Sept. 10, 2005
Final Stats
Stony Brook, N.Y. -
Freshman kicker Matt Weeks drilled the game-winning field goal with four seconds remaining to lift Stony Brook to a thrilling 21-18 victory over Bucknell in the Seawolves' season opener at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium on Saturday night. The win marked the 100th career coaching victory for Sam Kornhauser, who was honored by his team in a postgame presentation in the SB locker room after the game.
In his first collegiate field goal attempt, Weeks split the uprights from 18-yards out to seal the victory and send the 4,101 Stony Brook fans into a frenzy.
Josh Dudash, who was making his first collegiate start, went 19-for-28 for 128 yards and a touchdown, while running back Rod Williams scored all three Seawolves touchdowns, two on the ground and one in the air.
The Seawolves (1-0) led by as many as 12 and led 18-7 heading into halftime. Bucknell (0-2) scored 11 unanswered points to open the second half and knot the game at 18, capped by a 29-yard field goal from Ryan Korn with 7:20 to go.
The Seawolves took over at their own 29 and Dudash led a 15 play, 70-yard drive to set up Weeks' 18-yard field goal. After the Bison used all three of their timeouts in an attempt to ice the freshman kicker, Weeks cooly nailed the field goal for the win.
Stony Brook started the season off on the right foot as they lit up the scoreboard on the opening drive of the 2005 season. Dudash completed his first pass as a starter to Joe Tarasiewicz for 58-yards to put the Seawolves on the Bucknell 24. Two plays later, Williams rushed wide left for his first score of the game from 19 yards out. Bucknell blocked the extra point, leaving the Seawolves up 6-0 44 seconds into the game.
After the Seawolf defense forced the Bison to punt after three plays, the SB offense struck again. Williams found the endzone yet again after catching a swing pass from Dudash and scampering 16-yards for his second TD in the first 3:15 of the game. The Seawolves failed to convert on the PAT, giving them a 12-0 advantage.
The Bison answered with a one-yard touchdown run from quarterback Mahdi Woodard to close the gap to 12-7. The visitors faced a fourth-and-five on the Stony Brook 20 and faked a field goal as Andrew Guadagna floated a 17-yard pass to Sean Conover to set up the Woodard run.
Chris Tomasky recovered a fumble to set up Williams' third touchdown of the half, a four-yard run at the 5:13 mark in the second quarter. The Seawolves' two-point conversion was no good and they led 18-7.
Dante Ross returned the opening kickoff of the second half 54-yards to set up the Bison with excellent field position. Bucknell capitalized with a seven play, 26-yard drive which ended when Ryan Walsh dashed in from two yards out. Ryan Ahearn hit Josh DeStefano for the two-point conversion to cut the SB lead to 18-15.
Williams gained 128 yards on 26 carries, while Tarasiewicz caught four passes for 74 yards. Tomasky totaled a game-high 16 tackles, including 11 solo, to lead the Seawolves defense.
The Seawolves return to action next Saturday when they travel to take on Long Island rival Hostra at 7:00 p.m.
