November 26, 1999

STONY BROOK, NY - James Crawford rushed for 104 yards and scored two touchdowns as Stony Brook posted a 28-6 win in its season finale over St. John's Friday afternoon at Seawolves Field. The Seawolves finished the 1999 campaign with a 5-5 record while the Red Storm fell to 7-4 on the year.

On Stony Brook's first play from scrimmage, the Seawolves ran a reverse pass with wide receiver Lucas Niskanen taking the reverse and then firing a strike downfield to fellow wideout Kevin Csoka for a 39-yard gain to the Red Storm 41-yard line. Crawford then racked up 25 yards on the next two carries before a sack and an incomplete pass left Stony Brook with a fourth-and-nine from the Red Storm 21. Instead of opting for a field goal try on the wet turf, the Seawolves went for it and Crawford caught a screen pass from Brian Stanley and rumbled 21 yards for a touchdown. The point after attempt was good and the Seawolves led 7-0. The score marked the first time this season that the Seawolves scored on their first possession of the game.

In the second quarter, Crawford set up the Seawolves second touchdown, taking a handoff and racing 54 yards to the Red Storm 12-yard line. On the next play, the Seawolves got a break when Crawford fumbled the handoff and inadvertently kicked the ball into the end zone where Csoka fell on it for the Stony Brook's second touchdown of the game and a 14-0 halftime lead.

The Seawolves extended the lead to 21-0 in the third quarter when Niskanen and Csoka hooked up on another trick play. Niskanen caught a lateral from Stanley and then connected with Csoka on a 57-yard catch and run for a touchdown. Niskanen finished the day with two completions for 96 yards and one score.

St. John's got on the board late in the third quarter when Peter Dileo made a specatacular catch in the corner of the end zone to get the Red Storm within 21-6 as the third quarter came to an end.

Crawford helped seal the win for Stony Brook in the final period, scoring his second touchdown of the game on a four-yard scamper with 11:53 remaining in the contest.

The Seawolves rushing attack was the difference in the game, totaling 223 yards on the ground, against the highest-ranked defense in I-AA. Opponents had been averaging only 180 plus yards per game against the Red Storm defense, only 60 on the ground coming into today's game.

Stony Brook's final 5-5 record marked the first time the Seawolves have finished .500 or better since the 1996 season when it went 6-4 on the year.