NE-10 Champions

The American International College Yellow Jackets are your 2013 NE-10 champions after they defeated Stonehill by the score of 27-17 last Saturday. It is the first outright NE-10 title for AIC since they won the league in 2008 on their way to the Division II playoffs.

Quarterback Kevin Arduino was named the Most Outstanding Player and the award was well deserved. He was 17 for 31 for 203 yards and was the leading rusher with 101 yards and three scores. Arduino continued his stellar season in the biggest game of the season.

"Kevin was the only stable part of our running game this year," AIC head coach Art Wilkins said. "We have a very good offensive line. We are able to run the ball with various speeds with Kevin being the mainstay."

The AIC defense was also stellar. They limited Stonehill to just 173 yards and picked off four passes in the victory. They also had four sacks and were in the face of the Stonehill quarterbacks all afternoon long.

"We are very young and we are very physical," Wilkins said of his defense. "We lost a tackle in the game and then we brought linebackers to get pressure on Meyer."

"Unbelievable," Arduino said of his defense. "Best defense in the NE-10. They are tough and hard-nosed."

AIC rebounded this year after dropping the NE-10 championship game last year to New Haven on the road. The Yellow Jackets were picked as the coaches' favorite to win the league and they were able to come through when it mattered.

"I told everyone before the season that we can't have that feeling again," Arduino said of tough losses to New Haven to close out the season last year.

Playoffs

AIC received the good news on Sunday that they were selected to play in the Division II playoffs next weekend. They are the number six seed in Super Region 1 and will travel to play the third seed West Chester.

The Yellow Jackets are making their second playoff appearance after they qualified in 2008. They were the number three seed that year but lost in the first round at home to Seton Hill by the score of 14-7.

Shepherd is the number one seed in the region as they were the only undefeated team. PSAC champion Bloomsburg is the second seed and also received a first round bye.

Winston-Salem State is the fourth seed and will host fifth seeded Slippery Rock in the other first round game. After the cancellation of the CIAA championship game, Virginia State was ruled ineligible for the postseason and it hurt Winston-Salem as they were the number two seed in the region the previous week.

The committee got the top six teams in the region in the playoffs and they will square off to see who will reign supreme in SR1.

Great Season

In a championship game, there is a winner and a loser. For Stonehill, they were on the wrong side of the outcome but have nothing to hang their heads over. They competed each week and earned their spot in the NE-10 championship game.

Turnovers hurt the Skyhawks the most in the loss as they threw four interceptions. The health of Logan Meyer also was a factor in the loss. He didn't have the arm strength to throw the ball accurately throughout the game and was eventually knocked out of the game on a tackle in the second half.

"He gave us the best chance to win," Talley said of Meyer's injury. "He was not able to practice as much as we liked."

Meyer was injured in the win over Pace three weeks ago and sat out last week at Merrimack. Meyer finishes his career as the one of the most decorated quarterbacks in school history.

"I have no regrets," Meyer said. "I said in my senior speech the other day that I love football and I am addicted to football. It is just something I love to do. I really appreciate Coach Talley bringing me into Stonehill and give me a chance to play college football."

It was the first winning season for the Skyhawks since 1996. That year they finished 8-2.

"We have so much to be proud of," Talley said of the season. "It says some much for the program when the kids are heartbroken. They didn't just want to get here. They wanted to win it."

Irony

Last year, AIC lost three games to two teams that made the playoffs. They lost to Shepherd in the first game of the season and dropped two games to New Haven including the NE-10 championship game.

This year, Stonehill is in the same situation. They lost to Bloomsburg to open the season and twice to AIC including the NE-10 championship game. Both teams qualified for the playoffs on Sunday.

"We have a lot of work to do in recruiting but we feel positive about the future," Talley said.

Does that mean that Stonehill will win the league next year? Food for thought.

Turning PointNotables

Here are some of the highlights from the other games during championship weekend.

-New Haven defeated Assumption 27-17 after they rallied to score the final 17 points of the game. Head coach Peter Rossomando won his 42nd game at New Haven, moving him into second place all-time in wins. He is six behind current leader Mark Whipple.
-Bentley set a school record for total offense with 694 yards in their 56-41 victory over St. Anselm. Danny Guadagnoli had 510 passing yards and five touchdowns.
-St. Anselm also had a record day as quarterback Yianni Gavalas had 559 yards of passing with four touchdowns. His 51 completions were also a school record.
-LIU Post scored 34 unanswered points in the second and third quarter to defeat Pace 62-28. Quarterback Matt Brennan threw four touchdowns as the Pioneers look forward to next year.
-Merrimack rallied behind the arm of Joe Clancy and the interceptions of Artis Holt to defeat Southern Connecticut 35-24.

New Signal Callers

There are going to be a number of new quarterbacks under center next year. With the graduation of the likes of Joe Clancy, Logan Meyer and Ronnie Nelson, the league will have a whole new crop of signal callers.

It is the toughest position on the team as the quarterback is the focal point of each play and it takes a special type of player to coordinate 10 offensive players. At the same time reading the defense and changing plays based on a gut feeling in just 40 seconds.

Despite the loss of some good quarterbacks, there are some quality quarterbacks that will be back next year.

Bentley announced that Guadagnoli will be back for his final year of eligibility. Arduino is just a junior and St. Anselm has a couple of decent young quarterbacks. Post saw its future with Brennan as Steve Laurino will graduate after starting the past couple of seasons.

2013 Awards

Offensive Player of the Year

Joe Clancy, QB, Merrimack

For the second straight year, Clancy is my offensive player of the year. He put up video game numbers this year and was clearly the best quarterback in the league.

Clancy finished the season again rewriting the Merrimack and NE-10 record books. He is the first quarterback in league history to throw for 4,000 yards in a season. He also set a record for 48 touchdown passes in a season. He also completed 396 passes this year for an amazing 64.4% completion percentage.

He was just a starter for two seasons but he will go down as one of the best quarterbacks that this league has ever seen. He is third all-time in touchdown passes (89), third in passing yards (9,308) and sets the record for most completions (812).

Clancy was also named as one of the 28 finalists for the Harlon Hill Award. It is given annually to the top Division II player.

Defensive Player of the Year

Brian Harrington, LB, Stonehill College

Harrington is the easy choice for the top defender in the NE-10 for 2013. He had a monstrous season with included setting a record for most tackles in a season, 151.

Harrington recorded double digit tackles in every game but one this year. He had 16 or more tackles in five games this year including 17 in the NE-10 championship game. # 31 always seemed to be right around the ball.

He finished the season with 151 tackles, 73 of the solo variety. He had 2.5 sacks, seven tackles for a loss, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. He was also credited with a pass breakup.

Coach of the Year

Bob Chesney, Assumption College

The first year head coach didn't need much time to make his mark on the NE-10. He led the Greyhounds to their best record in years with a 6-3 league mark and a 6-5 overall record.

Assumption was picked to finish eighth in the league but was one of the surprises of the 2013 season. They are also the only team to defeat AIC in the league this year and it happened on the road. In fact, Assumption finished a perfect 5-0 on the road in regular season league play this year. They won at Bentley, AIC, St. Anselm, Pace and LIU Post.

Chesney was able to get his players to buy into the new system early in the preseason and the results showed on the field. They played each team tough and were in all of their league games this year. A play or two different in a couple of losses might have had them playing for the championship.

Team of the Year

American International Yellow Jackets

They were picked to win the league by the coaches before the season started and lived up to expectations. They finished in a first place tie with Stonehill with an 8-1 league record and 8-2 overall.

But it was the perseverance that the Yellow Jackets showed all season. They were hurt by injuries to key players all season long but still continued to win games. They lost Terrell Williams who was their top rusher and a potential Harlon Hill candidate. They didn't miss a beat as they rolled out running back after running back as injuries crept in.

They scored points in bunches as they did in their first win of the season when they scored 62 against Merrimack. They played stellar defense as they shut out LIU Post in October. They exercised past demons when they traveled to New Haven and won on the blue turf for the first time in early November.

They are currently on a seven game winning streak as they enter the playoffs this weekend. Head coach Art Wilkins and his staff has done a great job balancing the team with injuries and getting players to step up.

Game of the Year

AIC 62 Merrimack 50

These teams usually play high scoring, entertaining games but this one seemed to be a step above that. This game was the NE-10 opener for both teams and nobody left disappointed.

The teams combined for 112 points and 1,112 yards of total offense. And it was a defensive struggle in the first quarter. The first five drives of the game resulted in four punts and a turnover on downs. Merrimack held a slim 20-14 lead at the end of the first half before all of the fireworks of the final 30 minutes of the game.

Half of the drives in the second half resulted in points as both defenses seemed to be left behind in the locker room. The touchdowns were also of the big play variety. AIC running back Terrell Williams broke off a 42 yard touchdown run to open the scoring in the second half. AIC's Mike Ford picked off the next pass and returned it for a touchdown.

Joe Clancy then responded with long touchdown passes to Justin Mount and Jere Brown, the last one for 56 yards. In fact, Brown had two 56 yard touchdown receptions in the second half.

Williams then broke off a bunch of long touchdown runs. The first one was from 32 yards out and tied the game at 34. The final one was the last score of the game from 34 yards out and helped to cement the victory for the Yellow Jackets.

Merrimack finished the game with 729 yards of total offense, just three yards short of the NE-10 record held by Southern Connecticut ironally against Merrimack in 2003. Clancy finished the game 43 for 77, 571 yards and six touchdowns. He connected with nine different receivers led by Brown who had 12 catches for 243 yards.

AIC struggled with just 585 yards of total offense. Williams led the way with 199 rushing yards and three scores. Arduino had 288 yards passing and two scores. He also had 88 yards on the ground and a score.

It was a display of offensive for both teams and something that is expected now when these two teams met. You have to go back to 2008 when the teams combined for less than 70 points in a game.