The Game: Saint Anselm welcomes the Chieftains of Stonehill College to Grappone Stadium on Saturday for a 1:00 PM Northeast-10 Conference game on Homecoming Weekend. It is the Game of the Week in the conference and can be listened to live over the internet.

Both teams enter the game following losses to C.W. Post. Stonehill suffered a 23-6 setback two weeks ago in poor field conditions following hurricane Ivan and has had a bye week to prepare for the Hawks. Saint Anselm saw itself fall into the loss column for the first time this season following a 49-14 setback at C.W. Post last week.

Both teams enter the game at 2-1 in the Northeast-10 and both of their wins have come against common opponents, Assumption and Pace. Stonehill outscored those two opponents by a count of 38-20 while Saint Anselm put up a 54-30 advantage.

Series History: Saint Anselm holds a 4-1 advantage in the all-time series but has revenge in its mind following a 36-22 loss to the Chieftains last season. Stonehill scored three defensive touchdowns in the fourth quarter as the Hawks literally handed one away.

The game marked the first time in the series history that the Hawks failed to reach the 30-point plateau. Prior to that contest, Saint Anselm averaged 34 points per game against 17 for the Chieftains.

History is on the side of Saint Anselm RB Derek DiMartino to have a big game Saturday. In two games against Stonehill, DiMartino has run for 263 yards (5.2 ypc) and five touchdowns. His best game came two years ago when he ran for 157 yards and two scores on 22 carries in a 33-14 Hawk victory. Last season, he had 109 yard and three scores.

Inside The Numbers: Despite allowing 264 yards through the air and the first three passing touchdowns of the season to CWP on Saturday, Saint Anselm continues to lead the NE-10 in passing defense efficiency. The Hawks lead the league in defensive interceptions with 10.

Meanwhile, Stonehill leads the NE-10 in passing defense having allowed just 121 yards per game through the air. Opposing teams are completing just 38-percent of their passes for 364 yards. Stonehill also leads the league in points allowed (14.3 ppg).

Turnovers continue to plague the Hawks, who are now last in the NE-10 in turnover margin (-1.5). Despite leading the league with 16 takeaways, the offense and special teams units have coughed up the ball an eye-popping 22 times in just four games. Seven of those turnovers have resulted in touchdowns with five coming last week alone. Last weekend, the Hawks set a dubious single game record with eight turnovers.

The Showdown: The most intriguing matchup in Saturday's game will be in the trenches as a tenacious Hawk defense clashes with a young Stonehill offensive line. The Hawks' defense has put up some big numbers this season, as 20 different players have recorded at least one tackle for a loss, 12 different players record at least one sack, and 11 different players have been involved in either a turnover or blocked kick.

tonehill will be starting an offensive line that includes four freshman and just one senior. They will be charged with the task of stopping a Hawk defense that leads the NE-10 in sacks (18), and allows just 1.8 yards per carry.

Saint Anselm: DiMartino leads the Northeast-10 Conference with 423 rushing yards and is second with nearly 106 rushing yards per game. He is also fourth in the league in all-purpose yards with 128 yards per game (512 overall).

Sophomore Michael Garcarz is third in the NE-10 with 19 receptions for 302 yards. He is tied for he league lead with 9.5 points per game as well (three touchdowns, 11 XP, three field goals). He added to his total last weekend with two extra points and his second rushing touchdown of the season to go along with three catches for 62 yards.

Senior Aaron Jeanson is third in the league in both punt and kick returns. He is averaging 11.7 yards per punt return and 20.2 on kickoff returns.

Junior Brian Sundell is leading the league in total tackles with 46. Last week, he recorded 12 to go along with his first sack of the season. He leads the Hawks in turnovers with two interceptions and two forced fumbles.

Sundell, Anthony Barese, Mark Wysocki, and Jim Malone each have two interceptions this season.

Senior David Heiner is fourth in the league in both tackles for a loss (8.0- 45 yards) and sacks (4.5- 32 yards).

Sophomore Thomas Kelleher has also played his way into the league's top ten in tackles for a loss with 6.0 for 22 yards.

Lalli Time: Sophomore quarterback Bobby Lalli threw for 192 yards and a touchdown on 11 completions last week at C.W. Post in his first collegiate start. He also ran for 20 yards in the game and secured another start this weekend against Stonehill.

Stonehill: Stonehill's offense revolves around RB Bob Powell, who has rushed for 233 yards and three TDs so far this season. Powell ran for 87 yards on 19 carries a year ago against the Hawks.

Greg Borsari is the signal caller for Stonehill this season. He is a freshman completing 32 of 73 passes for 372 yards and two scores. Senior wide receiver Matt Rainone has been Borsari's top target, with 10 catches for 180 yards and a touchdown. Rainone ranks seventh in the NE-10 with those numbers.

Defensive back J.J. Niamkey has two interceptions and leads the NE-10 in kick returns with an average of 28.3 yards on six attempts.
Linebacker Tony Pires is third in the NE-10 with 29 tackles, 15 of them coming as solo efforts.