Stony Brook (0-0, 0-0 CAA Football) vs. Bryant (0-0, 0-0 NEC)
LOCATION	Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium (12,300) | Stony Brook, N.Y.
DATE  | TIME	Thursday, Aug. 29 | 7 p.m.
TICKETS	Season | Single Game
COACHES	Stony Brook: Chuck Priore (UAlbany '82) 123-75   Bryant: Chris Merritt (Indiana '93) 0-0
RANKINGS	Stony Brook: RV AFCA Coaches/RV STATS FCS | Bryant: -- AFCA Coaches/-- STATS FCS
BROADCAST	FloSports (Jonny Wincott - pxp; Sam Kornhauser- analyst)
GAME NOTES	Stony Brook | Bryant | CAA Football
COVERAGE	Live Stats | FloSports
SOCIAL	@StonyBrookFB | #SeawolvesUnited | #HOWL
UP NEXT	at Utah State, Sept. 7

STONY BROOK, N.Y. -- Football season is finally here! Stony Brook football opens the 2019 campaign on Thursday at 7 p.m. when they welcome Bryant to Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium in a non-conference match-up. 

The Seawolves (0-0, 0-0 CAA Football) are coming off a 7-5 season in 2018 and made a return trip to the FCS Playoffs. Bryant (0-0, 0-0 NEC) was 6-5 in 2018.

THE SERIES
This will be the fifth meeting between the two programs. Stony Brook owns a 3-1 series advantage that includes a 50-21 victory over Bryant last Sept. 7 at LaValle Stadium.  

HOME OPENER
Stony Brook opens the seasons and has its first of seven home games in LaValle Stadium. The Seawolves are 9-4 in the home opener under head coach Chuck Priore, including a victory over Bryant last season.

QUICK HITTERS
• Stony Brook is 10-10 in season openers since moving to Division I in 1999.
• 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.
• Stony Brook finished the 2018 season ranked 18th in the AFCA Coaches poll and 16th in the STATS poll.

RIDING NINE
Stony Brook enters the season and the game against Bryant having won nine straight games in Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium.

FIELDS TABBED AS STARTING QB
Junior Tyquell Fields was tabbed as the starting QB for the Seawolves on Aug. 20 when head coach Chuck Priore announced the news. Entering the season, Fields has played in 14 games in a back-up role during the previous two seasons.

NEW YORK (BACKFIELD) STATE OF MIND
The Seawolves have an offensive backfield made up of New Yorkers. The three running backs - Isaiah White (Gordon Heights, N.Y.), Ty Son Lawton (Staten Island, N.Y.) and Seba Nekhet (Brooklyn, N.Y.) - all hail from the Empire State, while QBs Tyquell Fields (Yonkers, N.Y.) and Jack Cassidy (Bohemia, N.Y.) are also New York natives.

YONKERS PIPELINE
Three expected starters for the Seawolves in 2019 all hail from Archbishop Stepinac High School in Yonkers, N.Y., and all played together during their HS careers. Senior captain Gavin Heslop and junior TJ Morrison are slated to be the starting cornerbacks for Stony Brook and have been teammates and friends since the age of eight. Junior Tyquell Fields also donned the Archbishop Stepinac uniform with Heslop and Morrison. True freshman WR Shawn Harris Jr. also comes from Stepinac HS.

CONSTANT THREAT
Grad transfer Jean Constant, a preseason FCS STATS All-American as a kick returner, transferred to Stony Brook after a four-year undergrad career at Bryant where we was named a two-time All-American and returned kicks for touchdowns for the Bulldogs.

WHITE RETURNS TO THE OFFENSE
Senior captain Isaiah White is back on the offensive side of the ball for 2019 after he spent the three years on defense. White carried the ball 62 times for 243 yards as a running back during his true freshman season in 2015.

VS. FBS
When the Seawolves visit Utah State next week it will mark the 12th time Stony Brook will face a FBS opponent on the gridiron. The Seawolves are 1-9 against FBS teams in the previous meetings. Stony Brook meet Toledo to open the season in 2015, but the game was not completed due to weather. Last season, in the opener, Stony Brook held a fourth quarter lead at nationally ranked USF.

AGAINST THE FCS RANKS
Stony Brook in now 11-23 all-time against FCS ranked opponents with the wins over No. 13 Villanova and No. 11 Delaware in 2018. The Seawolves had victories over No. 12 New Hampshire and No. 17 Richmond in 2017. The Seawolves' also posted two ranked wins in 2016. Stony Brook earned a 42-14 win over No. 2 Richmond and a 13-9 season-opening victory against No. 19 North Dakota. Richmond's No. 2 ranking equals the highest ranked opponent to come into Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium (No. 2 Towson on Sept. 28, 2013). The win over Richmond also marked the program's first victory over a top 10 team.

SEASON OPENERS UNDER PRIORE
Head coach Chuck Priore is 6-7 in openers at Stony Brook, including a 5-2 record when playing at home to open the season.
Year    Opponent    Result
2019    Bryant    TBD
2018    at Air Force    L, 38-0
2017    at #19 USF*    L, 31-17
2016    #19 North Dakota    W, 13-9
2015    Central Connecticut    W, 38-9
2014    Bryant    L, 13-7
2013    at Rhode Island    W, 24-0
2012    Central Connecticut    W, 49-22
2011    at UTEP    L, 31-24 OT
2010    at USF    L, 59-14
2009    at Hofstra    L, 17-10
2008    Colgate    W, 42-26
2007    Georgetown    W, 35-28
2006    Hofstra    L, 17-8

SEAWOLVES TABBED SIXTH BY THE LEAGUE
The Seawolves were picked to finished sixth in the CAA by the league's head coaches and SIDs. Conference team. (first place votes)
1. James Madison (20)      238
2. Towson (3)     217
3. Maine (1)     201
4. Elon     164
5. Delaware     162
6. STONY BROOK     151
7. New Hampshire     109
8. Rhode Island     104
9. Villanova     84
10. Richmond     62
11. William & Mary     58
12. UAlbany     34

LET'S GO STREAKING...
OL Mason Zimmerman has started 31 straight games...DL Sam Kamara and DB Gavin Heslop have each started 25 straight games...DB Augie Contressa, DB Synceir Malone, DB EJ Fineran and DB TJ Morrison has all started 12 straight games...Stony Brook won nine straight games in LaValle Stadium.

ALL IN THE FAMILY
Stony Brook's roster includes a pair of brothers for the 2019 season. Junior DL Brandon Lopez will be joined this season by his brother Ryan, a redshirt freshman DL. Junior QB Jack Cassidy is joined on the roster by his brother Sean, a senior transfer DB.

CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF DIVISION I
2019-20 marks the 20th anniversary of Stony Brook Athletics moving to Division I. A 20th Anniversary team, voted on by the fans, was unveiled in July and the top 20 moments from the Division I era will be unveiled throughout the 2019-20 seasons.

ON DECK
The Seawolves travel to Utah for the first time in program history to face Utah State on Sept. 7. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on Facebook Live.