Defense

We knew that they had one of the best defensive units in the league and they showed it last Friday night. Stonehill limited Bentley to just 17 points in their 24-17 victory. It was the first win of the season for the Skyhawks and their first at Bentley since 1995.

"That is really nice," head coach Rob Talley said. "I thought about it and I never won here. We beat them a couple of times during my tenure but they were at home."

Yes, the defense allowed 374 yards of total offense but it was the way that they played in the red zone. They bent but did not break during the game. Included the crucial drive that ended the game when Bentley was held out of the end zone in the final minute.

"The defense stepped up," senior linebacker Brian Harrington said after the game. "Our number was called a few times and we made some plays. It was a really good team victory."

The front four of Stonehill defense was the difference in the game. They were led by Taylor Russell who tied Harrington for the team high with 11 tackles. He also had two sacks and was in the Bentley backfield the entire night.

The defense will be challenged over the coming weeks as they have a rematch of the title game last year when they travel to AIC. Then followed by home games against Merrimack and New Haven. It is a tough stretch for Stonehill but if they are able to emerge with a winning record, they will control their destiny for a return to the title game this year.

Undefeated

When most NE-10 fans check the standings, they will see one team that has an overall undefeated record this year. New Haven, Stonehill, AIC?? No, it is St. Anselm. Yes, that St. Anselm that was picked to finish ninth in the league by the coaches.

The Hawks won their second straight game in dramatic fashion as they defeated Southern Connecticut 23-20 in New Haven Saturday. Elad Covaliu scored the winning touchdown and set off the celebration on the sideline.

The defense for St. Anselm was the difference in the game. They had their backs to the goal line a lot during the game but they were able to come up big when needed especially in overtime. They held Southern Connecticut a field goal on their possession but the winning touchdown.

"We talked to our guys all the time about getting to the fourth and fifth quarter," head coach Pat Murphy said after the game. "That is play 65 through 100. If we are close at that range, we are confident that we will win."

The key difference for the Hawks is their defense. They faced a crucial fourth and one at midfield midway through the fourth quarter. In years past, coach Murphy would have went for it on fourth down. Now, he has confidence in his defensive unit that he punted. This time it backfired as Southern Connecticut drove the field for the tying score.

But it is a major change for St. Anselm and their way of thinking. It used to be offense, offense, offense. Now they have some playmakers on the defensive side and it is the reason that they are 2-0 right now. They have yielded 42 points in two games. That point total would have been 30 minutes of game action in previous seasons.

After spending countless hours on the bus the past couple of weekend, St. Anselm will open their home schedule Saturday when they host Bentley.

Big Ten Connections

The NE-10 is becoming intertwined with the Big Ten conference. Before this season, the only thing that they had in common was "Ten" in their name and the fact that both leagues had more than 10 schools in their respective conferences.

First, it was Bentley head coach Bill Kavanaugh that jumped from the Big Ten to the NE-10. He spent six years at Penn State. He started as a graduate assistant and eventually become the Director of Player Personnel in his time there. He learned the coaching game from his father but was able to cut his teeth in the Big Ten. Kavanaugh is 1-1 through the first two weeks of the season with the Falcons.

Second, one of his athletes that starred in the Big Ten on the baseball diamond before returning home to final his eligibility. Bentley tight end Alex Farkes played four years of baseball with the Nittany Lions including starting 99 games behind the plate as a catcher. Farkes grew up in Boston and went to BB&N including playing football and baseball during his high school days. He is pursuing his MBA and figured that he could play football in his spare time. Farkes caught four passes for 23 yards in the loss to Stonehill last Friday night.

Third, New Haven linebacker Matt Zakrzewski transferred from Indiana to finish his career in the NE-10. He was originally recruited as a linebacker but switched to fullback for the past several years. After seeing limited action, he decided to attend New Haven and has been a big addition to the Chargers. He was named NE-10 Defensive Player of the Week for the first week of the season after a team leading 10 tackles. He followed up the award winning performance with eight tackles against LIU Post.

It is just a matter of time before the NE-10 overtakes the Big Ten in popularity and has their own network.

Offense

As we talk about the Stonehill and St. Anselm defenses, we need to acknowledge the Merrimack offense. They put up 75 points in their win at Pace on Saturday. They had 480 yards in the first half as they made big play after big play.

Freshman quarterback Joe Capobianco got the start and did not disappoint. He threw for 416 yards and six touchdown passes. Not bad for your first college start. He spread the ball around to seven different receivers and four of them found the end zone.

The Warriors are known for scoring points and Saturday was not different. They have averaged 59.8 points per game in the last six match ups with Pace including at least 60 points in the last four games. The last time that Merrimack was held in check was 2008 when they won 31-28 at Pace.

Cardiac Kids

For the second straight week, LIU Post was driving the field in the final minute of the game as they trailed their opponent. In Week 1, the drive stalled at the three yard line and they lost to East Stroudsburg. Last weekend, it was a different story.

Quarterback Steve Laurino found the end zone and the Pioneers defeated New Haven 38-33 to open their NE-10 schedule on a positive note. Post battled the Chargers the entire 60 minutes and found a way to grind out the victory.

Laurino had a hand in all five of the touchdowns for the Pioneers. He had three rushing touchdowns and tossed another two. In two games this year, he has accounted for nine tocuhdowns (five passing, four rushing) and a big reason why Post is never out of any game. He has seemed to put a tough 2013 season behind him and doing everything possible to end his college career on a high note.

LIU Post hits the road for the next three weeks as they make trips to Merrimack, Assumption and Pace.

Outstanding Catch

Here is the early candidate for NE-10 Catch of the Year. Assumption freshman Sam Blake made the highlight grab during his team's 44-14 loss at Sacred Heart Saturday night. He went over the defender for the grab and then sprinted to the end zone for the touchdown.

See the video here courtesy of Assumption broadcaster Mike Uva:

https://vine.co/v/OaruZ2n1waP