'We're all fired up': Stonehill College football program is up to the Division 1 challenge
EASTON – The early days of training camp swing into session with a refreshing buzz that reminds football fanatics from all around that a new season is near.
As players shuffle around practice cones under the context of a well-studied scheme soon to be installed, a variety of new changes and challenges ring in for all teams – both high school and college. Some are tweaks, others are more significant.
As one of the newest NCAA Division 1 institutions in the country, Stonehill College and its athletic programs are encountering it all. Head football coach Eli Gardner is counting down the 25 days remaining until his team's first taste of action against Bloomsberg University on Sept. 3.
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“At the end of the day, it’s still football," said Gardner, who enters his sixth season. "Obviously, you’re preparing for new opponents and the landscape is a little bit different. It might be chaotic and different for us as coaches, but we’re trying to make sure it feels as normal as possible for the guys."
The Skyhawks level up their competition after an 8-2 campaign last fall. Winners of six of their last seven, the offense paced itself for 30.1 points per game and the defense capped opponents to an average of 16.9. The newest member of the Northeast Conference (NEC), Gardner sensed there's already a "greater sense of urgency in everything (they) do" in the early-going of camp.
“We’re all fired up," agreed fifth-year senior defensive back, and team co-captain, Kevin Porch. "Day-by-day, we’re learning new things. We’re making mistakes, but we’re making good mistakes. We’re flying around as a team and coming together so I think we’ll do really good this season.”
The new competition spans the region. After the opener against Bloomsberg (Penn.), Stonehill faces Post University (Conn.) and Duquesne University (Penn.) at home, followed by a bye in Week 4. The Skyhawks then return to road matchups with Sacred Heart University (Conn.) and Saint Francis University (Penn.), and close out the regular season with three of its final four games coming at home (vs. Merrimack, vs. Wagner College (NY), at Long Island University and vs. Central Connecticut State).
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“There’s a level of unknown for us, but I think it’s the same for those teams. They’re not as familiar with us, just as we aren’t with them,” said Gardner. “We’re really excited. The NE-10 (Stonehill's former conference) and the NEC have played a lot of crossover games over the years, and we’ve been a part of some of them. They’ve been great games. We’re excited for that challenge because we know it's a landscape we can really compete in.”
One of the team's biggest changes in training camp has been the battle for the vacant starting spot at quarterback after the graduation of fifth-year senior Anton Stoneking, who completed 59.7 percent of his throws en route to a season of 16 passing touchdowns and eight interceptions. Juniors Jackson Zalinsky and Andrew Janik join sophomores Matt Arvanitis and Ashur Carraha as returning players hoping to take over.
“We’ve had some really good QB competition going throughout spring ball since Anton graduated,” Gardner said. “Those four guys have taken a lot of snaps and they’re really competing every day. It’s good because they’re pushing each other and they’re bringing out the best in one other."
"What’s unique about them is," added Gardner. "They all have some unique strengths. They’re not cookie-cutter compared to each other. We’re trying to trying to feed off their strengths and work on the things they need to improve.”
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A full-fledged wall of five returning offensive linemen and a young, explosive group of receivers are just some of the perks included with winning the starting quarterback job.
Bridgewater native Kyle Hess starts at center alongside a pair of co-captain guards, Joe Bastante and Thomas Walsh, while tackles Thomas Buxton and David Satkowski take care of the outside pressure. Both juniors, Hess and Buxton are the youngest of the unit.
“It’s great to have those guys back. They were here all summer pushing each other, developing that relationship and continuity you need,” said Gardner. “To have two captains in the O-line room really tells you the type of leadership, the type of people and the type of men that are in that room.”
The offensive line surrendered one or fewer sacks in five of the team's 10 games last season.
“We’re a very experienced group up front,” Hess said. “A bunch of the young guys were looking good in the first couple days (of camp), starting to get in the mix and getting the rotations. We’re all meshing together. We’re working hard. Still trying to figure out the quarterback situation, but I’m sure whoever they choose will be the right one.”
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As far as offensive targets to pick from, the quarterback-to-be will have plenty.
Sophomores Chris Domercant and Bryson Carter may be young, but they are athletes "everyone is going to know" said Gardner, joining senior DeAaron Lawrence and juniors Cameron Alves and Will Diamantis as notable pass-catchers. Domercant returns after a first-team all-NEC nomination his freshman season, and both Lawrence and Diamantis look to rebound from missing action to injury – an ACL tear for Lawrence and a shoulder injury for Diamantis.
Senior co-captain Cam Boes, who starts at tight end, likes how the offense is trending so far.
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“We’ve got some wrinkles to work through,” Boes said. “But it's really good, I would say, overall. The quarterbacks are starting to get comfortable, starting to put drives together.”
No member of the offense may be primed for a breakout more than junior running back Jermaine Corbett, who detonated for 254 yards and two touchdowns in Stonehill's 31-22 win over St. Anselm on Oct. 16. He takes over for last year's starter Justin Felder, who compiled 1,127 rushing yards as a senior in the second of back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons and graduated as "one of the best to come through our program," according to Gardner.
As redemption quests and standout chances sum up the story offensively, consistency and amped-up enthusiasm bring the heat on defense.
The 6-foot-2 Porch reunites with fellow fifth-year defensive back Masyn Lorick as two defensive cornerstones that played every game a season ago.
Porch vividly recalled his reaction when first hearing the news about the Division 1 call-up.
“Initially, it was like a fire (under) me and I was ready to go," Porch said. "I was excited – who wouldn’t be excited to play Division 1? But yeah, once we all talked about it and we heard the final news, we were ready to get back to football. This was in the spring we first heard the rumors about it, but when it was finally full-go, we were ready to go.”
He added, "It was like a dream come true. It was one of my goals to just to play football in college, let alone Division 1 made it so much more surreal. I was very grateful to hear (about the move). It was awesome.”
Standing 6-foot-2 and 240 pounds, junior defensive end Michael Lockavitch is a player Hess says his fellow offensive linemen are impressed with blocking in training camp so far. He powered his way to 4.5 sacks as a sophomore in 2021.
Also joining the defensive reinforcements is redshirt junior Anthony LaMonica, a hybrid safety/outside linebacker who transferred from the University of New Hampshire this offseason.
In total, the Stonehill defense recorded 33 sacks, 12 interceptions and 627 total tackles last fall.
The hope is that similar production emerges against Stonehill's new Division 1 peers this fall, starting in the opener against Bloomsberg.
“We’re all locked in. We’re just treating it as we would (before)," Hess said. "We’re playing new teams, ready for bigger and better competition. We’re working every single day, day-in and day-out, and we’re ready to go.”
This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Fired up in preseason, new challenge awaits Stonehill College football
