NEC Football Power Rankings Week 9: #NECHAOS
We came so close to a massive upset in Week 8, but we’ll have to hold on just a little bit longer to see one of those this season.
Wagner jumped out to a 14-0 lead but couldn’t hold on, falling behind in the 3rd quarter to CCSU before Wagner was able to tie it back up at 17. The Seahawks were driving deep in Blue Devil territory and time was running out before they made the mistake of throwing Chris Jean’s way. Like you’d expect if you watched him as often as I do, he pulled off the interception and the threat was abolished. The possession would go back and forth, but Wagner fell in the first overtime and CCSU escaped.
So close. But we’ll have to wait one more week for another crack at #NECHAOS.
Duquesne
The Dukes looked like they wanted to send a message to Mercyhurst in the 2nd meeting of what sure looked like two teams that could establish a rivalry. The first drive saw Duquesne take 6 minutes off the clock over 10 plays, but after that there was plenty of aggression from the defense. I’m a journalist, but I try not to look for angles that aren’t there. But for all the world, it really looked like there was some kind of message that the Dukes wanted to send to the Lakers. That’s how you get rivalries, and I’m looking forward to seeing more from these two. The Dukes will get Wagner next week after a heartbreaker on Staten Island.
CCSU
The Blue Devils got into a knock-down, drag-out fight with the Wagner Seahawks but yet again were able to emerge from a tight game with a win. There’s some amount of variance in how you perform in these scenarios, but less than the stats nerds would say. CCSU clearly knows how to perform and how to close out tight games. This is a team that knows how to win, even when it isn’t their best day. They’ll host a rejuvenated LIU after a bye next week, so they will need every ounce of that knowledge and willpower to stay undefeated.
Mercyhurst
The Lakers weren’t able to compete with the Dukes yet, but they earned a night game and the big game feel that this one had. It’s now up to them to get it back. They’ll get to stay in Erie to recover, but there’s no rest as they’ll welcome in a tough Stonehill team who’ll be ready to bounce back after two big losses. After this, the Lakers will travel to Loretto, where they’ll have to work to get right again. Saint Francis has a stout defense and this might be tighter than you’d guess.
Stonehill
The Skyhawks finished their nonconference slate at Yale where they lost handily to the Ivy League squad. It’s not relevant to conference standings, so they’ll just have to flush it and move on against Mercyhurst. The Lakers defense is scary, though, so it’ll take a big effort for Stonehill to get on the scoreboard, which is something they’ve struggled with as of late.
LIU
I think LIU probably has their mojo back now that they’ve got their quarterback position healthy again. Stanzani helped lead the Sharks past Robert Morris and aside from one big play from the Colonials it wasn’t really ever in doubt. They game against CCSU in two weeks is going to be the highlight of the slate, and it’ll tell us everything about the Sharks that matters. Specifically, if Stanzani has brought them back. First, though, they’ll finish out New Haven’s unofficial non-conference slate.
Wagner
The Seahawks played CCSU tight, but the Blue Devils are so familiar in these settings and unfortunately Staten Island’s team couldn’t hang on. Barton seems to have really secured the quarterback role for Wagner, and he showed some flashes of stepping up in big play situations against the Blue Devils. Wagner is playing Duquesne next, so he’ll have to make the most out of those flashes and turn it into a full-fledged blaze.
New Haven
The Chargers were idle. They’ll travel to Long Island to meet a Sharks team that is looking healthy. Not the best time to go up against LIU. Zaon Laney will redshirt for the remainder of this season but we expect him back next year.
RMU
The Colonials were still unable to get much going offensively and aside from one big splash weren’t able to do much against the Sharks. The defense is there, but Bobby Mo just hasn’t put together their best game yet. Against Saint Francis, the stakes will be high to end the storied rivalry on the highest note possible.
Saint Francis
The Red Flash were idle but have not yet won this season. They’ll play longtime rival Robert Morris in Loretto for the last time this Saturday.
Stonehill Locks Down 4th OL Commit, Kaiden Knox
Stonehill has been on a hot streak with linemen lately, and that only continued last week when they secured a commitment from 6’5”, 300 lb OT Kaiden Knox from North Schuykill, PA. Sources close to the program have confirmed to NEC Blitz that Knox was a priority recruit for the Skyhawks, which makes this commitment a big win for the program. There’s sometimes an idea that recruiting is a lot like playing roulette, and that higher ranked guys are more likely to hit. Don’t fall for that. It’s definitely true that star ratings correlate to reaching the pros, but when a program designates a player as a priority, it’s a careful evaluation that the player meets what they’re specifically looking for at the position for what the position coach, coordinator, and head coach all want to do. It’s got a whole lot more homework to it than roulette ever had.
We had the opportunity to speak with Knox following his commitment to the Skyhawks. His recruitment began in a sort of atypical way.
“Coach Berardelli gave me a call to check in and asked how I was doing and how summer workouts were going. I told him things were going great,” Knox told us. “Then he said, ‘I don’t usually do this, but you’re the first person I’m offering just off a phone call.’”
That had to be some impressive game film. Well, you decide:
The offer was a big deal for Knox, but actually heading into Shovel Town is what sealed the deal.
“I went up for a game day visit and ended up staying overnight for my official visit. The game day atmosphere was incredible. The fans, the energy, the players, everything stood out,” Knox said. “After the game, they took my mom and me to a hotel and then out to dinner with some of the players. I got to hang out with them for a couple of hours, which was awesome.”
So the atmosphere at Stonehill for a big conference win against LIU was on point, and the relationships with the players made Knox feel like it was somewhere that he could be. But visiting the football facilities and speaking with Coach Gardner was the sugar on top.
“The next day, I went back to the facility and talked with [Coach Gardner]. A few days later, I decided to commit. I really liked the facilities, the school, and the overall vibe.”
Knox pointed to Coach Dylan Berardelli as someone he developed a strong relationship over the recruitment process.
Kaiden Knox is the 7th Stonehill commit and the 4th who plays OL as at least one of his positions.
NEC Football Power Rankings Week 8: Game of the Century of the Week in Erie
It’s an old trope in college football.
But tropes are tradition, after all, and the best parts of our sport always seem to come from the past. You have a poll because there’s been a poll for 100 years; you call games “bowls” because it’s been that way for 100 years; you let Rutgers play because they’ve been doing it for so long that you can’t even ignore them anymore.
But one of the best tropes (and therefore, traditions) in college football is that when #1 plays #2 in-season, you call it the Game of the Century. In the NEC, our schools aren’t usually ranked even when they clearly deserve to be (i.e., Duquesne) and so we fall back on these power rankings to describe if a matchup is big or not in the NEC. In this case… it’s almost a game of the century. We’re seeing #1 head a couple of hours north to Erie, where Mercyhurst comes in at #3. A quick word on this.
I identify culturally as a Yinzer (look it up if you’re unfamiliar with the term!). It is also tradition amongst Yinzers to take a trip a couple of hours north to Lake Erie. You immediately go to Presque Isle (unless you stop at Waldameer Park instead). After you arrive, you go to the beach your family has always gone to. It doesn’t matter if one has less people on it; you have a pre-assigned beach from birth. Mine is Budny Beach. You hang out there, maybe walk a bit, throw popcorn at a seagull, and then before you go home you stop at Sara’s for food. I know one of my bosses on FCSNation is from South Carolina, so to Kevin: Sara’s is basically Cook-Out, except there’s only one, and you can’t have two corndogs as a side. In any case, it’s just part of growing up that you do these things.
Which is a long way of saying that Duquesne is making the trip north to Erie, and this should not be considered a road game so much as the typical migration pattern of the Wild Yinzer. They will be used to this at Duquesne.
Duquesne
Duquesne hosted Saint Francis in the 51st and final meeting between the two long-time rivals. It’s said that in 1976, the Saint Francis head coach (who was also a priest; college football is the best) prayed for fumbles during the game. Inexplicably, Duquesne could no longer hold onto the ball and the Red Flash won. It’s a great story, but none of it happened this time around, and the Red Flash offense was back to only scoring a single touchdown while the defense could not keep the Dukes out of the end zone. At this point, no one in the league has looked able to hang with the Dukes. This is your reminder that Duquesne was very competitive with top 10 Lehigh, yet are not ranked
Central Connecticut State
CCSU hit the road and met Robert Morris in Moon Township. The game was evenly balanced, with two offensive scores apiece, but special teams miscues for the Colonials and a pick six put CCSU in front with a final score of 24-12. The Blue Devils defense looked solid, but the offensive side of the ball is where you should be paying attention. Brady Olson still has just one interception on the year (12-1 ratio of TDs to INTs) and Elijah Howard ran for over 100 yards, having reached midseason form just as the Blue Devils hit the heart of conference play. CCSU is not the most talented team in the league, but they’re close, and they never beat themselves. You can win a lot of games playing just like that.
Mercyhurst
The Lake Show continued their run with a 19-7 win over the Wagner Seahawks behind backup QB Alex Gevaudan. Gevaudan, who I believe earned his scholarship in the offseason, performed admirably in Adam Urena’s stead, but Brian Trobel was the star here with 190 all-purpose yards and 3 TDs. We liked Trobel heading into the season and had him as probably the third best back in the league, but after the first two running backs in the league, it felt like there was a logjam that anyone could have emerged from in the NEC. Don’t call it a logjam anymore. If the season ended today, Trobel and Elijah Howard would be the two first teamers. The Lakers now host Duquesne in the biggest game in October, and one that may very well determine who gets to hang up a championship banner. It might not have playoff implications, though, as Mercyhurst is ineligible for the FCS playoff.
Stonehill
Stonehill heads to New Haven next week… to play Yale, who also shares the city with the New Haven Chargers. This is a non-conference game. Stonehill can impress a lot of people with a win here. The Skyhawks were idle last week.
Long Island
LIU was idle last week. Hopefully, it was a chance to get healthy, as they return to league play hosting Robert Morris. Ever since the Eastern Michigan win, we haven’t known what to make of the Sharks. A win against Bobby Mo would go a long way towards righting the ship. Of interest in this one is which two quarterbacks play.
New Haven
Points were in the street in the town of New Haven, as the Chargers blasted Division III WestConn 69-0. The Chargers were supposed to win this one going away, and they did that. AJ Duffy threw for 4 TDs but wasn’t recognized as one of the 5 stars, likely because of the level of competition. They’re now off this week and will return to unofficial NEC play against Long Island the following week.
Wagner
I wish Wagner and New Haven were playing this season. They feel so on par with each other, but you never do know until you see it. We’ll have to wait until 2026. The Seahawks were unable to do much offensively against a stout Mercyhurst defense despite playing Jordan Barton and Jack Stevens. Wagner falls to 1-5 (0-1) but has a big chance with Central Connecticut State up next. If the Seahawks are going to turn around this season, it has to start right here.
Robert Morris
The Colonials weren’t able to keep pace with Central Connecticut State despite having as many offensive touchdowns as the Blue Devils. Unfortunately, we saw another quarterback change for the Colonials after a big hit. Wolfe came in and delivered some good balls and had some great chemistry with big tight end Chaz Middleton- maybe the best tight end in the NEC this year- but the Colonials seemed to keep falling short of reaching the red zone until it was too late. They’ll go up against LIU next. The pieces are there for the Colonials- the defense looked good on Saturday and Middleton and running backs Ethan Shine and Donta Whack are talented. They’ve just got to put them together on Saturdays.
Saint Francis
The Red Flash only could post one touchdown in a loss to their rival Duquesne that was over before halftime. A week off will do the Frankies good before they face their other big rival in Robert Morris at home in Loretto- again, for the last time.
NEC Football Power Rankings Week 7: Mercyhurst Has Never Lost a Conference Game
The Lake Show opened up their first conference slate in the NEC by upending LIU at home. It was the ESPN+ game this week for the NEC, which usually means that the league’s royalty (for lack of a better word) is present. With the mutterings about Mercyhurst after they were added (primarily that they weren’t much of a PSAC team and now they were heading up a level), the early part of this season for the Lakers has to be encouraging. I’m not saying overly encouraging- this was Mercyhurst’s 2nd win of the season, after all- but they were competitive in most of their heavy hitter non-conference games against teams like South Dakota State, Sacramento State, and Montana State. Against LIU, they proved it was worth it. That doesn’t mean the Lake Show is at the top of the charts, but they do happen to have a 1-0 record all time in the NEC (2-2 in “unofficial” league games prior to this one).
Duquesne
The Dukes, though. It sometimes feels like we don’t give this team enough due for being number one most weeks. It’s probably because we expect these kind of performances out of Duquesne. They played at the time #2 NEC Blitz Stonehill and won in a runaway victory. It seemed over at half time, and was. Duquesne’s defensive front was everything we had hoped they’d be this season, the linebacker corps (led by returning from injury Tyson Meiguez) is significantly better than we expected, and Ty Riddell has been the quarterback we thought he could be in a best case scenario. In our preview magazine, we talked about how Duquesne could probably stand to have a few things go wrong and still win the league; well, almost nothing is going wrong right now. Ryan Petras has been a revelation at WR; he was committed to Princeton and flipped to his hometown Dukes. Right now, he’s looking like a contender for the NEC Freshman OPOY.
Central Connecticut State
I agonized over this one. Do you make CCSU the 2nd best team after an overtime win, or do you give Mercyhurst the nod after beating a conference opponent? Ultimately, Sacred Heart came into this one at 4-1 and LIU now has an 0-2 conference record, so we had to go with which is looking like the better win right now. Coming into the year, you couldn’t quite call Brady Olson a game manager after an okay performance in 2024 that saw him throw 17 TDs to 12 INTs- he performed well, but was taking a little too much off the table with his ball security. That script has flipped in 2025. He accounted for 5 TDs against Sacred Heart and has thrown 1 pick all year. We have to start asking the question: is Olson the best quarterback in the NEC?
Mercyhurst
Here’s where the Lakers are. They once again flexed their defensive muscles in a tight win over LIU at home in front of a homecoming crowd (and ESPN+ viewers across the country) at Saxon Stadium. Brian Trobel looks every bit as good as we’d hoped, but there are three running backs for the Lakers who can make noise, including freshman Mookie Gamble. The Lakers have had about as good of an offense as we expected- maybe a step back from a ball security standpoint- but the defense has come out of nowhere. I love Erie’s team, but I did not see the defense coming at all and Mercyhurst has established themselves as a legitimate NEC contender.
Stonehill
Stonehill couldn’t force the Dukes into a low scoring game, and so they fell on the road in Pittsburgh to 1-1 in conference. I had kind of thought that if the Skyhawks allowed 24 points, they’d be in a tough spot to win. If they could muddy it up and control the game, if their elite defense could keep the Dukes from breaking through… it was definitely not a foregone conclusion that the Dukes would win this game, but Stonehill had to win it in their own way. Once it got away from that style, it was tough for the Skyhawks to come back and they dropped to 1-1 in conference. With that loss, they also dropped to #4 in our rankings.
Long Island
LIU has dropped to 0-2 in conference play. The Sharks just haven’t been able to get all of their best players on the field since the Eastern Michigan win. I can’t help but feel like this isn’t the last Jaws sighting, though. LIU is talented, but just like last season the early course of the year may not be going the way they wanted. What will count is if, just like last season, they finish it the right way. Keep in mind that LIU hasn’t played CCSU or Duquesne yet. If they can pull off wins there, they’ll still be in the title race. They' get a week to heal up now.
New Haven
The Chargers pulled off a 28-14 win against Division II Pace, a former conference foe that is having a poor season over in the NE-10. This pulled them up to 3-3 overall, with two of those wins coming against Division II opponents in their transition year. AJ Duffy didn’t have his best game, but he didn’t need to. NEC Blitz Preview Magazine cover athlete Zaon Laney ran for 143 yards, 2 TDs, and had a long of 61 after exploding for a long of 50+ last week. He’s looking healthy and New Haven will continue to look good on offense as long as he and Duffy are clicking. They have WestConn next week and should be predicted to win big.
Wagner
Wagner was idle this week, but will host Mercyhurst on Staten Island next weekend for their first conference game of the season. Coming off a win against Norfolk State and seemingly having locked up the quarterback competition with Jordan Barton, the Seahawks have their whole season and all of their goals in front of them, even with a 1-4 record.
Robert Morris
The Colonials traveled to Merrimack and unfortunately are still unable to scare up any offense with a 24-7 road loss. They scored in the first quarter but were unable to keep up the momentum, and eventually Merrimack was able to pull away as the game went on. The Colonials are 1-4 and welcoming Central Connecticut State to the Joe on Saturday for their conference opener. We’ll be there.
Saint Francis
The Red Flash were idle this week, but will travel to Duquesne for their 2nd conference game on Saturday. It’s a game that Duquesne is unlikely to overlook with the final battle against the long time in-state opponents on the line. The Red Flash are 0-5 and 0-1 in the NEC, but in their last game against Bucknell they looked their best and the offense seemed to finally be waking up a little.
Stonehill Lands Commitment From 2026 RB Saalem Frink
We’re still in season for 2025, but Stonehill is already building a 2026 class. This week, the Skyhawks landed running back Saalem Frink, a running back out of the City of Brotherly Love. He’ll be leaving the Liberty Bell behind and traveling to Shovel City to join a quickly rebuilding Skyhawks team. We caught up with Saalem to discuss his commitment and relationship with Stonehill.
Saalem, who compares himself to a Saquan Barkley and Marshawn Lynch with a little bit of Leveon Bell type of back, visited Stonehill and talked to the coaches. This conversation, as it does in many cases, sealed the deal for him. “When I got to Stonehill, they talked about how mmuch they valued my skill and saw me as a great fit for the team,” said Frink.
And when he decided to commit? The atmosphere turned from a discussion of how he fit to how the Skyhawks would integrate him into the program
“When I told them I would commit, the conversation was mainly excitement and planning out what would happen next,” Frink said. “They also shared how they felt I would be a good addition to the team. I felt like it would be a perfect match.”
Frink also likes the trajectory of the program in Easton. “I like what they are building over there,” Frink said. “It felt like home.”
We often discuss how relationships form the backbone of recruiting in any league, but perhaps especially so in the NEC where NIL is rarely a consideration. In Frink’s case, he pointed to his relationship with Coach Berardelli as the strongest he’s developed.
Frink becomes the first recruit classified as a running back for Stonehill in this cycle. This is the 5th commitment the Skyhawks have received so far.
The Program On The Hill
It’s not the kind of thing we talk about much anymore, but what Stonehill’s doing in 2025 is as much admirable as it is a throwback.
Looking at college football in 2025, there’s a lot of trends in program building that are downright predictable, if not exactly ideal. Take the transfer portal and its use in turning around struggling programs.
At the FBS level, a program like Virginia hit the transfer portal hard to try and turn around a program that had been struggling. It’s working in the case of the Hoos- they just downed Florida State, after all- but it’s a complete departure from what we used to see in college football. It speaks to how much the game has changed in this era of rapid fire coaching changes, conference realignment, NIL, and most notably the transfer portal. If your team and your recruits aren’t hitting for you, well, you go and buy a new team. Push out the old recruits via the transfer portal and bring in some new faces.
But it kind of stretches the idea that we’re ultimately here in support of higher education, opportunities at a degree, and building better people through the game of football. These can all be attributes of our sport and when college football is at its best, these attributes are present. You’re not seeing a ton of this at the FBS level anymore and the pressure to win now is immense.
It makes what’s happening at Stonehill all the more remarkable.
The Skyhawks went 1-10 last season (0-6 in conference) and heading into this season, something I saw on social media whenever New England football was talked about in depth (love when these conversations happen, by the way), there was often the same thing said about Stonehill- the Skyhawks weren’t very good last year, and they didn’t seem to add much to get better this year. Well, think about that line for a second.
There were always JUCO players and a limited amount of transfers that had to sit out a season by default, but adding players to right the ship? As in, for next season? That’s a foreign concept to college football as I grew up watching it. No, what you did was kept recruiting, kept developing, kept building your culture, and as your kids got older and more mature in your system they’d improve. But the flack Stonehill was taking was because they seemed to be sticking to that formula.
The Skyhawks weren’t active as buyers or sellers in the transfer portal. It led me to remark on a few occasions that Coach Gardner seemed to really know how to recruit to his school. At Stonehill, they didn’t seem to just be selling the idea of playing and transferring up to FBS. There had to be something about the kids they were bringing in that made them Skyhawks. Not just for a season or two, but they really seemed to be sticking around at an abnormal rate.
So instead of hitting the transfer portal, the Skyhawks changed up their strength and conditioning program. Something wasn’t working last year when they went 1-10, obviously, and it would be insane to go into the season with the same approach. There didn’t seem to be any thought of blaming the athletes or finding new ones. Instead, they set over 50% of their strength and conditioning records, got more reps, and brought back more starters on offense and defense than either everyone else in conference or close to it.
So they didn’t add much in the transfer portal. That’s a far cry from not doing anything to improve.
The other factor is that I’ve believed for as long as I’ve watched college football that continuity and experience are the two keys to how well a team will perform. It’s been thrown to the wind in our sport lately, but Stonehill seemed like a place where continuity and experience were going to be present in 2025. It led me to immediately point to the Skyhawks as a team that seemed poised for a big improvement in 2025. But these days, we’re conditioned to look for what the new additions are. The new playmakers replacing the talent you’re committed to developing. And maybe that’s what the problem was for a lot of people when they looked at the Skyhawks before the season. They were developing what they had, not chasing something new.
I don’t know that this kind of program building works everywhere anymore, and certainly don’t know if it works with every coach. But for a fan of old school college football like myself, well, Shovel City fits that old William Penn mentality of making a City On A Hill. Except what Stonehill does- regardless of how the rest of this season plays out- that’s an example of what I hope all programs strive to achieve. I’ll be watching closely and hoping that it keeps working.
NEC Football Power Rankings Week 6: Stonehill Gets Elevated
We called our shot early, and it seems to be looking pretty good in the beginning weeks of league play.
Of course, anything can happen. But here’s how early season predictions work. When you’re winning during the season, at any point at all, you need to celebrate how brilliant you are. You ignore your misses. And if your early wins turn into misses, forget it. You’ve celebrated it. Now, just go ahead and ignore the downfall.
We liked Stonehill taking on LIU and we loved Stonehill’s defense coming into the season, but what we saw against the high powered, difficult to plan for Sharks was beyond what we could have expected. Accordingly, the big story this week isn’t the change at the top (funny how that works), but that Stonehill- picked 8th by every other outlet I’ve had the pleasure of reading, picked 4th by NEC Blitz- is in the top half of the rankings and has doubled their win total from last season, with chances to have two additional wins on their resume. There’s holes in that resume, and the season is young. We’re still in September. But, still- take the wins where you can get them.
Duquesne
The Dukes had no trouble handling New Haven in Pittsburgh, and while this is their best win to this point they looked dominant against the Chargers. New Haven was on a two game win streak including a big win over Albany, but after a good first drive the game was all Dukes. Joey Isabella had 3 touchdowns in the first half alone and Ty Riddell looked like one of the best quarterbacks in the NEC- he’s quietly been building a resume, and once the Dukes get into conference play we’ll get a chance to see him up against the rest of the league. He had no problems matching up with a stellar quarterback in AJ Duffy. Defensively, the Dukes once again looked dominant. The Dukes have won the two non-conference games they were supposed to win, lost the two expected FBS games, and were very competitive with a top 10 Lehigh team. They’re the favorite heading into conference.
Stonehill
Stonehill’s still having some trouble getting into the end zone, but the defense has made the huge strides we hoped and believed that they could. LIU was held to 3 points, and while Stonehill was only able to muster 10 of their own, you do tend to win football games when you only give up a field goal. They forced Ethan Greenwood into two interceptions and Charles Battaglia will probably be the defensive player of the week in the league with 9 tackles and 2 sacks. The less obvious downside? Stonehill had trouble with penalties (12 for 90). They’ll have to clean that up if the offense isn’t able to get more points on the board, but in a league that looks low on dominant teams, a defense this good should make some more noise through the rest of the conference slate.
Central Connecticut State
The Blue Devils traded two turnovers for two turnovers with Dartmouth, but it’s hard to win giving up 407 yards through the air. Nevertheless, there were still a lot of bright spots here and I’d consider them effectively tied with Stonehill- just better wins for the Skyhawks. Brady Olson continues to be careful with the ball and puts CCSU in a position to win every time Hard Hittin’ New Britain takes the field. He’s so seasoned that it’s hard to imagine the Blue Devils beating themselves this season. Unfortunately, there was just too much room for Dartmouth to throw, especially with a last second 50 yard touchdown to give the Ivy League school the lead and the win.
Long Island
Despite the loss to Stonehill, the Sharks are not done this season and still have the big win against Eastern Michigan to buoy them somewhat. It’s hard to tell if Stonehill’s issue was their own offense or the good defense that that Sharks have shown this season. When- not if- the offense gets back to scoring points, LIU will get the wins back.
Mercyhurst
The Lakers lost big in a buy game on the road to South Dakota State. Flush it and move on. We’re excited to see the Urena to Evans connection moving through the league slate.
Wagner
Wagner got their first win in pretty dramatic fashion against Head Coach Mike Vick’s Norfolk State. The Seahawks have decided to go with Jordan Barton at QB for the time being, and he was able to throw for 2 TDs against 2 INTs. The big story might be the 108 yard game from Andre Hines, who also provided a touchdown. It’s a good win against an opponent getting lots of press prior to entering conference play.
Robert Morris
RMU was idle this week. They’ll travel to former NEC foe Merrimack this Saturday before beginning league play (and a game we’ll be at!) with a big rematch against CCSU, which was the best game in the NEC last season.
New Haven
New Haven struggled against Duquesne, but an interesting trend we’ve seen is that New Haven seems to be fantastic at scripting drives to start games. Zaon Laney had his best game with over 60 yards and a 51 yard scamper, but this one looked an awful lot like the contest against Mercyhurst. Might set up an interesting match for the Dukes and the Lakers in a few weeks.
Saint Francis
Saint Francis was scoring points against Bucknell and went into the half with the lead. With the offense starting to wake up, the Red Flash are still only at 0-1 in conference despite the overall record and certainly have the potential to be more than a factor in league play- they still have the opportunity to make the playoffs with minimal help at this point! Without wins, though, there’s nowhere else to put them.
NEC Football Power Rankings Week 5: Playing Darts Blindfolded
I think I quote it like twice a week. In my first conversation ever with an NEC head coach, he told me: “Well, the NEC is a funny thing.”
And it is. There’s a reason I always point to this as the most fun you’ll ever have watching football. You never really know what will happen. The unpredictable nature of football lives in the NEC, even when it’s sometimes hard to find at other levels of competition. I think I know what’s coming. I’m as well-studied as anyone out there to know what’s coming. And even then, I’m looking forward to my well-educated spectacular misses. It never stops being fun here.
I hardly know where to move things, or if I should even move things at all, after this week. But after some deliberation, this is what I’ve come up with:
Central Connecticut State
The loss to Merrimack was a heartbreaker and marked by a lack of points from the Blue Devils until the final frame. They took the lead with two touchdowns but lost on a last second field goal to the Warriors to drop to 2-2 overall. Elijah Howard ran for 91 and got involved in the passing game, but the Donovan Wadley revenge game was not to be and perhaps having this one in New Britain would have changed the outcome. Nevertheless, it was a fine defensive performance from CCSU and they remain the leader at 1-0 in conference play.
Duquesne
Even though CCSU lost and you can mostly write off FBS losses (especially after no one was going to let the NEC sneak up on them following Long Island’s win over Eastern Michigan), you can’t really reward the Dukes after the Akron game. Again, write it off. We have something far more interesting on Saturday when New Haven comes to the Bluff. You hate to rely too heavily on the transitive property, but this will give us a chance to see how Duquesne stacks up compared to their in-state competition up in Erie. New Haven is on such a roll, though, that any conclusions will have to wait until the Dukes and Lakers meet.
Long Island
It’s been two games since LIU was able to knock off FBS opponent Eastern Michigan, and in that time we’ve had two no-shows for Ethan Greenwood at quarterback and this past week Luca Stanzani did not participate. Chris Howell did what he could, but he ended up with a 0 TD to 2 INT ratio and the Sharks were able to score just 7 points on the #6 Rhode Island Rams. I would have loved to see what Long Island could have done if healthy- I think they could have absolutely hung with the Rams for the second straight season- but this is who they are for the time being and I’m not sure I can put them up any higher with the uncertainty at the most important position in football. A bright spot was here, though, with O.J. Ross running for 130 yards at the running back slot. That’s LIU. There’s 100 yard rushers all the way down.
Stonehill
We’ll bump Stonehill up to fourth here as they were able to mount a furious comeback against Penn of the Ivy League that just fell short. Stonehill is 1-3 and yet are probably just a handful of plays from 3-1. Fascinatingly, they’re also one play from 0-4. You expect this is a bit of growing pains from a team that’s just gained some experience from the year prior, has improved, but maybe hasn’t really learned how to win yet. The game against Maine was a big start, but they’ll have to grow up in a hurry now with conference play ahead of them. LIU heads to Easton next and while we’re just not sure what quarterback we’ll see from the Skyhawks, how they’re able to contain whomever it is we’ll see- and if they can find the end zone just a little more often- will probably determine how this one goes.
Mercyhurst
A virtual tie with Stonehill. I gave the Skyhawks the nod just because the offense was able to do a little more than Mercyhurst was, even against an absolute monster Montana State team that the Lakers had to go up against. They acquitted themselves well- incredibly well, actually- on defense, but the 3 red zone drives without points will probably go down as the missed opportunity for Urena and Co. The road trip goes on to South Dakota State this weekend before we get to see what the Lakers are really made of in conference play, and if they really are as good as the team that punched out New Haven just a few weeks ago.
New Haven
Speaking of New Haven, the Chargers are on a 2 game win streak but have had fast starts with furious comebacks against them in the past two weeks. They’ve been able to hold on, but a 4 quarter performance is still missing from their repertoire. A.J. Duffy remains a dark horse for the first team QB conversation in the NEC, and if they can give Duquesne a fast start this week they’ll have a chance to really shock the league and shake up the Northeast. Everyone in the league saw the performance against Mercyhurst, but you can be sure everyone is aware of what the Chargers were able to do against Albany, too. Really looking forward to this one on the Bluff.
Robert Morris
Bobby Mo had Dayton on the ropes in Moon Township but let the game slip away. A particularly troubling aspect was that quarterback Zach Tanner left the game and did not return. Quarterback was probably the one place with RMU where we really knew what they had and were excited about it, but now there’s a little more uncertainty for the Colonials. Ethan Shine is looking like a fine addition to their running back room, but after Tanner left the game the passing suffered a little and the offense had some of the trouble it’s shown earlier in the season.
Wagner
Wagner took on FBS Central Michigan this Saturday. You can flush it and forget it. Wagner gave significant attempts to Jordan Barton in this one, and my suspicion is that we may not be completely done with the quarterback competition on Staten Island. Freshman Benjamin Newton also saw some time. It’s a fine idea to use the FBS game to see what you’ve got across the board as the Seahawks prepare to welcome Michael Vick’s Norfolk State team to Staten Island before a bye week will recover them from NEC play. This is the time to work out the kinks.
Saint Francis
Against a team the Red Flash beat last season in a spectacular comeback victory, the offense yet again sputtered while posting its highest point total of the season, hitting double digits for the first time with 10 points. The bigger problem? Delaware State was able to score on Saint Francis early in the game, which we haven’t really seen much of to this point. We had wondered if the defense was finally getting tired late in contests and surrendering points. Now, you have to wonder if the frequent low scoring performances are becoming a problem, or if DeSean Jackson was just able to turn around the Hornets that fast. They’re not famous for winning performances at Delaware State, but unfortunately they were able to put together a convincing one in Loretto. With the Red Flash at 0-1 in conference, there’s just nowhere else to put them until they’re able to muster an offensive performance.
NEC Football Power Rankings Week 4: I’m Blue
If you are my age, you will remember a crucial debate from childhood: Red or Blue?
That is, which version of Pokemon is best? (Conventional wisdom, by the way, favored Blue entirely on the basis of Raichu being available in the Power Plant in late game.)
I digress. This past week in the Northeast Conference, we got to see the Blue Devils take on the Red Flash. It looked close for a half, but no defense can hold on forever without the offense helping them out, and in the second half the Blue Devils prevailed and pulled away to make it look easy. A far cry from last season’s tight battle. With LIU losing a homecoming heartbreaker, we have yet another leader at the top spot in the volatile early weeks of the Power Rankings.
Central Connecticut State
No shocker here, as the Blue Devils pulled away from the Red Flash late and Elijah Howard made his presence known, returning to the field with a receiving touchdown on the second Blue Devils drive. His rushing totals were a bit limited (he only did have 12 carries), but his return means big things for the CCSU offense. It’s not clear they need him to have more than 12 carries at this point in the season, either. Donovan Wadley got going this week with a 39 yard catch, and Brady Olson has been taking care of the ball through the first 3 games with a 4 to 0 TD to INT ratio. And best of all? That defense looks like the same aggressive one that forced turnovers last year. I think we may have downplayed how good the Blue Devils really are up until this point.
Duquesne
The Dukes lost to #10 Lehigh but played them tightly, giving them a contest throughout the entire game after taking it to Lincoln (PA) the week prior. The Dukes travel on the road to FBS Akron this week, which often means it’s another game that we can’t learn too much from. Joey Isabella looks like the best WR in the NEC to this point. The linebackers, which we thought would be a weakness, are actually one of the strengths of the team with multiple players capable of being named Prime Performers each week. Daniel Tarabella has emerged as one of the NEC’s top tight ends. It’s hard to punish Duquesne for a loss to the #10 team in the country, particularly when they showed that they’re able to compete with anyone at this level of football, but polls like this are fluid and the Dukes certainly control their destiny even after they face Akron.
Long Island
The Sharks still have a dominant victory over FBS Eastern Michigan on their resume, but they fell to Sacred Heart in a tough loss on homecoming this past weekend and their ranking suffered for it. The Sharks surrendered 10 points in the 4th quarter including a winning field goal as time expired to fall by 3 points. Sacred Heart has looked better than expected this season (has also defeated Stonehill) but after a big run from Luca Stanzani (75 yards!) offense was tough to come by. Ethan Greenwood did not play in this contest. The Sharks have another big chance at an upset this week as they head to Rhode Island to take on a Rams team ranked as high as #6.
Mercyhurst
The Lakers were able to play with Sacramento State, even leading 18-7 in the 2nd quarter and had it within a touchdown in the 4th. New Haven’s win over Albany also gives us some good context for their victory over the Chargers in Erie. Rylan Davison and Dylan Evans each caught a Urena TD pass. They’ll head to #4 Montana State next.
Stonehill
Stonehill pulled off a road win at Maine which has been kicked around by football focused media in this part of the country as potentially the biggest win in program history. The miracle 4th and 21 pass to Brigham Dunphy shouldn’t take away from the overall season Stonehill’s had so far, though. They played Sacred Heart as well as LIU did, and this is a team that could certainly be looking at 2-1 right now. They’ll have to take on the Ivy League’s Penn next at home.
New Haven
New Haven got their first win as a Division I program, rocketing out to a fast start in Albany and holding off the Great Danes for the remainder of the contest, giving AJ Duffy his second Offensive Player of the Week nod in the process. New Haven will host Division II Saginaw Valley State (1-2) on The Blue for their first home game as a Division I program.
Robert Morris
RMU was able to beat West Liberty, but the offense still seemed to have some trouble getting started against the Division II program. The Colonials were able to get some touches in for Ethan Shine and Donta Whack, and Zach Tanner threw two touchdown passes to no interceptions although they limited their reliance on the pass game. They’ll host Dayton this Saturday.
Wagner
Wagner played Georgetown well on the road but was unable to get much going on offense against Marist, losing 21-10 behind a turnover-hindered performance (5 turnovers to Marist’s 1). You can’t win when you’re giving up possessions in bulk- a theme behind the bottom two in our rankings this week. Wagner is 0-3 but probably had opportunities to win their past two games. They’ll get back on the road to face an FBS opponent in Central Michigan.
Saint Francis
Saint Francis has a stellar defense that has kept them in games for a half most of this season so far, but the offense hasn’t been able to replace what they lost through the transfer portal including their top two running backs and best wide receiver. The Red Flash fumbled the ball 5 times, recovered only two of those, and threw 2 interceptions. You can’t win games giving up the rock five times. The Red Flash have been fantastic at playing defense, but their 7 points on Saturday was unfortunately their high on the season so far. You can’t win games in football unless you score points- it’s an obvious statement, but if you haven’t shown that you’re going to be able to win games, you can’t get out of the basement.
GAME RECAP: Stonehill #DIGs Deep, Overcomes Maine 13-10
Last season, we got the NEC Play of the Year in Week 1 with Rob Carter Jr.’s incredible interception against Utah State. So in comparison, waiting until the 3rd week of the season is much later into the year.
On a 4th and 21 and down 6-10 with just under 2 minutes to go, Jack O’Connell rolled out to his right, feeling the pressure from behind him. He hung a rainbow of a pass out into the air and toward the end zone, where captain Brigham Dunphy was able to go up and get it- a come from behind score in the most improbable setting. The extra point was true, and Stonehill went up 13-10, with their standout defense prepared to make another stop- they’d done it all day, after all- to close out the game.
I don’t put too much stock into these, but ESPN gave Maine a 94% chance to win the game heading into that 4th and 21. It swung to an 84.1% chance as the ball landed in Dunphy’s arms. Those swings are always fun to see.
Maine was able to drive the ball just into Stonehill territory, but Mo Seide broke up a desperation 4th down pass before the Black Bears could get into field goal range, and the Skyhawks could kneel it out and earn their first victory of the season. They had opportunities to secure this same type of win in Week 1 against Sacred Heart- a team that just took down Long Island- and were unable to make that one extra play. On Saturday, that was exactly what Stonehill was able to do.
How big of a win is this one? According to our friends at the New England Football Journal, it was the biggest in Stonehill football history. We’ve got a different focus than them, obviously, and count their first win against Duquesne as a sign of who the Skyhawks could be, but the point is well taken- beating a CAA team on the road is no easy task, and it’s definitely high up on that list.
The statline for this one isn’t gaudy. It was a defensive struggle as you’d expect from the final score. Looking for those hidden numbers that can point to how a team came out on top- this is usually turnovers, points off of turnovers, what have you- the only one that really stands out to me is the 4th downs. Both teams attempted two, and while Maine came up 0 for 2, Stonehill was able to convert on both of their attempts- even that seemingly impossible 4th and 21.
We had become accustomed to seeing Jack O’Connell throw the ball around and get completions, but he had just 14 for 132 yards in this contest. His one touchdown- the only one scored by Stonehill on the game- was the aforementioned 4th and 21 beauty. That accounted for 34 of his yards and all but 9 of Brigham Dunphy’s receiving yards. On the ground, things weren’t much flashier for the Skyhawks offense. Zavion Woodard had 30 yards and Jarel Washington accounted for 28. O’Connell rushed for 29 yards, but these were negated by 4 sacks leading to a net of -1 for him.
Defensively, the Skyhawks continue to shine. Richard Mosley III has been in the right place at the right time so far this young season, with another fumble recovery- his second in 2 games. Aidan Horodnik had 1.5 sacks, and in a game where Charles Battaglia seemingly was avoided (4 tackles) the rest of the defense stepped up and the tackles were spread around (Mosley led with 8). Mo Seide had two pass breakups, including the 4th down to seal the win.
Stonehill will host Penn in Shovel Town for their next action, with the hope to take down a CAA opponent and an Ivy League opponent in consecutive weeeks.
NEC Football Power Rankings Week 3: Sharks Jump
I don’t think this is any surprise heading into this week. If you beat an FBS team- no, if you control the game against them, have a 4th quarter drive that takes up over 9 minutes, and never trail- well, you get to be first place in the power rankings. Congratulations to the Long Island Sharks, but this early in the season, volatility in the power rankings is everywhere.
Long Island
You know the really brilliant thing that the Sharks have going for them? There can never be a quarterback controversy here. It was understood going into the season that Luca Stanzani and Ethan Greenwood would both play. Now that they’re doing that, it doesn’t really matter if Stanzani takes more of the snaps going forward; you can’t split the locker room when exactly what was expected to happen, well, happens. Long Island now has to take it back home to take on Sacred Heart; they’ll be expected to outscore the Pioneers easily, but if they can do that they have to hit the road to take on a Rhode Island team that’s been consistently ranked. You can’t get ahead of yourself, but taking on CCSU and Duquesne in subsequent weeks toward the end of the season might be the most important two game stretch in LIU Sharks football history. They just have to keep winning until then.
Duquesne
Through no fault of Duquesne, they fall to second place after taking care of business against Lincoln (PA). They’ll welcome #10 Lehigh to the Bluff for next week in what will be one of the biggest games of the week for the NEC. Ty Riddell looked every bit what he showed a few glimmers of against Pitt on Saturday, Joey Isabella found the end zone, and we’ve got a Dukes team that has been all over the place here in terms of opponents, heading from the P4 to D2 and finally to a top 10 FCS team. They’ll then head off to Akron to face a G5. We might not really know what we have with the Dukes until October, but what we saw against Lincoln looked very promising.
Central Connecticut State
The Blue Devils rebounded from facing a tough UConn team on the road to taking on American International at home. It was never in doubt for the Blue Devils, and now they’ll head straight into conference play by welcoming Saint Francis to Hard Hittin’ New Britain. An interesting wrinkle against AIC was that Donovan Wadley had one carry and one catch. You have to imagine that the former NEC Offensive Player of the Year is going to have a bigger role as the season goes on, and as he does that you’d assume that CCSU will further hit its stride. A big opportunity for him is coming up after the Saint Francis game when CCSU travels to former conference foe Merrimack- and Wadley’s former school.
Mercyhurst
The Lake Show was out in full force, defeating New Haven convincingly and confirming that Dylan Evans is here to stay. Adam Urena threw for 347 yards, but the show was more than the signal caller. The Lakers garnered a massive 647 yards of total offense, with Brian Trobel running for over a hundred, sometimes from the wildcat, and rookie Mookie Gamble earning NEC Rookie of the Week honors. Unfortunately, we might be taking a brief break from the Lake Show, as road games against Sacramento State, Montana State, and South Dakota State will challenge the Lakers heavily. On the other hand, Youngstown State is a traditionally strong foe, and the Lakers hung with them well. We’ll have to see how Mercyhurst handles top flight out of conference competition before re-entering conference play.
Wagner
Wagner led for much of the game against Georgetown, but couldn’t pull off the upset and dropped the decision to fall to 0-2. With how well they hung on, though, it seems unfair to punish them too hard. Wagner will be welcoming Marist to Grymes Hill for the first home game of their slate and the first time they’ve faced the in-state Red Foxes since 2008. They’ll be expected to win before they get back on the road to face FBS competition. Wagner looks like they’re talented, but it’s unclear yet if this is the breakthrough season that just feels like the program has been building up to.
Robert Morris
Unfortunately for the Colonials, they weren’t able to do much of anything against the Youngstown State Penguins who had difficulty handling Mercyhurst the week prior. The transitive property strikes and we’re left wondering how Robert Morris will fare against Mercyhurst late in the season. However, we would caution against panic just yet. RMU is a transfer heavy team this season and underwent a lot of coaching turnover, including some late changes. It just might not have come together yet for the Colonials. They’ll have a chance to get right against West Liberty and while there’s some consternation in Pittsburgh, our opinion is to just be patient. Top flight competition, new coaches, and a roster that hasn’t come together yet would make anyone look pedestrian.
Stonehill
The Skyhawks gave up 21 points in the 2nd quarter, but the offense looked to be making some improvements late in this contest. They’ll need it as they’re traveling 270 miles north to Maine. The 90 yard fumble scoop and score for the Skyhawks (Richard Mosley III) might have actually made this one look a little more competitive than it was. Jack O’Connell once again was completing passes, but this time he had some scoring and yardage might behind him, with 3 TD passes and 269 yards through the air. The best football for Stonehill is still up ahead for them this season, and I do still think this is a team with potential to make noise in league play. If they continue to make incremental improvements, you have to like them hitting their stride as conference play begins in earnest.
New Haven
The Chargers weren’t able to stop the Lake Show on defense and the offense struggled as well on the road in Erie. Unfortunately, they’ll hit the road against Albany yet again and won’t have many reprieves this season. AJ Duffy threw for 183 with one TD through the air (he rushed for another) in the losing effort against Mercyhurst. Interestingly, they looked like they’d be very competitive early with a TD drive on the first possession, but as the game wore on they were unable to keep pace with the Lakers. This is still not a team that’s been fully healthy, missing Zaon Laney, and perhaps they’ll get better football under them as the season goes on.
Saint Francis
The Red Flash dropped their second consecutive FBS game to Buffalo and scored their first touchdown of the season late. With CCSU coming up, we still don’t really have a great idea of what Saint Francis will do against like competition this year, but the defense had more trouble against Buffalo than they’d had against ULM and as such they’ll have to stay in the basement here. CCSU and Saint Francis played an incredibly close game in 2024, and an upset is certainly not out of the question as we’ll finally get a chance to see what the Red Flash will offer in 2025.
NEC Football Power Rankings Week 2: Mulligan!
There’s no point in doing power rankings in week 1; that’s just your season predictions. For the NEC, in a lot of ways, there’s not always a ton of value in doing Week 2 power rankings, either.
The membership of our league was not upset, nor did it pull any upsets; everything went pretty much chalk with one exception- S&P+ had New Haven, a school playing their first Division I football game with a new team as a road favorite against Marist. Just pointing that out to be truthful. I think it’s not a huge stretch to say that context matters and whatever metrics go into S&P+ create a strong, fun system. That said, you can’t draw on much of New Haven’s production or performance in prior seasons given both the transition and the team’s lightning-fast rebuilding effort. So we’ll chalk it up as a possible upset, but realistically, I’m not real sure I’d put a ton of stock into that one.
So there’s not too much movement here, but here we go: our power rankings after Week 1.
Duquesne
Duquesne had a tough first game against in-city rival (they call it the City Game, after all) Pitt in front of 53,006 fans. That’s actually more than the Dukes saw whenever they opened up the season against Florida State several years ago, but that makes a lot of sense. Not only were Pitt fans hyped up to see Duquesne, the Dukes faithful didn’t have much of a journey to go on a road trip, either. There was kind of a buzz around the game and in the press box opinion seemed fairly split as to whether or not Duquesne could muddy up the game with their offensive and defensive lines, or if Pitt was just too much for the Dukes to handle.
In the end, it was definitely the latter. The Dukes fell 61-9, but they were very competitive in the first quarter and Pitt certainly got off to a slow start. The offensive line wasn’t able to stay on the field with the Pitt pass rush or run stuffers, but Joey Isabella certainly handled himself well with over 100 yards through the air, Ty Riddell showed some promise with a great deep ball when he had the time to throw, and Jack Dunkley had some big moments from an athleticism standpoint. Point being, we’re not penalizing the Dukes for this one. But we will not tweet for them to be ranked this week.
Central Connecticut State
The Blue Devils had an in-state opponent of their own. While they got on the board first, they weren’t able to keep pace with what is expected to be a very good UConn team. Maybe the most troubling news is that Elijah Howard was on crutches on the sidelines during this game. Rob Gullo at the New Britain Herald tweeted out that it was a calf injury and that he’s been dinged up since camp. We do not speculate on injuries, but certainly hope Elijah is feeling better and is ready to go this week.
Robert Morris
We’re giving Bobby Mo a little bit of a bump northward here as they were able to hang with a West Virginia team for a half (heading into the locker room at 10-3) and the defense that we hoped for out of the Colonials seemed to be present. There’s been a lot of coaching turnover for Robert Morris, but we liked the promotion of Coach Makrinos to defensive coordinator and oftentimes the problem against FBS teams (and especially P4 teams) for FCS teams is depth more than first string talent. That seemed to be the case as the Colonials might have gotten a little gassed later on as the game got out of hand. This is a West Virginia team welcoming back a previous head coach, so we won’t know exactly what they’ve got until later in the season. Still, it was a solid first half performance and enough to get a bump up here.
Mercyhurst
I’m not all-in on the Lake Show after one week, but it would feel pretty criminal not to at least give them a few spots up after playing what was one of the most competitive games for the conference in week 1- in a situation where they were definitely expected to be playing up a few levels. The Lakers hung with the Youngstown State Penguins and showed off new wide receiver Dylan Evans, who caught 7 passes and looked like yet another weapon at receiver for Mercyhurst. Defensively, they hung well with well-regarded offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich’s first outing in Youngstown, although Gino Leone tells us that it may have been a somewhat vanilla gameplan. In any case, the Lakers were probably a handful of miscues away from winning this game. They’ve got a lot of tough road games ahead, but we’ll be in town to see them take on New Haven this Saturday.
Long Island
You just can’t take that much from a game against Florida with 89,000+ fans in The Swamp at night. You just can’t. The negative here for the Sharks from a ranking perspective is that we didn’t really see much to tell us who they are this season yet. Stanzani and Greenwood weren’t able to get much going through the air, and Ingram and Ross pretty much split the tailback carries. Greenwood wasn’t the same weapon on the ground against a top-15 team as he is against more reasonable competition. Deion Richardson had a 28 yard catch, but other than that it was tough going for the Sharks and we’ll have a better chance to truly evaluate them next week against Eastern Michigan. Don’t consider this the Sharks dropping from the preseason so much as getting a better idea of some of the other competition and some more standout performances from them. Teams moved up; the Sharks didn’t really get knocked down.
Wagner
The Seahawks opened up a new and improved stadium for Kansas on a weeknight and the atmosphere and talent from the other side was always going to be a little much to handle. We did get an idea on Wagner’s QB situation (it looks like it’ll be R-Fr Jack Stevens) and a viral interception came of the game from Jayden Brown. What did we say last year- the NEC is the Conference of Insane Interceptions. I’m not really convinced that there’s much to go on from the Seahawks offensively, but this might be an opportunistic team on Grymes Hill as Wagner did win the TO battle at 2-0 against Kansas.
Stonehill
The Skyhawks barely made it to their game (reportedly, they got a flat tire and were almost late) and that might have had an impact offensively. Defensively, they were stout as expected, giving up only one touchdown (they surrendered a field goal and the offense gave up a safety). A 12-7 win is a tough way to lose in week one, but there were bright spots here. Charles Battaglia was as good as hoped for with 9 tackles, and Jack O’Connell was 30-39 through the air. Offensively, they’ll need to turn those completions into yards (212 through the air for O’Connell) and points. It’s not where we hoped Stonehill would start on week one, but it’s a long season.
New Haven
New Haven hung with Marist in their first game in Division I and, much like Mercyhurst, had opportunities to win the game that weren’t able to be capitalized on, especially on special teams. You make your biggest improvement from Week 1 to Week 2, and gametime decision Zaon Laney will hopefully be healthy heading into Mercyhurst this weekend as we’re expecting rainy, grind-it-out weather up on Lake Erie. A.J. Duffy absolutely looks like the real deal, but we’re in a kind of wait-and-see mode on the Chargers until this Saturday when we get a real data point for them against Erie. The Chargers certainly look like they’ve got a playmaker under center, and I do not think next week is at all out of reach for this team.
Saint Francis
Saint Francis headed into Louisiana-Monroe and after a weather delay weren’t able to get off the blocks offensively. Geno Calgaro had an outstanding performance with 12 tackles, and the Red Flash were able to block two extra points. Unfortunately, the longest play for the other side of the ball was 14 yards, and while the Red Flash were able to go into half time at 10-0, Louisiana-Monroe is not traditionally the same level as a West Virginia and so you have to adjust the credit that you give the defense accordingly. Still, just like every season in the portal era, the Red Flash lost plenty and were still able to rebuild their defense. Hopefully, we get a little bit of a better idea of what to expect offensively next week before they open up the NEC season on the road in Hard Hittin’ New Britain.
NEC Football Preview and Predictions 2025: “The NEC is a Funny Thing.”
We’re going to try and provide predictions for the order of finish in this preview, but as a sitting NEC head coach once told me, “The NEC is a funny thing.” It was the first interview I’d ever done as a media member covering the league, and for the time I’ve been covering it has been a repeated statement I’ve made, most obviously when Central Connecticut State- picked last in 2024- won the league and challenged Rhode Island on the road in the first round of the playoffs.
If you bought the magazine, please don’t worry- this is more of a primer on the season than the full blown deep dive you’re enjoying as a reader. However, I noticed some errors in other previews and felt a set of corrections was necessary as a result. The league is kind of hard to follow casually; if you’re not embedded in it, you’ll miss transfers and graduations. It’s part of what makes it so much fun.
1. Duquesne
CCSU was picked first in the coaches preseason poll, but in our NEC preview magazine we picked Duquesne first after the meticulous research and coach interviews we conducted with the schools over the offseason. There’s just very few questions with Duquesne. We wondered about the QB situation with the graduation of Darius Perrantes- easily the best QB in the league last year and the likely Offensive Player of the Year prior to a poor performance in the season finale in a loss to CCSU- but the Dukes were able to reload here. Ty Riddell, a former SoCon champion, joins the team as a heavily experienced transfer. The Dukes lost RB JaMario Clements in the transfer portal to the P4 at Wake Forest, but they’ve got Taj Butts and Offensive Rookie of the Year Shawn Solomon available. It barely matters who has the rock, though, because they return 5 linemen with significant starting experience and will ave the best offensive line in the league without question. On the DL, they return A.J. Ackerman and Jack Dunkley. We have two all-NEC Blitz first teamers on the back end with Antonio Epps and DJ Cerisier. We had some questions at linebacker, but transfer Tyson Meiguez has gotten rave reviews and the Dukes should be favored in every NEC game this season.
2. CCSU
The defending champions were picked first by the coaches, but they’re actually something of a wildcard. They return Offensive Player of the Year Elijah Howard, so the offense should still be potent. They’ve actually added here as well, with WR Donovan Wadley transferring in from Merrimack. Wadley is the former NEC Offensive Player of the Year from 2023, so the Blue Devils now have the past two OPOYS in the year at QB Brady Olsen’s disposal. Olsen is solid and experienced, even if he’s not in the conversation for the best QB in the league. The real trouble for the Blue Devils is what they’ve lost in the trenches, with most of their vaunted OL graduating or transferring- it was easily the best in the league last season and a huge part of their success. The issue is only compounded by OL coach Jeff Ambrosie departing for Syracuse. They’ve also lost the two leading pass rushers on the defensive line and their prduction will be difficult to replace even with Derek Berlitz coming in from WVU. Christopher Jean in the secondary was the Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2024, and the linebacker corps is led by Jack Stoll, but this is still a unit that has to replace Defensive Player of the Year Kimal Clark although they added a ton of transfer depth to try and do that. It’s hard to know what the Blue Devils will be without the same line play as they enjoyed last year, and they did benefit from a lot of bounces their way last season. I have them at second, but this is a competitive league and close losses could easily be coming their way if they lose some of their turnover production.
3. LIIU
The Sharks are likely going to become a bigger force in the league moving forward as the program opted in to revenue sharing- one of 3 NEC football squads to do so. They return all purpose threat Ethan Greenwood, rushed and threw for over 900 yards last season despite earning the starting job midway through the year. The Sharks were historically unlucky last season, losing close games to open 0-6. Greenwood took the reigns and the team led in the rest of their games in the 4th quarter and went 4-2. They’ll still use two QBs this season and run the most unique and unconventional offense in the NECC. They’re difficult to prepare for and talented, but will have a lot of new starters. They lost 4 OL this offseason to the FBS- OL coach Ian Pace does a tremendous job here and recruits as well as he coaches. On the defensive side of the ball, DQ Watkins, Rafael Fasolino, and Todd Bowels are all returning players that we love at each level (Edge, LB, DB respectively). The Sharks might actually surprise people on defense this season and with Ethan Greenwood as the most dynamic player in the NEC, they’ll challenge for the title.
4. Stonehill
Stonehill?! Everyone else has them picked 8th, including the league Coaches Poll. I like Stonehill because my philosophy has always been that the most important metric in college football- and particularly in the transfer era- is returning production and continuity. The Skyhawks have more of that than anyone else in the NEC. The trouble is that they had a poor showing last year with only one win. The coaching staff responded by changing things up in the offseason, revamping the strength and conditioning program and accordingly the Skyhawks set over half of their 30 strength records they track this offseason. Charles Battaglia at LB and Mo Seide at DB lead what should be a much improved defense- probably by more than a touchdown per game. The offense returns two solid RBs and WR Brigham Dunphy, but the QB situation took the entire season in 2024 to resolve. Hopefully, this is now settled with Jack O’Connell, and if so Stonehill will have a big turnaround. It’s also worth noting that they’ve defeated Duquesne 2 of the last 3 years.
5. RMU
RMU is the wildcard this season. They were hit harder by coaching turnover (including two coaches in the past month) and the transfer portal than anyone. Noah Robinson, the star WR and engine of this offense, transferred to Tennessee Tech and was the biggest loss, but they lost effectively the entire RB room and QB Anthony Chiccit to Temple. The OL was injured in spring and didn’t get as much work as you’d hope. Defensively, they lost some of the best players in the NEC and will have to rebuild at almost every position. Acrobatic viral sensation Rob Carter Jr. graduated and is currently in the CFL. RMU is skilled at building through the portal and has done it at a scholarship disadvantage in the Big South-OVC before, but this might be a down year with the coaching turnover getting settled still.
6. Wagner
The Seahawks should be improved in 2025 but face a logjam ahead of them. They’ll be running two quarterbacks out on the field against Kansas (that’s Jordan Barton and Jack Stevens) and will have to decide between young potential and JUCO experience at the position. WR Jaylen Bonelli departed in the portal, but Terree McDonald should be able to step into the lead receiver role. Brady Anderson anchors the offensive line and Logan Barnes will be a force on the defensive line. It’s not really a question of if Wagner has improved- they’re more talented and deeper offensively than they’ve been since Coach Masella began rebuilding his alma mater- but they may have been hit harder in the transfer portal over the years then you’d like to see from a contender. They’re capable of surprising anyone, though.
7. Saint Francis
This is Saint Francis’s last season in the NEC before they drop to Division III and the PAC, which does include perennial powers like Grove City and especially Carnegie Mellon, which they’ll have to find a way to recruit successfully against when they’re at the same level. Coach Villarial is one of the best to ever coach in the NEC, and they’ve only lost the usual amount of production that they go through every offseason. We should note here that Markell Holman has departed in the transfer portal despite some reporting to the contrary and Andrew Vines, a DB, was listed at RB in the spring and may be switching positions this season. The Red Flash will lean on three QBs with starting experience, an experienced OL, and Geno Calgaro and Trey McLeer on defense (LB and DB respectively). The Red Flash always seem to have players ready to step into the voids filled by transferring players, but it’s hard to know what to expect with the talent dropoff they’ll likely start to experience with the transition down to D3.
8. Mercyhurst
The Lakers have begun to build a Division I caliber program after their transition from the PSAC. They return the best QB in the NEC, Adam Urena, RB Brian Trobel, and an experienced WR corps including Rylan Davison and Adam’s brother, Austin Urena. The issue for the Lakers is that they’re replacing an OL and good DL, including Camden White. While they return a lot in the receiving room, WR Cameron Barmore transferred into the Big 12 with Arizona where he’ll play tight end. Barmore is a legit pro prospect and a big loss for the Lakers. When you have a quarterback, you have a chance, but the Lakers are still building up to the level of the rest of the conference.
NEC Releases Coaches Poll
The official NEC Coaches Poll just dropped.
I’m always the first to say it- those guys are the experts, not me. But football is fun, and so are friendly disagreements. Let’s compare the coaches poll and our rankings and then dive into four places where our opinions differ.
2025 NEC Preseason Coaches Poll
CCSU (5)
Duquesne (2)
Robert Morris (1)
LIUWagner
Saint Francis U
Mercyhurst
Stonehill
And here’s how we see it:
NEC Blitz Rankings
Duquesne
CCSU
LIU
Stonehill
RMU
Wagner
Saint Francis U
Mercyhurst
Let’s get to the meat of it.
1. Duquesne at #1?
We like the Dukes to be at the top of the conference, while the coaches picked them at second with two first place votes. The Dukes feel that they have five starting offensive linemen are back. That alone should send a message. Jack Dunkley and A.J. Ackerman return up front on defense, and on the back end, DJ Cerisier and Antonio Epps keep things locked. Add in Joey Isabella at wideout and Taj Butts in the backfield? There are questions for the Dukes, but there are a lot more answers than unknowns.
We had a lot of questions about the linebackers heading into practices this summer, but word out of camp is clear: they’ve reloaded at that spot and will be just fine. Duquesne is the most complete team on paper and deserves the top spot.
2. CCSU: Still Dangerous, Still Some Holes
CCSU deserves their place among the league’s elite, and we like them as a close second place, while the coaches have them favored to repeat. Donovan Wadley’s arrival bolsters the receiver corps, and there’s transfer talent across the board, especially in the secondary to replace Kimal Clark. Elijah Howard remains the best offensive player in the league until proven otherwise, and there’s a good stable of backs behind in for depth.
But replacing most of that offensive line and the OL coach? That’s not a small thing. On the defensive front, Jalen Howard and Dan Toatley are gone. Those are huge losses. While there’s a lot of solid talent we’ve heard great things from coming in, the Blue Devils still have to find a way to replace the NEC Defensive Player of the Year, and while Christopher Jean is a good answer, it’s still a big question. Derek Berlitz is a great get from WVU, but CCSU has more to replace than people realize.
3. Stonehill Deserves More Respect
This was the real head-scratcher. Last in the coaches poll? I guess I get it, but if you look past the record there’s some good things here. Stonehill returns a lot of pieces, and that matters in a conference with razor-thin margins. The Skyhawks had a great offseason in the weight room, and they showed fight last year even against the league's top teams. They’ve got a shot to open up at 1-0 against Sacred Heart, and doing that might be enough to give them the confidence to find their way through league play. On one hand, I think I might be a year early on sounding the alarm for the Skyhawks. On the other hand, as a head coach in this league once told me: The NEC is a funny thing.
They might not win the league, but they’re a long way from the bottom.
4. RMU: One Big Mystery
We’re all for bold picks, but a first-place vote for Robert Morris? It’s hard to know what team you’re voting for. Coaching turnover, roster overhaul, and a rebuilt skill position group make this team a big question mark. RMU has experience reloading through the transfer portal and it’s certainly within the realm of possibility that they’ll be in the top tier of the league, with the RMU vs. Duquesne game at Joe Walton determining the fate of the league. It’s possible, but it’s so hard to work out where the standouts for the Colonials are with all of the big losses. Players always step up, but I’m hesitating until I get more information.
They’ll be very strong on defense again with Coach Makrinos becoming the new defensive coordinator, but they’re breaking in new backs, receivers, and a tight end. There's talent in the DB room and at linebacker, but far too many unknowns to justify a top-3 spot.
Bonus: Stop Snubbing Urena
We get it. Picking preseason awards is tough. But once again, the league has opted to not name Adam Urena to the all-NEC team. That’s a mistake that’s going to age badly. You’ve just given one of the NEC’s top returning signal-callers a giant chip on his shoulder. Best of luck with that.
The season can’t get here fast enough.
NEC Blitz Unveils Our 2025 All-NEC First and Second Teams
PITTSBURGH, PA – NEC Blitz is proud to release our inaugural 2025 Preseason All-NEC Football Teams, showcasing the league’s top players. Featured in the NEC Blitz 2025 magazine, this elite lineup previews the Northeast Conference season, providing a watchlist for fans and analysts. Both magazine cover athletes, Adam Urena and Zaon Laney, are featured on the first team.
2025 Preseason All-NEC Team:
First Team Offense:
QB: Adam Urena (Mercyhurst)
RB: Elijah Howard (CCSU)
RB: Zaon Laney (New Haven)
WR: Joey Isabella (Duquesne)
WR: Donovan Wadley (CCSU)
TE: Noah Canty (Duquesne)
OL: Brian Beidatsch Jr (Duquesne)
OL: Michael Fallah (Duquesne)
OL: Donnie Hardin (LIU)
OL: Isaiah DeLoatch (CCSU)
OL: Brady Anderson (Wagner)
Second Team Offense:
QB: Ethan Greenwood (LIU)
RB: Brian Trobel (Mercyhurst)
RB: Taj Butts (Duquesne)
WR: Teree McDonald (Wagner)
WR: Brigham Dunphy (Stonehill)
WR: Rylan Davison (Mercyhurst)
OL: Cameron McLaurin (Duquesne)
OL: AlecZander McCoy (CCSU)
OL: Mofe Adewole (RMU)
OL: Gary Satterwhite III (Duquesne)
OL: Connor Van Tassell (Saint Francis)
First Team Defense:
DL: A.J. Ackerman (Duquesne)
DL: Jack Dunkley (Duquesne)
DL: DQ Watkins (LIU)
DL: Logan Barnes (Wagner)
LB: Geno Calgaro (Saint Francis)
LB: Charles Battaglia (Stonehill)
LB: Malachi Wright (CCSU)
DB: DJ Cerisier (Duquesne)
DB: Christopher Jean (CCSU)
DB: Antonio Epps (Duquesne)
DB: Mo Seide (Stonehill)
Second Team Defense:
DL: Sharod Watkins (CCSU)
DL: PJ Williams (Stonehill)
DL: Jonas King (Mercyhurst)
DL: Zack Athy (Stonehill)
LB: Rafael Fasolino (LIU)
LB: Jack Stoll (CCSU)
LB: Jordan Nelson (RMU)
DB: Trey McLeer (Saint Francis)
DB: Dylan Merrell (LIU)
DB: Jordan Irvine (Stonehill)
DB: Todd Bowles Jr. (LIU)
First Team Special Teams:
K: Jayson Jenkins (RMU)
P: Will Lynch (LIU)
AP: Ethan Greenwood (LIU)
Selected by NEC Blitz, this team predicts 2025 potential, including New Haven’s FCS transition with Zaon Laney. Full analysis of the schools and players is in the NEC Blitz 2025 magazine, available at NECBlitz.com and Amazon.com.
Follow @NECBlitz on Twitter for season updates and join the NEC conversation.
Derion “Dash” Johnson Picks Stonehill Over the Sun Belt
They’re digging deep in Shovel Town. The second commitment in their 2026 recruiting class proves that Stonehill is able to compete with anyone on the recruiting trail. When you’ve got as much going for you as the Skyhawks do, maybe that’s not so surprising.
Derion “Dash” Johnson, a 5’11”, 220-pound linebacker out of Paramus, New Jersey, chose the Skyhawks over an FBS offer from Southern Miss. That’s not a typo. Stonehill secured a pledge from a Sun Belt-caliber athlete who could have taken the scholarship, taken the branding, and called it a day. But Johnson made it clear: this was about more than just level. NEC Blitz had the opportunity to catch up with Johnson to talk about what drew him to Stonehill and away from the Sun Belt.
“First and foremost,” Johnson told us, “it’s elite private school education and elite football. Best of both worlds.” Indeed. It’s a common misconception that recruiting comes down to- or should come down to- the biggest offer and the biggest brand. A college is a lifetime decision, though, even in today’s era. In many cases, your college choice is why you’re reading our articles.
Stonehill’s staff clearly made a lasting impression. Johnson singled out Coach Kyle Jones for his energy during individual periods and his connection with Head Coach Eli Gardner. His review is a positive one: “I see myself striving in this program.”
And when it came down to making a decision, it wasn’t a hard sell. “Stonehill just made me feel wanted,” Johnson said. “That’s what stood out.”
Johnson’s versatility certainly gives Stonehill options. He’s a do it all linebacker who can play inside the box or come off the edge. The Skyhawks are a program that’s shown some strong development on defense over the past two seasons, particularly with all-NEC Blitz First Team LB Charles Battaglia. It’s always a good thing when a coordinator (also the linebackers coach) can point to a young player and show a potential addition what he could be, and who he could play like with some seasoning.
It’s obvious- we’re excited about Johnson in part because of the opportunity he turned down to commit to Stonehill. That’s for the fans and the media, though. For Stonehill, winning this recruitment isn’t just about checking a box. It’s a statement about who they are and who they plan to be in the coming years.
Stonehill Lands 2026 OL/DL Chuck Crisera
Stonehill has their first Class of 2026 football commit, and he’s bringing size, edge, and a championship mindset from Long Island up north to the Bay State.
Chuck Crisera, a 6-foot-5, 250-pound offensive and defensive lineman from Bayport-Blue Point High School (NY), announced his commitment to the Skyhawks on June 16. He’s the third known NEC football commit in the 2026 cycle and the first to pledge to Stonehill.
The relationship came together quickly. Stonehill defensive line coach Dan Walsh visited Crisera at Bayport-Blue Point on May 7. From there, it didn’t take long. Crisera made it to Easton, Mass., for a visit on June 11th and knew it was the right fit.
“Coach Walsh came to visit me at my high school,” Crisera said. “He loved my length, athleticism, and aggressiveness on film.”
That physical presence is a big part of what makes Crisera an intriguing get for the Skyhawks. Stonehill has built a reputation in the NEC as a program with a niche for player development over the long haul. Clearly, Crisera sees himself thriving in that environment. He spoke to the Stonehill staff about how he fit in with what the Skyhawks do and what they’re building. The answers he heard about what he does were the right ones.
“When I came up for a visit it was about the work I put in, being aggressive, finishing the job and always finding work in the field,” he said. “We talked about being fast off the ball and coming from a championship team with the work ethic and mindset. I was coachable and I love to eat and have a lot of growing physically still left to go.”
On film, you do see a player with a penchant for running through opposing defensive linemen. Without a doubt, that 6’5” frame is the first thing that jumps out, but he’s consistently moving a defender off of the ball. The Phantoms seem to trust his ability to do this- he’s often the guy they’re counting on to create a running lane. Bayport-Blue Point won their league last season and scored 418 points in 12 games (11-1), so leaning on Crisera seems to be working for them.
Crisera describes Stonehill as a place where the energy felt aligned from day one.
“I chose Stonehill because it’s the right place for me to grow,” he said. “The coaches are hungry like me. I feel as if everyone has the same mentality and work ethic as coaches as I do as a player. It’s getting 1% better every day together. It felt like a family and it felt like home. I will be getting a great education.”
He also enters the program with a familiar connection. Tight end Derek Varley, another Bayport-Blue Point product and former teammate, is already on the roster.
“Derek taught me how to be aggressive with heavy hands and an attitude,” Crisera said. “I model my game after my older teammates in high school. I took a little bit of what they all did best and added it to my game.”
From Long Island to Shovel Town (just under 200 miles) Crisera is making that jump as the Skyhawks’ first building block in the 2026 class. Stonehill’s known for taking high-upside prospects and developing them into contributors. Crisera’s already got the frame. Now it’s time to see what the future holds. Until then, he’ll just have to keep digging.
Looking Ahead to 2025: Charles Battaglia, LB, Stonehill
As we start to look ahead to the 2025 season in earnest, we’ll be profiling some of the key players to keep an eye on in NEC football this fall. To start with, we’re looking at one of the top defensive players in the NEC, Stonehill sophomore linebacker Charles Battaglia. Battaglia was one of the top freshmen in the league last season. Stonehill is likely to be strong on defense this season and will use that as their springboard towards a more successful 2025.
Battaglia came up big again and again for the Skyhawks, earning NEC Rookie of the Week three times. It’s safe to say that had Christopher Jean not been in the league last season, Battaglia would have easily been the NEC’s best freshman in 2024. As it is, he’s one of the most promising young players in the Northeast this coming season.
Looking back at 2024, his best performance came on the biggest stage, as Stonehill took on eventual champions Central Connecticut State at home in Easton, MA. While CCSU would eventually pull in front with a 4th quarter touchdown to win 21-17, Battaglia was a big part of why the Skyhawks took the Blue Devils down to the wire. He was credited with 13 tackles (5 solo, 8 assisted), 1.5 tackles for loss, and 1 forced fumble. That forced fumble came at the goal line, with CCSU threatening to make it a 21-3 game entering the second half. Instead, Battaglia popped the ball loose, and Stonehill nearly came up with the upset- a rare reversal of CCSU’s well-documented turnover fortunes in 2024, when the Blue Devils were almost always the team taking away the ball. It was all the more impressive that Battaglia punched the ball from NEC MVP Elijah Howard. That game gave him NEC Rookie of the Week honors in his head to head showdown with Christopher Jean.
His first win came after posting 7 tackles against Sacred Heart during Stonehill’s lone victory of the 2024 campaign, with another honor after tallying six tackles and an interception in a loss against Duquesne. He eventually finished tied for 9th in tackles in the league with 70- proof that these were not three blip games. In fact, he tacked on 9 more tackles against LIU and didn’t win the award that week. Battaglia was a consistent force, even as a freshman who had to play his way into the starting lineup during the season itself.
At 6’1” and 225 pounds, Battaglia already has the frame to compete in the NEC, but don’t be surprised if he hits the field in 2025 looking like a new man. The freshman-to-sophomore offseason is often transformative, and Stonehill’s strength and conditioning program could add additional pounds of muscle to his build. That extra bulk would help him shed blocks from bigger offensive linemen. There were plays last season where he’d make the tackle, even in the backfield, but that it would take him some time to get off of his blocker. He’ll be able to improve here this season.
Beyond physical growth, Battaglia’s game is likely to mature. His 2024 tape shows a linebacker with very strong instincts and great vision for a freshman, but another year of film study and practice should sharpen his anticipation even further. Expect him to read plays faster in his sophomore campaign. His anticipation hints at a greater pass-rushing potential, and with coaching from Stonehill’s staff, he could develop into a more effective blitzer.
Statistically, Battaglia is well-positioned to climb the NEC tackle leaderboard. His 70 tackles ranked him tied for 9th in 2024, and with a full season as a starter, 80-90 tackles is a realistic possibility, potentially placing him in the top 5, especially if teams opt to avoid trying to throw downfield against returning DB Moses Seide.
Stonehill’s 2025 schedule doesn’t offer much breathing room, even outside of NEC play. But if they’re going to take a step forward this fall, it’ll start with their defense. And that defense just might start with Charles Battaglia this season.
Skyhawks Add QB Myles Bastani
Myles Bastani, a quarterback originally from Miramonte High School in California, has committed to Stonehill. After completing a post-graduate year at Portsmouth Abbey High School in Rhode Island, Bastani is set to enroll as a freshman. This is the third quarterback commit for the Skyhawks this class.
Bastani's HUDL film showcases his strong grasp of short drop passes and his ability to perform under pressure. He also demonstrated composure and playmaking ability in difficult situations. Last season, Stonehill was certainly a place that gave young quarterbacks an opportunity to compete for playing time.
“When I visited, I saw that Coach Gardner is building something special, especially through the weight room and the culture he’s instilling in the team,” said Bastani. “The young energy of the program really stood out to me, and I knew it was the right place to grow as a player and a leader.”
The signing comes on the heels of longtime assistant coach and offensive coordinator Tyler Moody departing to become the head coach at The College of New Jersey. Despite the possibility of a change in offensive schemes, Bastani's decision to commit amid this transition speaks to Coach Gardner’s vision of Stonehill’s future.
The Skyhawks are looking to rebound from a difficult 2024 season, where they finished 0-6 in conference play and 1-10 overall. While they’ve shown competitiveness in their short time in the NEC, beating Duquesne in each of their first two seasons, last season’s struggles could have been due to a young roster in need of experience. Now, with the continued youth movement, Bastani’s choice reflects his confidence in the program’s potential.