Stonehill set to turn the corner

Skyhawks football faces increasing expectations

Jared Zanello (22) of Stonehill College and Walpole fends off a blocker as he looks to make a play during a practice scrimmage Saturday at W.B. Mason Field on the college's North Easton campus. (Robert E. Klein/Globe Correspondent)

Stonehill College started playing home football games at W.B. Mason Stadium in 2005. It was Jared Zanello's freshman year.

The $4 million facility signified a rejuvenation of Skyhawks football. The turnaround, however, has taken longer than the senior defensive back hoped.

"We haven't won much the last 10 years," said Zanello, a 2004 graduate of Walpole High. "This program has gone through a lot."

The Skyhawks went 5-5 last season under first-year coach Robert Talley, their first nonlosing season in a decade. Earlier this month, Stonehill was picked to finish fourth in the Northeast-10 Conference preseason coaches' poll. The expectations are the highest in recent memory for the Division 2 program.

"We have to work even harder now to live up to the hype," said Talley.

A returning second-team all NE-10 defensive back, Zanello tied for the team lead in interceptions (4) and was second in tackles (56) last season. The 6-foot, 185-pound finance major was a key reason the Skyhawks' defense had the third-highest turnover margin (plus 16) in Division 2 football.

"He just shows up and works," Talley said. "He led the league" in pass deflections last fall, the coach noted, and he thinks Zanello had a shot to make the All-Northeast-10's first team.

Zanello could be that first-team guy this season with the assistance of two former Walpole High teammates in the secondary: senior corner back Kyle Griffin and senior safety Jeff Cuqua. They have played football together since fifth grade.

"We know each other's tendencies and just play off those," Zanello said. "We're always sharing information on coverages, techniques, or how to get a faster break."

"It's pretty easy to communicate with one another," said Griffin, Zanello's roommate since sophomore year.

The trio hopes the communication will help plug a hole at linebacker. The Skyhawks play a 4-3 defense, and last year's three starting linebackers graduated, including Mike DeBye, who was a first-team Northeast-10 selection.

"Linebacker is probably our biggest weakness," Talley said. "We have two guys in there for the first time. Hopefully some freshmen will step up."

Plenty of freshmen will have that opportunity: Stonehill has 39 on the team. That's more than half the number of players (69) on last year's team. There are 90 players on the roster this fall.

"One of the problems in the past is that we haven't had depth," said Griffin. "Now we do."

It also allowed Talley, who was an assistant coach for the San Francisco 49ers under Mike Nolan, to hold a hard training camp without worrying about injuries.

"It lets you practice more, do more contact stuff, and gives you flexibility," Talley said. "We had a lot of wide receivers get nicked up during training camp last season, mostly because of fatigue. We didn't have one wide receiver get hurt during camp this year."

The depth should add firepower to an offense that finished eighth in the 10-team conference in scoring with 184 points (24 touchdowns). Stonehill was ninth in passing (139.5 yards per game) and eighth in total offense (275.1 yards per game).

"I think we will surprise a lot of people on offense," Zanello said. "We have a lot more talent at the skill positions."

Last season, the defense allowed 20.6 points per game, second only to Bentley (19.1). Stonehill also had the best red-zone defense (inside the 20-yard line), allowing opponents to score on just 60.5 percent (26 of 43) of red-zone opportunities.

"Our defense has always been strong," Griffin said. "We're just looking to improve upon what we did last year."

The five wins last season equaled the total wins in 2006 (1-9) and 2005 (4-6). The Skyhawks will be tested early, opening the season a week from tomorrow at home against Wagner College, a Division 1-AA program. Two weeks later, Stonehill hosts Southern Connecticut State, a perennial powerhouse expected to win the conference. They also have two tilts with Bentley College, picked second in the preseason poll. Stonehill lost the two games against those teams last year.

"The first two weeks should give us a good idea where we fit into the league," Griffin said.

"There's never an easy game," Talley said. "Everybody's got a tough schedule. We just have to respond to the challenge."

In sports, Stonehill has been known for its men's and women's basketball teams, including a run by the men's squad in the NCAA Division 2 tourney three years ago. Zanello said that mentality is changing.

"The basketball team went to the Final Four my freshman year, and football wasn't a big deal," he said. Now, Stonehill "is starting to get more recruits and more people interested in coming here to play football."

"If you win, they will come," Griffin said.