Three Hudson Valley Football Players Sign National Letter of Intent
CONTACT: Steve Mullen (518) 629-8063
FOR RELEASE: Immediate, Wednesday, February 2, 2005
Three Hudson Valley Community College student-athletes made their future intentions known today when they each signed a National Letter of Intent to play football and continue their education for the next two years.
Defensive end Jonal Saint-Dic (Elizabeth, NJ/ElizabethHigh School), the 2004 Northeast Football Conference Defensive Player of the Year, will attend Michigan State University. Saint-Dic, who also was named a Second Team NJCAA All-American in 2004, is Hudson Valley's all-time leading pass rusher with 21 career sacks.
Michigan State, a member of the Big Ten Conference, finished the 2004 season with a 5-7 record. The Spartans are coached by John L. Smith.
Offensive tackle Darnell Stapleton (Union, NJ/UnionHigh School) will go to Rutgers University. Stapleton, a First Team All-Conference performer in 2004, started all 21 games in his two years at Hudson Valley. He is expected to play center for the Scarlet Knights.
Rutgers, a member of the Big East Conference, was 4-7 in 2004. The Scarlet Knights are coached by Greg Schiano.
Indiana State University, a member of the Gateway Football Conference, is the destination for linebacker Shonda Faulkner (Poughkeepsie/Poughkeepsie High School). Faulkner, a First Team All-Conference performer in 2004, led Hudson Valley with 96 tackles - the most by a Hudson Valley player since 1999.
Indiana State finished the 2004 season with a 4-7 mark. The Sycamores are coached by Lou West.
All three Hudson Valley student-athletes are expected to earn an associate's degree in Individual Studies this spring.
Hudson Valley, which finished the 2004 season with an 8-3 mark, has won four of the last five NJCAA Region III championships and three of the last four Northeast Football Conference titles. The Vikings have won 70.5 percent (86-36) of their games since 1990. During the last 15 years, more than 70 Hudson Valley football players have earned athletic scholarships to NCAA Division I-A or I-AA colleges.
Jonal Saint-Dic
Defensive End
6-1, 256
Hometown: Elizabeth, NJ
High School: Elizabeth High School
Major: Individual Studies
2004 - Played and started in 11 games…Selected as Northeast Football Conference Defensive Player of the Year…Named Second Team NJCAA All-American…Earned First Team All-Conference Honor…Named preseason NJCAA Honorable Mention All-American…Led conference with 11.5 sacks, 28 tackles-for-loss and six forced fumbles…Also had 77 tackles…Named Northeast Football Conference Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 20 after recording 12 tackles, including six tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks against Dean…Named conference Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 24 after having 10 tackles and three sacks in Hudson Valley's win over Nassau…Set college's career sack record with 21 sacks Team finished 8-3.
2003 - Played in 10 games, started two…Earned First Team All-Conference…Led Hudson Valley with 19 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks and four forced fumbles…Had a season-high seven tackles in win over Nassau…Recovered a Nassau fumble in overtime to give Hudson Valley its first win over the Lions since 1980…Named conference Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 21 after recording five tackles and three sacks against Alfred State.Team finished 8-2
High School - Name Second Team All-State as a senior…Named Union County Defensive Player of the Year as a senior…Earned Defensive Most Valuable Player of New Jersey's North-South Game…Received scholarship offer from Central Michigan University
Personal - Born in Haiti to Marie and Jonas Pointdujour on March 2, 1985…Was a model for the Hudson Valley view book, which is a major recruitment tool for the college…Wants to work in the human services field after graduating from a four-year college or university.
Statistics
Year |
Games |
Tackles |
TFL (Yds) |
Sacks |
Pass BrUp |
FF |
FR |
2003 |
10 |
41 |
19 (-74) |
9.5 |
4 |
4 |
2 |
2004 |
11 |
77 |
28 (-125) |
11.5 |
6 |
6 |
2 |
Total |
21 |
118 |
47 (-199) |
21 |
10 |
10 |
4 |
Michigan State Head Coach John L. Smith on Saint-Dic:
"Jonal Saint-Dic has a great motor - it's always running. That's the one thing that stands out about Jonal when watching film. He never gives up on a play and that's why were going to expect great things from him."
Darnell Stapleton
Offensive Tackle
6-3, 305
Hometown: Union, NJ
High School: Union High School
Major: Individual Studies
Darnell Stapleton is expected to play center at Rutgers.
2004 - Played and started in 11 games…Selected to First Team All-Northeast Football Conference…Named preseason NJCAA Honorable Mention All-American…Finished his career as the only player in Hudson Valley history to start 21 consecutive games…Offense averaged 280.3 yards per game, including 169.7 rushing yards per game…Team finished 8-3.
2003 - Played and started in 10 games…Earned Second Team All-Conference accolades…Helped pave the way for an offense that gained 400.9 yards per game, including 260.7 yards per game on the ground…Team finished 8-2
High School - Named First Team All-Wachtung Conference and First Team All-Union County as a senior…Played in New Jersey's North-South All-Star Game
Personal - Born in Manhattan to Michelle and Robert Stapleton…Has two brothers, Desmond (16) and Darius (10).
Rutgers Head Coach Greg Schiano on Stapleton;
"We're thrilled to have Darnell with us. As a junior college transfer, we're hoping he can come in and compete for playing time."
Shonda Faulkner
Linebacker
6-1, 210
Hometown: Poughkeepsie
High School: Poughkeepsie High School
Major: Individual Studies
Shonda Faulkner is expected to play strong safety at Indiana State.
2004 - Played and started in 11 games…Selected to Northeast Football Conference First Team…Led team with 96 total tackles - the most by a Hudson Valley player since 1999…Named Northeast Football Conference Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 4 after recording 19 tackles, including two tackles for loss in a 17-6 win over then eighth-ranked Erie Community College…Team finished 8-3.
2003 - Played in 10 games…Finished fourth on the team with 48 tackles…Had a season-high 12 tackles against Erie on October 11…Team finished 8-2
High School - Named the Section I Defensive Player of the Year his senior season…Earned First Team All-Conference honors and was named the MVP of the Section I All-Star Game…Named to Poughkeepsie Journal All-Star Team.
Personal - Born in Jamaica to Albert Faulkner and Joanne Brown…Family moved to United States ( Hudson, NY) when he was nine years old…Moved to Poughkeepsie a year later…Plans to major in communications at Indiana State.
Statistics
Year |
Games |
Tackles |
TFL (Yds) |
Sacks |
Pass BrUp |
FF |
FR |
2003 |
10 |
48 |
4 (-15) |
1 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
2004 |
11 |
96 |
15 (-39) |
1 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
Total |
21 |
144 |
19 (-54) |
2 |
7 |
2 |
4 |