2009 Stonehill College Skyhawks
Season Outlook

Information Provided By Stonehill Sports Information

Stonehill head coach Rob Talley (9-11 (.450)/2 seasons) returns 11 starters (six on defense, five offense) and 56 letterwinners overall for his third season at the helm. The Skyhawks, who also welcome 43 newcomers to the squad, are coming off a 2008 season which saw them post a 4-6 record overall, including a 2-5 mark in the Northeast-10 Conference, but won their last two games – including a rousing 35-7 triumph over arch-rivals Bentley University in the season finale – and three of their last four to close out the season.

Junior running back Eddie Vachon (Newton, Mass./Blair Academy) and senior wide receiver David Pringle (West Haven, Conn./Westminster School) head the list of returnees on offense, along with returning senior offensive linemen Thomas Pfeifer (West Babylon, N.Y./West Babylon) at left tackle, Brandon Joseph (Mattapan, Mass./Randolph) at left guard and Jay Norton (Beverly, Mass./Beverly) at right guard.

Vachon, a second team All-Northeast-10 selection last season, returns after leading the Conference with 1,209 all-purpose yards – finishing with 426 yards rushing on 110 attempts with two touchdowns, 365 yards receiving on 25 catches with four touchdowns and 418 combined return yards (384 on kickoffs). He is expected to move into a full-time role and will provide valuable leadership as a dual threat in his third season.

Pringle provides a true deep threat from the outside and is coming off a 2008 season which saw him haul in a team-high 32 catches for 411 yards, ranking eighth among NE-10 leaders in both receptions (4.0) and receiving yards (51.4) per game.

Junior Kevin Brooks (Westwood, Mass./Westwood) and sophomore Danny Sagan (Blairstown, N.J./Blair Academy) have been battling it out during preseason training camp to take over the starting quarterback job after the graduation of three-year starter Cruz Parsons who finished his career third all-time in Stonehill history with 3,756 career yards passing and second with 41 career touchdowns.

Six starters return on a Stonehill defensive unit which finished 2008 ranked second in the NE-10 for scoring defense, allowing just 18.0 points per game (16th nationally) and third in total defense (314.3 yds/gm) and rushing defense (120.6/gm). The Skyhawks also led the Conference with a plus-16 turnover margin (27th nationally).

Heading the defensive returnees are senior linebacker Greg Sanzari (Centerport, N.Y./St. Anthony’s), a first team All-NE-10 selection last season, and classmate Jon Penning (Leominster, Mass./Leominster) on the defensive line. Sanzari led the Skyhawks and finished second among NE-10 leaders with 9.8 tackles per game in 2008 to go with 7.5 tackles for a loss of 18 yards, two sacks, two interceptions and a forced fumble. Penning added 20 tackles, including 4.5 for a loss of 13 yards, and one sack last season.

Seniors Clark Leger (Waltham, Mass./Trinity Catholic) and Andrew Lesko (Florence, Mass./Northampton) will also provide solid leadership on the defensive line, along with junior Brenden Taylor (Stoughton, Mass./Stoughton). Sophomore Stephan Neville (Foxborough, Mass./Foxborough) is the lone returnee in the Skyhawks secondary after totaling 31 tackles and a team-best five interceptions (4th NE-10) to go with three pass breakups and a forced fumble.

Neville, along with senior kicker Brendan Gorey (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip) also anchor a Stonehill special teams unit which should be potent again in 2009. Neville, a second team All-NE-10 return man, averaged a Conference-best 29.7 yards per return as a freshman to lead a Skyhawks special teams which led the NE-10 and ranked 10th nationally in average return yardage (24.8). Gorey led the NE-10 in PAT percentage, converting 94.6-percent (27-for-28) of his attempts, ranked third in field goals per game (0.60) and fourth in punting average (35.9/punt).

Stonehill opens the 2009 season with four of its first five games away from W.B. Mason Stadium. After tomorrow night’s visit to Glenville State, the Skyhawks head to NCAA Football Championship Subdivision foe Wagner College on September 5 before hosting defending Northeast-10 Champions American International College on Friday, September 11, at 7 p.m.