniors Jeff Cuqua (Walpole, Mass.), Bob
Holland (North Andover, Mass.) and Jon
Kaloyanides were named the 2008 team captains.
Hittin' The Books
Senior Jon Kaloyanides was named Stonehill
College's 2008-2009 McGowan Scholar and was awarded a tuition
scholarship from the William G. McGowan Charitable Fund. The
McGowan Scholarship program provides selected colleges and
universities with scholarships to help students who wish to pursue
a business education.
Hometown Heroes
Seniors Jared Zanello, Jeff Cuqua
and junior Kyle Griffin all played together as
prep stars at Walpole High.
For Whom The Poll Tolls
After being selected ninth in the Northeast-10 Coaches
Preseason Poll in 2007, the Skyhawks were picked fourth in the 2008
version.
Century Club
After going 23 games, covering parts of three seasons
without having a running back top the century mark, Jeff
Payne and Eddie Vachon each went over 100
yards in the win over St. Anselm last season. Payne totaled 152
yards, while Vachon posted a career-high 142 yards. They each
scored three touchdowns.
Catching Some Z's
Jared Zanello returns for his senior season after
being named a Northeast-10 All-Star a season ago.
ZZZZZZ
Jared Zanello finished 2007 with 56 tackles (32 solo), two
sacks, four interceptions and a forced fumble.
Back On Campus
Despite the loss of Northeast-10 All-Star Mike
DeBye, Stonehill returns seven of its top eight tacklers
from 2007.
