Record Breaking Day

St. Anselm running back Elad Covaliu had a career day in the Hawks' 24-21 loss to LIU Post. First, he broke off an 88 yard touchdown run late in the second quarter. At the time, it put St. Anselm in the lead 7-3.

Later in the fourth quarter, he gallivanted 67 yards for his second long touchdown run of the game. And with the second touchdown run, he also broke the school record for rushing yards in a game. He finished the afternoon with 259 yards on 20 attempts.

"Elad is very good," St. Anselm head coach Patrick Murphy said. "We just have to get him the ball in a bunch of different ways. He is a very tough, physical kid."

Covaliu was more than a breakaway runner. He also grinded out the yards between the tackles and was carrying defenders on his back for extra yardage on those carries.

Merrimack offense

The Merrimack offensive attack struggled in the first two weeks of the season but finally clicked into high gear last Friday night. They had 567 yards of total offense which topped the first two weeks of the season combined, 519. Unfortunately, Merrimack fell to Assumption 36-29.

Quarterback Nick Davis was the catalyst for the offense and head coach Dan Curran went with the hot hand.

"The kids played very hard," Merrimack head coach Dan Curran said. "Nick got hot and we went with him. We had the looks we wanted but couldn't get it done."

Davis was injured on a run late in the fourth quarter and left the field with his knee wrapped and on crutches. His status is unknown but the Warriors are deep at the quarterback position.

Joe Capobianco started the game and the returned to relieve Davis in the fourth. He nearly helped to rally Merrimack from the deficit against Assumption.

The favorite target for Davis and Capobianco was Cody Demers. He is not the biggest player on the field but always seems to make big plays. He finished the night with 11 catches for 192 yards and two scores. He made several clutch third down grabs and helped Merrimack break out on their offensive struggles.

"That Cody Demers kid was unbelievable," Assumption head coach Bob Chesney said.

Demers and fellow receiver Jere Brown were the main targets for the Merrimack offense and had their best game of the season. They are both dangerous receviers and also make a difference in the return game as well.

"They were bringing zero at us and we were prepared," Curran said. "Demers and Brown got one on one match ups. They are both good football players and great competitiors. Anytime that they get a one on one look, we like that."

Curran felt that this team has played well in all three games and should have beaten Stonehill. A couple of controversial calls resulted in an apology from the league on missed calls late in the game that could have changed the outcome of the game. He will have his team ready to face Bentley this week.

Triple Header

I attempted something this weekend that no one else has ever done before. I attended three NE-10 games this weekend as the schedule allowed for this to happen.

Last Friday, I started out going to the Merrimack against Assumption game in Worcester. The game featured an incredible fourth quarter in which both teams combined for 34 points including 27 in the first four minutes of quarter before Assumption came out on top.

Then Saturday afternoon, I went north to Manchester, NH for LIU Post at St. Anselm. Another barn burner as Post rallied in the second half to win the game. St. Anselm had their opportunities before Post finally scored late to win the game.

And the weekend was capped off Saturday night with a trip to Stonehill to see them battle Pace. The Skyhawks dominated from start to finish in winning their third game of the season.

In all total, it was 261 miles of driving between the three campuses and four and a half hours spent in the car. Not a bad weekend spent within the NE-10 community.

Quarterback Play

New Haven head coach Chris Pincince said last week that he needed to give his quarterback more time to play in games and stop the rotation. After Saturday's game, it appears that he followed his own advice.

Ajee Patterson was under center and led New Haven to a 31-12 victory over American International. He finished the day 19 for 25 for 236 yards passing and a touchdown. He also ran for 54 yards and scored twice in the victory.

That performance was fresh off a comeback victory on the road over Bentley in Week 2. Patterson took over from Shazzon Mumphrey and looks like he will not give the job back.

The New Haven defense also shined in the victory as they limited AIC to 283 yards of total offense and caused four fumbles, recovering two of them.

Quarterback Play # 2

One of the toughest positions in the NE-10 conference is being the Assumption quarterback. It seems that they seem to play at least five players at that position year in and year out. This year, they have played three thus far with Marc Monks getting the start against Merrimack.

Monks started the year as the third string quarterback but injuries to Brendan Tobey and Quinn Fleeting forced Monks into the game late against LIU Post. He got the start and looks very well as the starting signal caller.

"We have some talent at that position," Chesney said. "We didn't want to find one guy and invest everything in that guy. We wanted to disburse it around. It speaks to his ability to stick with it when he wasn't the starter for the first two weeks."

It just seems to be a hard luck position for the Greyhounds. But Chesney has made a point of recruiting players that can play and have depth on the roster. There are still another two quarterbacks on the roster and hopefully that they will not be forced into action this year.

Mr. Return

Pace returner Jamir Gee might be the most dangerous returner in the league. He returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown against Stonehill on Saturday night. That goes along with a punt return for a touchdown in Week 1 for 48 yards against Ave Maria.

Gee currently leads the NE-10 in kickoff returns and punt returns. He is averaging 32.3 yards per kickoff return through three weeks. The only other player averaging more than 30 yards per return is his teammate Jalen Bien-Aime who was injured on the opening kickoff against Stonehill.

Gee is also a threat on punt returns as he leads the league in yards with 105 and the only punt return for a touchdown. He also has 20 tackles from his defensive back position.

He is always a threat to make a big play either from his defensive back position or returning kicks.

Undefeated

We have two teams undefeated overall and three teams undefeated within the NE-10 portion of the schedule. Stonehill and LIU Post are both 3-0 and 2-0 in the league and will face each other this weekend on Long Island in a solid early season match up.

The other undefeated team in the NE-10 is New Haven. After struggling Week 1 against Slippery Rock, they have rebounded nicely with wins at Bentley and at home over American International. They look for their third straight win with a short trip across town to face Southern Connecticut next Friday night.

You could have predicted two of the three teams before the season started but Stonehill is a surprise. They had some holes to fill on both sides of the ball but have proven that they are a perennial contender in the NE-10.

Good guy

With all of the off the field news with NE-10 teams this year, it is nice to see a player making a solid contribution in his community. Stonehill senior Nick Chiocco has been nominated for the 2015 Allstate American Football Coaches Association Good Works Team.

Chiocco is one of 22 student athletes to be nominated for the award and just one of three players currently at the Division II level. It is considered one of the most esteemed off the field honors in college football.

He hosts an annual Home Run Derby to benefit the Hearts to Hope Foundation in memory of a former high school teammate that passed away from cystic fibrosis. He has also organized a fundraiser for a Stonehill professor that lost her daughter to cystic fibrosis as well as being active in many other great causes over the years.

"I am extremely proud of Nick's off the field accomplishments and am happy that he has been recognized for his efforts with a spot on the Allstate/AFCA Good Works Team," Stonehill head coach Rob Talley said in the release. "He is a hard working player for our football team on the field, but his list of charitable contributions is truly remarkable and show that he has truly accepted the mission of Stonehill College with his commitment to service and the community that is core to our institutional values."

Please support Nick and vote for him here: http://promo.espn.go.com/espn/contes...15/phase1/main