East Hartford, Conn. - Despite holding Connecticut to 223 yards of total offense, the Stony Brook football team fell to the Huskies, 19-16, before 23,543 fans at Rentschler Field Saturday.
Stony Brook (0-2) rallied from a 19-10 deficit to cut it to 19-16 after junior Conor Bednarski (South Pasadena, Calif.) found senior Will Tye (Middletown, Conn.) wide open in the end zone with 1:53 to play.
The Seawolves forced a three-and-out on UConn's next drive. On the fourth down, Justin Wain's punt went two yards, but Stony Brook was called for a roughing the kicker penalty. The Huskies next attempt pinned the Seawolves inside the 10, where Connecticut forced a turnover on downs.
Down 3-0 midway through the first quarter, senior Max Martinez (Wichita, Kan.) hit Connecticut (1-1) running back Josh Marriner, whose fumble was recovered in the end zone by junior Naim Cheeseboro (King of Prussia, Pa.).
Once again, Stony Brook's defense came to play. UConn quarterback Chandler Whitmer's pass slipped out of his hands and the ball was pounced on by sophomore Aaron Thompson (Deer Park, N.Y.). Sophomore Przemyslaw Popek (Yonkers, N.Y.) connected for a 33-yard field goal to make it 10-3.
Connecticut took a 12-10 lead after Whitmer hit Geremy Davis in the back of the end zone with 1:51 to play in the first half. Thompson blocked the extra point as Stony Brook trailed by less than a field goal.
Senior Luke Allen (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) career-long punt of 61 yards was returned 72 yards for a touchdown by Deshon Foxx for a 19-10 lead.
Connecticut accounted for only 79 second-half yards, with 32 coming on the ground.
Stony Brook has 12 tackles for loss, led by senior Christian Ricard's (Spencer, Mass.) 3.5, including two sacks.
Scoring Drives
• UC Puyol 42 yd field goal, 5-42, 2:16, 0-3
• SBU Cheeseboro 2 yard fumble recovery (Popek kick), 7-3
• SBU Popek 33 yd field goal, 4-4, 2:02, 10-3
• UC Puyol 27 yd field goal, 11-55, 5:29, 10-6
• UC Davis 30 yd pass from Whitmer (Puyol kick blocked), 4-30, 4-70, 10-12
• UC Foxx 72 yd punt return (Puyol kick), 10-19
• SBU Tye 14 yd pass from Bednarski (Popek kick failed), 14-88, 5:46, 16-19
Quotes
Head Coach Chuck Priore - "Great all-around effort. We certainly had our chances and I'm disappointed we didn't win the game. I thought it was ours to win a number of times over the course of the game. But we got better this week, but it's a loss."
Jr. DB Naim Cheeseboro - "Our defense was flying to the ball like ball hawks. There is always things we can get better at."
Jr. QB Conor Bednarski - "I was able to get into a rhythm with the guys and executed the plays the coaches called. It was good to get into the end zone but we needed one more when it counted."
Sr. TE Will Tye - "I was ready to be playmaker. With that, I need to be more consistent. There is plenty of room of improvement and we showed it in the second game."
News & Notes
• With the first-quarter touchdown, Stony Brook has led in six of its seven FBS games.
• Popek registered the first points of his career.
• Thompson and Cheeseboro each recorded their first career fumble recoveries.
• In its seven games against FBS opponents, Stony Brook trailed at halftime in four of the contests.
• Stony Brook (0 of 7) and Connecticut combined for 1 of 14 on third-down conversions in the first half.
• Stony Brook accounted for two first downs in the first half.
• Allen has punted 21 times in the last two games.
• The last time Stony Brook allowed a punt return for touchdown was Elon's Karlos Sullivan (81 yards) on September 6, 2008.
• The Seawolves totaled more yards in the third quarter (107) than in the first two quarters (84).
• Stony Brook is 1-6 all-time against FBS opponents.
• Bednarski finished 8 of 19 for 128 yards and a touchdown. Senior John Kinder (Inwood, N.Y.) was 4 of 10 for 68 yards.
• Tye led the Stony Brook receiving corps with 76 yards. Seniors Adrian Coxson (Baltimore, Md.) and Jahrie Level (Miami, Fla.) each totaled 50 yards.
• Sophomore Stacey Bedell (Mastic Beach, N.Y.) had 53 rushing yards on 15 attempts.
Up Next
Stony Brook returns home to face American International, a 27-25 winner over Assumption in its season opener, of the Northeast-10 Conference on Saturday, September 13. Kickoff is 6 p.m. To purchase tickets, visit GoSeawolves.org or call (631) 632-WOLF.
