No. 24 Stony Brook (4-1, 1-0 CAA Football) vs.No. 2 James Madison (4-1, 1-0 CAA Football)
LOCATION	Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium (12,300) | Stony Brook, N.Y.
DATE  | TIME	Saturday, Oct. 5 | 6 p.m.
TICKETS	Season | Single Game
COACHES	Stony Brook: Chuck Priore (UAlbany '82) 175-76   JMU: Curt Cignetti (West Virginia '82) 71-27
RANKINGS	Stony Brook: 24 AFCA Coaches/24 STATS FCS | JMU: 2 AFCA Coaches/2 STATS FCS
TV	SNY/FloSports (Jonny Wincott, P-x-P; Erik Coleman Analyst; Ariel Epstein, Sideline)
GAME NOTES	Stony Brook | JMU | CAA Football
COVERAGE	Live Stats | FloSports Stream
SOCIAL	@StonyBrookFB | #SeawolvesUnited | #HOWL
FOR THE FANS	2019 Fan Experience
UP NEXT	vs. New Hampshire, Oct. 12 | 6 p.m. | Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium | Tickets

STONY BROOK, N.Y. – Setting goals is an important part of sports especially for the Stony Brook football team's defensive unit and redshirt sophomore linebacker Reidgee Dimanche (Hamilton, N.J./Hamilton West).
 
Dimanche and the Seawolves have numerous goals for the 2019 season, but one of the most important to them is to stop the opposition's running game and through the first five games of the season, that goal has become a reality.
 
Stony Brook and Dimanche have held opponents rushing attack to an average of 88.8 yards per game, good enough for second in the CAA Football and eight-best in the entire FCS. In fact, the Seawolves defense has only allowed five rushing touchdowns all season with just two of them coming from the four FCS opponents.
 
"This year the first goal is to stop the run," Dimanche said. "Every game and every practice we go out looking to stop the run with all that we have. After that it makes the game so much easier for us."
 
Dimanche, who will be starting his sixth game of his career this Saturday when Stony Brook hosts second-ranked James Madison in a top 25 CAA Football showdown in Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium. Kickoff for the annual Homecoming game is set for 6 p.m. (GET YOUR TICKETS NOW).
 
"It has been a learning experience and it has been tough," Dimanche said. "Going from playing barely on special teams to now playing almost every snap on defense is tough, but I love it. It feels great everyday coming out here knowing that I have to take charge and be the leader of the linebackers. It feels great on Saturdays after that first kickoff going out and defending the Den."
 
For the first two seasons as a Seawolf, Dimanche sat behind two of the most prolific linebackers in the program's history in Shayne Lawless and Noah McGinty. Now, Dimanche is getting his chance to shine on his own.
 
"As a competitor I really didn't like sitting down at first and not playing, but it was a great learning experience, especially in their junior and senior years watching them (Shayne and Noah) being able to perform at the highest level," Dimanche remembers. "It was a great learning experience. I definitely learned a great deal from them and I think I'm putting that out on the field now."
 
Through the first five games, Dimanche is second on the team with 23 total tackles with a team-high 13 assist stops to go with a pair of tackles for loss. He has become very comfortable anchoring the middle of the Seawolves' defensive unit.
 
"It feels great to have the older guys in the back," said Dimanche. "Having those guys back there makes it a lot easier. Having the older guys up front really helps me too because I have a solid group both in front of me and behind me. When they do their jobs, it makes it easier for me to do what I have to do."

THE SERIES
This will be the sixth meeting beteen the two conference foes. James Madison owns a 4-1 series lead that includes a victory over Stony Brook in Harrisonburg last season. This will be just the second visit to Long Island for the Dukes who edged the Seawolves 27-24 in 2014. (Complete series history on page 4).     

HOSTING NO. 2
Stony Brook is hosting the second ranked team in the FCS polls for the third time in the program's history. The Seawolves are 1-1 in thos previous games, having defeated second-ranked Richmond 42-14 on Sept. 17, 2016 in Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium and dropped a 35-21 decision to No. 2 Towson on Sept. 28, 2013.

QUICK HITTERS
• Stony Brook is ranked No. 1 in total offense in the CAA with 478.6 yards per game.
• The Seawolves also have the No. 1 rushing offense in the CAA at 264.6 yards per game.
• Head coach Chuck Priore picked up career win No. 125 on Sept. 14.
• Stony Brook's captains for the 2019 season are senior DB Gavin Heslop, senior DL Sam Kamara and senior RB Isaiah White.
• Graduate transfer WR Jean Constant was named preseason STATS FCS All-American.   

LET'S GO STREAKING...
OL Mason Zimmerman has started 36 straight games...DL Sam Kamara and DB Gavin Heslop have each started 30 straight games...DB Augie Contressa and DB TJ Morrison have started 17 straight games...Stony Brook has won 12 straight games in LaValle Stadium.

UP NEXT
Don't miss your chance to see the Seawolves take on New Hampshire in Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium next Saturday at 6 p.m.. GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!