Time to ‘Tackle’ the Biggest Challenge, Saying Farewell to the Seniors (NK)
By: Sports Editor Jordie Clark ‘19
The Chestnut Hill College sprint football team’s season has come to an end, and not only does the scarlet and gold have another season in the books, but the senior class is the first class that was brought in, in 2015, that will now be graduating.
It is a bittersweet time for the College, as the coaches are graduating their first senior class they have had for four years. The men had a rough time adjusting at first, but three years later, and the Griffins have become one of the most successful teams at this college.
Finishing 3–1 in their conference and 4–3 overall, the men have taken their short season and have fought hard every single game. The Collegiate Sprint Football League (CSFL) has proven to contain some tough competitors, and though “just” sprint football, it has become just as competitive as regular football.
The Griffins are a part of the South Conference in the CSFL, and unfortunately, fell short to Navy as well as Cornell University this year, which knocked them out of the running for the championship game. However, the sprint football team has produced countless leaders on the board and created an outstanding program.
Some amazing standouts this season include: Junior Quarterback Michael Marino, Junior back-up QB David Navas, Junior Wide Receiver Domoree Hill, Senior Running back Raevon Floyd-Bennett, Senior WR Reggie Robinson Jr., Junior Kicker Dante Fuchs, Senior Line Backer Johnathan Baldwin, Senior Defensive Lineman Brian Layden, Senior Line Backer Kyle Johnson-Hackett, Junior Defensive Lineman Marcel Mitchell, Junior Linebacker Mike Mcllhenney, Sophomore Defensive Back Nate Moser, and a multitude of other players on the team.
Floyd-Bennett had an impressive season, obtaining a place on the leader board in the CSFL. Floyd-Bennett gathered a total of 352 yards, three touchdowns, and became a consistent starter for the Griffins.
Hill and Robinson both found much success throughout their time here at the College, especially this season. Combined, the two WRs Hill and Robinson had 971 yards, 12 touchdowns and 114 yards for their longest runs. Both were key players in providing a big offensive game for the scarlet and gold.
Marino and Navas, both strong QBs for the team, contributed to the offense as well as the team moral. Though Marino saw most of the action during the season, obtaining a total of 1205 passing yards and 13 touchdowns, Navas came in when called on and gathered a place on the leaderboards as well.
Navas gathered 317 passing yards, three touchdowns, and a 134.7 passing efficiency. Both QBs provide some powerful and successful offense for the Griffins, making Coach Mike Pearson’s job a bit easier when deciding who is on the field for each game.
However, the offense struggled throughout the season, but the defense worked to make their jobs a bit easier.
Baldwin, Layden, Johnson-Hackett, Mitchell, Mcllhenney, and Moser kept the points for the other team to a minimum for most games this season. Combined, just these six players had 130 solo tackles.
Johnson-Hackett obtained seven sacs, Mitchell celebrated five sacs, and Mcllhenney gathered three sacs.
The scarlet and gold has an incredibly impressive defense. Along with the strong defense, Junior Defensive Back RahSaan Hayes found much success this season gathering his first interception, along with 12 solo tackles. “I feel like knowing that it was the seniors’ last ride, we played with that on our mind which pushed us to work harder.” Hayes said. “We set records and accomplished a lot of things this season. Some of the games that weren’t as competitive my freshman and sophomore year were a lot more competitive this year.”
Coming in, most faculty and students as well as the coaches were unsure of just how successful this program could be. However, the push and drive to win revealed itself through the team’s hard work.
“My biggest personal accomplishment was getting my first interception of my career on this team,” Hayes said. “I feel as though the teams’ biggest accomplishment was beating UPenn at their home field for the first time since the program started.”
One of the biggest accomplishments for the men was the game against the University of Pennsylvania. Most are aware of the athletic success that Penn has achieved over the years, but this year, the Griffins were able to defeat the Quakers. Their victory served as a heartfelt and deserving achievement for the men.
Hayes will become a senior next year, and he has already began working on being able to take over the spots that the current senior class is leaving to be filled.
“One of the things I plan on doing is making sure the team’s focus doesn’t alter during the off-season.” Hayes said. “I want to make sure that the team continues to get better as we have for the past four years. I also want to use what the seniors have taught me for the past three years to help the team continue to grow and get better for years to come.”
Along with Hayes, newcomer WR Colby Goldsmith showed leadership for his first season here at the College. Goldsmith ended his season with four tackles, 74 reception yards, and his first touchdown of his career here. “A lot of the older guys and the coaching staff made it easy for me to transition from high school to college,” Goldsmith said.
Goldsmith also commented on the future success of the Sprint Football team. “I believe we will have a good squad next year so as a long as we execute we will be,” he said.
Hopefully, the scarlet and gold will continue this successful streak, and next year, finish the season with a perfect record.
The Griffins say a heartfelt goodbye to 11 seniors: Johnathan Baldwin, Brian Layden, Kevin Clancy, Kevin Meredith, Raevon Floyd-Bennett, Reggie Robinson Jr., Kevin Martinez, Kyle Johnson-Hackett, Alex Nicolas, Josean Perez, Theophilus McBurnette, Ricky Robinson III. We wish you all luck in your future.
