STONY BROOK, N.Y. – It was a good night for the 23^rd-ranked Stony Brook football team's offense, defense and special teams in Saturday's home-opening 50-21 victory over Bryant at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium. All three phases of the game contributed to the Seawolves' (1-1) point total with four offensive scores, a pair of interceptions for touchdowns and a blocked punt was returned for six points.
 
Senior QB Joe Carbone (Wethersfield, Conn.) ran for a two scores and threw for another. Senior RBs Donald Liotine (Medford, N.Y.) and Jordan Gowins (Bellport, N.Y.) combined for 253 rushing yards and each scored a touchdown.
 
Defensively, sophomore DB EJ Fineran (Bethlehem, Pa.) returned an interception 79 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter, while junior DB Damarcus Miller (New Rochelle, N.Y.) took a pick-six back 95 yards as time expired.
 
On special teams, freshman DE Casey Williams (Philadelphia, Pa.) blocked a Bryant punt and returned it 12 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter.
 
Scoring

• Stony Brook cracked the scoring column first on their opening drive when QB Joe Carbone scored on a one-yard run with 9:22 left in the first quarter. The PAT was good by K Nick Courtney. The drive was seven plays for 80 yards and took 1:43.
• Joe Carbone scampered nine yards for his second rushing touchdown of the quarter with 1:33 left in the first quarter. The PAT was blocked. The drive was three plays for 55 yards and took 49 seconds.  
• DB EJ Fineran sprinted 79 yards for a touchdown after he picked off Bryant QB Price Wilson's pass with 4:39 left in the second quarter. The PAT by Nick Courtney was good.
• Bryant was able to get on the scoreboard with 3:38 left in the second quarter when QB Price Wilson found WR Vincent Nisivoccia for a 27-yard catch and run touchdown. The PAT by Gavin Rowley was good. The drive was four plays for 52 yards and took 1:01.
• Bryant opened the second half scoring with a 14-yard touchdown pass from QB Price Wilson to WR Vincent Nisivoccia. The PAT by Gavin Rowley was good. The drive was six plays for 48 yards and took 2:46.
• The Bulldogs took the lead on a two-yard rushing touchdown by RB Alfred Dorbor with 6:38 left in the third quarter. The PAT by Gavin Rowley was good to make it 21-20. The drive was nine plays for 72 yards and took 3:33.
• Stony Brook retook the lead on the ensuing possession when QB Joe Carbone hit RB Donald Liotine for a 24-yard catch and run touchdown. The PAT by Nick Courtney was good. The drive was six plays for 67 yards and lasted 2:07.
• The Seawolves expanded the lead when DL Casey Williams blocked a Bryant punt and returned it 12 yards for the touchdown with 2:04 left in the third quarter. The PAT by Nick Courtney was good.
• K Nick Courtney added a 29-yard field goal to the Stony Brook point total with 9:23 left in the fourth quarter. The drive was 10 plays for 50 yards and lasted 3:20.
• RB Jordan Gowins added some insurance with a 27-yard touchdown run with 5:58 left in the fourth quarter. The PAT by Nick Courtney was good. The drive was five plays for 53 yards and took 2:00 off the clock.
• DB Damarcus Miller completed the evenings' scoring with a 95-yard interception return as the clock hit 0:00. There was no extra point attempted.

 
The Numbers

• Stony Brook gained 426 yards of total offense on 59 plays. Bryant had 413 yards of total offense on 87 plays.
• The Seawolves had the ball for 20:28 minutes of the game.
• PASSING: Stony Brook 10-25-0 for 153 yards, 1 touchdown. Bryant: 29-45-2 for 255 yards, 2 touchdowns.
• RUSHING: Stony Brook: 34 carries for 273 yards, three touchdowns. Bryant: 42 carries for 158 yards, 1 touchdown.
• RB Jordan Gowins had 146 yards on 14 carries and a touchdown. RB Donald Liotine gained 107 yards on 11 carries.
• QB Joe Carbone had 153 passing yards with one touchdown and rushed for two more touchdowns.  
• LB Shayne Lawless had 17 tackles.
• DB EJ Fineran and DB Damarcus Miller each recorded interception returns for touchdowns.

 
Quoting the Seawolves
Head Coach Chuck Priore
"This is a group that I really enjoy coaching. We have to play a little smarter, 13 penalties isn't going to win you a lot of football games, but this team has good character and they believe in each other."
 
"You have to be able to win the special teams battle. We have been able to - in each of the last four years - score a touchdown on a punt block. We got another one today."
 
"The interception that EJ Fineran had today was a long one and the last one at the end of the game was another long one. You have to score points to win football games and defensive and special teams touchdowns will help you win games."
 
QB Joe Carbone
"Tonight was a good start. It always feels good to get the first win under your belt, but we still have a lot of things to improve upon and get better in a lot of areas. It is a process and we will take it one day at a time."
 
DB EJ Fineran on his interception return
"Shayne (Lawless) tipped the ball and I was at the right place at the right time. I caught it and just said that I needed to make it to the house. It was hard, but it felt good when I made it there."
 
Notes

• Stony Brook improved to 9-4 in home openers under head coach Chuck Priore.
• QB Joe Carbone rushed for a pair of touchdowns against Bryant. The scores were his seventh and eighth rushing touchdowns of his career and the first since the 2016 season.
• Carbone's two rushing scores mark the third time of his career that he recorded a pair of rushing touchdowns in the same game. He also accomplished the feat against Central Connecticut and James Madison in 2015.
• Carbone tossed a third-quarter touchdown pass to RB Donald Liotine. It was Carbone's 29^th career touchdown pass, moving him within one of fifth-place on Stony Brook's career list.
• RB Donald Liotine pulled down his second career-receiving touchdown in the third quarter.
• Liotine gained 107 rushing yards against Bryant to mark his fifth 100-yard game of his career and first since he gained 117 yards against Lehigh last season.
• RB Jordan Gowins recorded a career-high 146 rushing yards for his third 100-yard game of his career and first since he posted 125 yards against Wagner last season.
• With both Liotine and Gowins gaining over 100 yards against Bryant, it marks the first time Stony Brook had two 100-yard rushers in the same game since Stacey Bedell and Gowins accomplished the feat against Rhode Island in 2016.
• DB EJ Fineran returned an interception 79 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. It is Stony Brook's first interception return for a score since Travon Reid-Segure return one against Maine in 2016. Fineran's interception was the first of his career.
• DB Damarcus Miller returned an interception 95-yards for a touchdown as time expired in the game. It was his first interception of his career and marked the first Seawolves' interception for a touchdown since Fineran did so in the second quarter.
• LB Shayne Lawless collected a career-best 17 tackles in tonight's game. His previous career-best was 13 at USF last season.
• Lawless' 17 tackles are the most by a Seawolves' player since Christian Ricard recorded 17 against James Madison in 2013.
• DL Casey Williams blocked a Bryant punt and returned it 12 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter. It was Stony Brook's first since Seba Nekhet returned a blocked punt (blocked by EJ Fineran) last season against Sacred Heart.
• With DL Casey Williams' blocked punt return for a touchdown in the third quarter, Stony Brook has now returned a blocked punt for a touchdown six times in the past four seasons, including two last season.
• Today's first-time players for Stony Brook were: DB Jabari Reddock.
• Captains for tonight's game were QB Joe Carbone, TE Cal Daniels, DE John Haggart, LB Noah McGinty and LB Shayne Lawless.

 
UP NEXT
Stony Brook travels into New York City next Saturday to face Fordham for a 6 p.m. kickoff at Jack Coffey Stadium in the Bronx. The Seawolves then return to LaValle Stadium on Sept. 22to open CAA Football play by hosting Richmond at 6 p.m. Buy Season Tickets | Buy Single Game Tickets