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| Thomas Pfeifer, Head Coach Rob Talley and Jon Penning pose at the Northeast-10's Annual Media Day festivites at Gillette Stadium. |
Skyhawks Picked Fourth In Preseason Poll
Foxboro, Mass. - After a season that saw Stonehill win five games for the first time in a decade, the Skyhawks have been picked to finish fourth in the Northeast-10 Preseason Coaches Poll it was announced at the Conference's annual Football Media Day held at Gillette Stadium.
Stonehill, coming off its first non-losing season since 1996, return a wealth of talent on both sides of the ball.
Senior signal caller Cruz Parsons (Signal Hill, Calif.) leads an attack that has nine players back and more than doubled its offensive output from the previous year (8.4 to 18.4). Stonehill is also buoyed by the return of both of its primary ball carriers in senior Jeffery Payne (West Haven, Conn.) and sophomore Eddie Vachon (Newton, Mass.). That duo combined for 1,233 yards and 10 touchdowns at nearly five yards per carry a season ago.
On defense, all four members of the secondary return, including Northeast-10 All-Star, Jared Zanello (Walpole, Mass.), who tied for the team lead in interceptions (4) and finished second in the NE-10 in total pass breakups (11).
Southern Connecticut (67), who was picked to win the Conference a season ago, earns the top spot again, collecting seven first place votes. The Owls are followed by Bentley (53) and American International (49).
The Skyhawks (37) and Merrimack (33) round out the top five spots and they are followed up by Assumption (23), Pace (22) and St. Anselm (8).
Stonehill opens its season on Friday, September 5th when it hosts Wagner at 7 p.m. under the lights at W.B. Mason Stadium.
- 1. Southern Connecticut (7) - 63
- 2. Bentley (1) - 53
- 3. American International - 49
- 4. Stonehill - 37
- 5. Merrimack - 33
- 6. Assumption - 23
- 7. Pace - 22
- 8. Saint Anselm - 8
() - First Place Votes in parenthesis
