Sept. 20, 2001
Stony Brook, N.Y. -
Stony Brook at St. John's Game Notes
Date: Friday, September 21, Time: 7:30 p.m., Site: DaSilva Field, Jamaica, N.Y.
Media: 90.1 FM, JBN Media Group - internet broadcast can be accessed through the NEC website at www.northeastconference.org or the JBN Homepage at www.jbnmedia.com
Friday's Game: The Seawolves open up the 2001 season today against St. John's. Today marks the beginning of SB's third season at the Division I-AA level.
The Series: St. John's holds a 9-4 series edge and has bragging rights after a 28-6 win last year.
Last Year: The St. John's defense held Stony Brook to negative-four yards rushing and Elliot Hulse scored two touchdowns as the Red Storm earned a 28-6 win at Seawolves Field.
Reversal of Fortune: Last year's 28-6 win for St. John's avenged a 28-6 loss at the hands of Stony Brook the year before at Seawolves Field.
About the Opponent: NEC rival St. John's comes into the game with a 0-1 record having dropped a 31-6 decision to Albany back on September 8. The Red Storm have a young backfield with a freshman at quarterback in Kyle Lauver and a sophomore running back in Derek Jones.
Great Scott!: Junior Scott Bard enters his first season as the Seawolves starting quarterback and it may take some time to get adjusted. In two years at the Brook, Bard has appeared in only one game as a signal caller when he took several snaps in last year's rout of St. Francis (Pa.). An accomplished passer in HS (he threw for over 480 yards in a conference championship game), he has yet to throw a pass in a game at the collegiate level. He also saw limited duty on special teams last season.
Better Late Than Never: If it seems like the season is late getting underway, you're right. Today's September 21st opener is the latest a season has begun in the program's history, eclipsing the old mark of September 14 which occurred in 1984, 1985, 1991, and 1996.
All New Backfield: In addition to the quarterback spot, Stony Brook will feature a new starter at running back as well. Sophomore Ken Lockhart is atop the depth chart and takes over for Ralph Menendez who finished last year as the school's all-time leader rusher. Lockhart rushed for 85 yards in limited duty last season.
Fit For a King: Sophomore cornerback Chad King seems poised to build upon his outstanding first season at Stony Brook. Last year, he led the team with four interceptions and 43 solo tackles. He has been outstanding in preseason and will be a fixture at the cornerback spot.
Getting Offensive: New offensive coordinator Mike McCarty looks to bring a high-powered attack to the Brook. Featuring the spread formation, SB will often go to four wide receiver sets this season and look to create some big plays.
For Openers: Stony Brook is 1-1 in season openers since moving to the Division I level and is 2-3 in its last five. SB is 9-8 overall in those games and 3-4 in road openers.
Mr. Smith Comes To Stony Brook: Junior Aden Smith will start at inside linebacker today. Last year, Smith posted his most productive season as a Seawolf, leading the team in tackles with 66. He finished the season in strong fashion, posting an outstanding 33 tackles over his last two games.
A Year Ago: Last year, Stony Brook opened the season with a 26-0 whitewash of Southern Connecticut. Graham rushed for 110 yards in his Seawolf debut and freshman safety Christian Porter returned an interception 50 yards for a TD.
Snapping A Streak: Stony Brook looks to snap a seven-game losing streak today that dates back to last season. After beginning the season 2-1, SB dropped the final seven games of the year.
Major Tom: Senior guard Tom Marshall returns for his fifth season at Stony Brook as the veteran along the SB offensive front line. He has started all 30 games that the Seawolves have played in the last three seasons, the longest streak of consecutive starts by anyone of the 2001 roster.
This And That: Thirteen players hail from the state of New Jersey. It is the most ever in the history of the program. . . . Lucas Niskanen is eight receptions away from moving into second place on the all-time receptions list . . . Strong Safety Dan Bertzos returns after missing nine games with an ankle injury last year. Bertzos injured his ankle in the opener against So. Conn.
Times Are Changing: Of the 22 players that started the opening game last season for the seawolves, only nine return to start opening day 2001. There are seven new starters on the offense and six on the defensive side of the ball. Several key positions will see new faces. Quarterback (Bard), running back (Lockhart) and of the four starting linebacker positions, three will be filled by first-year starters at the positions - only Alexis Ayala returns to start there.
Chim, Chim, Chimizie: One of the most impressive newcomers so far has been Chimizie Okobi. The 6-3, 245-pound defensive end from Freeport High School is the only freshman to earn a spot in today's starting lineup.
New Faces: In addition to Okobi, there are several other freshmen who will see action today. David Bamiro (LB), Mike Lambert (SS), Brian Karp (DT), Emeka Ibekweh (DT), Bryan Tornee' (WR) and T.J. Moriarty (QB) should all see time today.
Third And Long: Stony Brook converted only 27 percent of its third downs last season compared to its opponents which converted 37 percent of its third downs. One major reason for SB's struggles in third down situations was that if was often faced with third and long. Of the Seawolves 147 third down chances, 86 were third and seven or longer situations - 42 times SB was faced with third and 11 or more, connecting on only 19 percent of those opportunities.
Give And Take: Stony Brook finished the 2000 season with a plus-3 turnover rating, causing 24 turnovers while yielding 21. The Seawolves cashed in on those takeways with 11 touchdowns.
Working Overtime: Prior to last season, the Stony Brook football program had never played an overtime game in its 16-year history. That would all change in a hurry as the Seawolves played two overtime games in consecutive weeks during the final Saturday in October and the first weekend in November. SB fell to Jacksonville, 17-14, and lost a squeaker to NEC rival Central Connecticut, 35-34.
Versus the NEC: Stony Brook has posted a 5-10 record against NEC schools since joining the conference two years ago. The Seawolves went 4-3 in their first season but fell to 1-7 in 2000.
Looking For Luke: Senior wideout Lucas Niskanen will look to bounce back in his final season after a disappointing junior campaign. After averaging over 50 catches per season in his first two years, Niskanen recorded only 18 receptions last year as he was slowed by a shoulder injury. He will need help, however, as last year the production from the wide receivers dipped. SB's leading receiver was Chris McGovern with 22 catches on the year.
From the Sideline: There are six new faces on the 2001 Seawolves Football coaching staff - Mike McCarty (offensive coordinator), Corey Holland (offensive line), Jeff Koutsantanou (running backs), Jon Sorbera (defensive line), Art Asselta (wide receivers), Richard Russo (linebackers) and Brian Donnelly (linebackers) all begin their first seasons with Stony Brook.
Home Sweet Home: Stony Brook was to have six games on the home schedule this year which would have equaled the largest amount of home games in school history. Stony Brook also played six regular season home games in 1994 and 1996 and wound up playing a seventh home game in 1999 after advancing to the ECAC Southeast Championship Game against Wilkes
Dandy Danny: Strong safety Dan Bertzos returns to the lineup after missing all but the first half of the season opener in 2000 due to an ankle injury. His return will bolster the secondary. Bertzos has totaled 150 tackles in two seasons and is on pace to challenge the record for tackles in a career that is currently held by James Leach. Leach finished with 299 career takedowns.
Ralphy Boy: For the first time in five years, the Seawolves will not have Ralph Menendez in the backfield. The fifth-year senior graduated last spring as the program's all-time leading rusher with 2,623 yards and finished in the top three in five offensive categories including rushing yards (1), total rushes (1), rushing TD's (3), touchdowns (3) and total plays (3).
News and Notes: Stony Brook won't play its home opener until October 6 against Wagner, but that is not the latest home opener in the program's history. In 1984, SB's inaugural season, the then Patriot opened up the home schedule against SUNY-Maritime on October 13 . . . the Seawolves will now have only one non-conference game this season - October 27 against Jacksonville . . .
