WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – Stony Brook football was unable to stop a stout Monmouth offensive attack, falling 56-17 at Kessler Stadium in New Jersey on Saturday afternoon.
Stony Brook was led by season-best 141 rushing yards along with a score from redshirt junior Roland Dempster on a career-high 22 carries, averaging 6.4 per carry. Classmate Jadon Turner added 50 yards on 10 carries and while redshirt junior Jayden Cook provided Stony Brook's other rushing score.
In the air, redshirt freshman
Jayce Freeman caught four passes for 50 yards while fellow redshirt freshman
Anthony Johnson finished with three catches for 33 yards. In the passing game, graduate student
Casey Case went 9-of-17 for 79 yards and an interception, while redshirt freshman
Daron Bryden took over in the second half, finishing 4-for-8 for 43 yards.
On defense, redshirt junior
Nick Chimienti recorded nine tackles with eight solo stops on the day. Redshirt junior
De'Aundre Cruz added seven tackles from the linebacker position. Stony Brook also got a big day on the line from redshirt sophomore
Anthony Williams, who finished with 2.0 sacks and five tackles overall.
For Monmouth, Jaden Shirden rushed for 174 yards on 17 carries and three touchdowns. Marquez McCray finished 22-of-27 passing for 323 yards and four touchdowns, all to different receivers. Dymere Miller led the receiving corps with 11 catches for 150 yards and a touchdown.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Monmouth went on a nine-play, 80-yard drive to go up 7-0 on its first possession.
- Stony Brook bridged the first and second quarters with a 10-play, 53-yard drive to cut the deficit to 7-3.
- An 81-yard rush followed by a one-yard score gave Monmouth a 21-3 lead. MU later tacked on touchdowns before the half on an eight-yard pass and a 14-yard touchdown reception.
- Both teams scored on their first drives of the third quarter, with Stony Brook putting together an 11-play, 75-yard drive, capped by a Cook three-yard rush.
- Stony Brook tacked on to start the fourth quarter, as Dempster cut through the defense for 15 yards and a touchdown, before Monmouth capped the scoring on a 46-yard passing touchdown and a seven-yard touchdown run.
GAME NOTES
- Stony Brook had its first rushing performance of at least 200 yards since Nov. 20, 2021 against Albany.
- Dempster's 141 yards marked Stony Brook's first individual 100-yard rushing performance since Ross Tallarico against Monmouth on Nov. 19, 2022.
- Williams' 2.0 sacks tied the most this season by a Stony Brook player (Andy Nwaoko at Rhode Island Sept. 8), along with the first full sacks of his career
- Chimienti posted career highs in total tackles and solo tackles.
- Kirby's field goal marked the first of his career.
- Monmouth finished with a 588-333 edge in total offense, including a 333-122 advantage in passing yards.
QUOTES FROM THE SEAWOLVES
"We've got a great group of kids who keep on rallying despite our inability to execute at times. They haven't quit and I'm proud of them from that perspective. We've faced some adversity as a program with some key injuries, but the kids that have stepped in have really stepped in well," said head coach Chuck Priore.
UP NEXT
Stony Brook returns home for the season finale on Saturday, Nov. 11 in the Battle for the Golden Apple against Albany for a 1 p.m. kick off on FloFootball. Next week's contest will be senior day, as Stony Brook will honor its graduating football student-athletes pregame. Stony Brook is 10-14 all-time against the Great Danes.
For an inside look at the Seawolves football program, be sure to follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
