Huge Win

It might have been the biggest victory in program history for the Stonehill Skyhawks. They traveled to West Haven, CT and won on the blue turf of New Haven by the score of 29-26 to move to 5-1 in the NE-10 and a first place tie. The Skyhawks were down 12 points in the fourth quarter before they rallied for the victory.

Logan Meyer was hit all game but came up with the big plays down the stretch when his team needed him. He is quickly becoming one of the top quarterbacks in the league and making a name for himself. The senior is rewriting the Stonehill record book but getting tough victories might make him a legend.

Sophomore running Colin Markus emerged as a solid option of the backfield as he ran for a career high 172 yards. He also added 83 yards in the return game to gain more yards in this game than in his career to date. He started and played nearly every snap for the injured Jamal Johnson.

The win was the second straight for Stonehill in the Elm City as they knocked off Southern Connecticut the previous week. It was also the third come from behind victory for the Skyhawks on the road this year. Each of their road wins saw them spot the opponent the lead, only to roar back to grab the victory in the final minutes of the game.

It is a huge step forward for Stonehill. After they were crushed by AIC, most people figured that they were going to finish in the middle of the NE-10. But they showed that they are for real and a serious NE-10 championship contender. They have talent on both sides of the ball and have a favorable schedule down the stretch.

Streak Over

Do you remember November 6, 2010? That was the last time that New Haven lost a NE-10 game. The loss on Saturday snapped a 22 game winning streak for the Chargers and gave them a very unfamiliar feeling this week.

New Haven has been living on the edge the past couple of weeks as they escaped with tough road wins at Assumption and Merrimack. In both games, the home teams had chances to win the game but the New Haven defense stepped up and stopped them. This past Saturday, the magic ran out and the Chargers were on the wrong side of the score.

New Haven is not the same juggernaut as the past couple of seasons. They have some major holes that have been exposed the past couple of weeks. The kicking game is the major one. They attempted their first field goal of the season on Saturday and it was blocked. They tried a fake field goal later in the game that was snuffed out by Stonehill. The Chargers also missed two extra point attempts that cost them the game.

We have gotten so used to New Haven being flawless in every aspect of the game and this year, they are a good team but not a great team. The loss will be tough for them to swallow for a couple of days but might help them figure out what they need to focus on down the stretch.

Best Team

With all of the drama in New Haven last weekend, AIC was just taking care of business and was making a case for being the top team in the NE-10. Since they lost at home to Assumption, the Yellow Jackets have been stream rolling opponents and doing exactly what they were supposed to be doing all season long.

The latest victim was Bentley as Kevin Arduino scored four times and threw another touchdown pass in a 42-14 victory in Waltham. AIC improves to 5-1 in the NE-10 and a three way first place tie with Stonehill and New Haven.

They forced Bentley into turnovers and just moved the ball up and down the field with ease. The Yellow Jackets racked up 483 yard of total offense and seem to making it look easy right now.

The streak started with the crushing of Stonehill on the road and they handled LIU Post with ease last weekend. AIC has St. Anselm this weekend before they travel to New Haven on November 2nd. That game will decide who will play in the NE-10 championship game as one of the teams will suffer their second league loss.

Bounce Back

After four straight losses, LIU Post rebounded nicely with a 58-0 victory over cross-state rival Pace. The Pioneers jumped out early and never looked back.

Steve Laurino tossed four touchdown passes and used his legs for another one as Post won the game. His first touchdown pass was to defensive star Rob Bright and they spread the ball nicely to his typical play makers.

The defense did not allow Pace to move the ball at all. They surrended just 108 total yards of offense and did not give any opportunities to score. Most of Pace's drives were three and out. That is a good sign for Post as they have struggled most of the season to stop our teams.

The road gets tougher for Post as they travel to face first place Stonehill this weekend. They will need Laurino and the defense to continue their solid play if they are going to pull off the upset on the road.

90 Seconds

Merrimack was in a tightly contested battle on the road at St. Anselm before 90 seconds in the second half made the difference in the game. The Warriors scored three touchdowns in those 90 seconds to win going away 51-9 last Saturday afternoon.

Joe Clancy continued his stellar play as he tossed three of his six touchdown passes in those 90 seconds. He finished the game with 441 yards passing on 38 of 56 attempts.

The third quarter started with Clancy throwing an interception deep in his own territory. But the Warriors' defense stepped up with the ball inside the 10 yard line. They moved St. Anselm backwards and they missed the field goal attempt. Clancy then marched his offensive unit down the field for the touchdown.

Following a fumble recovery on the first play from scrimmage, Clancy found his favorite target Shane Ferguson for the score. After a three and out, it took one play for Clancy to hook up with Justin Mount for a 63 yard score. Three touchdowns in 90 seconds and the game was over for St. Anselm.

It is just another case of the explosiveness of the Merrimack offense. They were held under their average of 500 yards per game but still scored when they needed to.

Defense

Assumption allowed a score on the first drive of the game. The defense then made some adjustments and Southern Connecticut never threatened again as the Greyhounds won the game 17-7. The win improved Assumption to a 4-2 league record and sole possession of fourth place. Not bad for a team that was picked eighth by the experts.

The Greyhounds stacked the line of scrimmage with eight defenders at times and forced Southern Connecticut freshman quarterback Brandon Basil to beat them. He was unable to overcome that but he was not helped by his receivers dropping several passes in the game.

Assumption scored their first touchdown of the game in the second half off of an interception by Mike Bates. Three plays later, Eddy Frazier took the slant pass into the end zone. Another scoring drive later in the fourth quarter sealed the victory for Assumption.

Don't look now but Assumption is one game out of first place. They have defeated Bentley and AIC and played New Haven tough. They are in a good position to make some noise if the three teams ahead of them stumble down the stretch.

Log Jam

We have a major log jam at the top of the NE-10 standings. With Stonehill winning at New Haven and AIC crushing Bentley, three teams are tied for first place with a 5-1 record. The final three weeks of the season will decide the two teams that will play for the NE-10 championship on November 16th.

It appears that Stonehill has the easiest schedule left. They host LIU Post and Pace before traveling to Merrimack. New Haven travels to Southern Connecticut before hosting AIC and Bentley. AIC hosts St. Anselm, travels to New Haven and finishes with Southern Connecticut.

The game on November 2nd between AIC and New Haven was already circled on the calendar but is becoming even bigger as both teams have one loss right now. The loser of the game will most likely not have a chance to play in the NE-10 championship game.

Waiting right behind these three teams is Assumption. If anyone stumbles down the stretch, they are poised to make a run to play in the championship game. They will need some help for the teams ahead of them as they own a 1-2 record against those teams.

It is a simple formula as we get into November football. You need to win on the field and control your own destiny. Hoping for tie-breakers or teams to pull an upset is not the way to win the title. You need to win the game and let everything else play itself out.