STONY BROOK, N.Y. – After a stout defensive effort in which the Seawolves forced five turnovers, Richmond mounted an 11-play, 57-yard drive, culminating in a 28-yard field goal with 46 seconds remaining, as Stony Brook football fell in a tough 20-19 decision to Richmond at LaValle Stadium on Saturday.
Four players – redshirt junior Nick Chimienti, redshirt sophomore Jalen Hoyle, graduate student Quenton Porter and redshirt junior JuJu Ganthier each recorded interceptions, with Ganthier's resulting in a 59-yard pick-six. Redshirt junior Taylor Bolesta forced a fumble that was recovered by redshirt sophomore Rodney Faulk for the fifth takeaway. Graduate student Aidan Kaler finished with a career-high 14 tackles including seven solo stops.
Redshirt sophomore
Shakhi Carson paced the Seawolves' rushing attack with 40 yards on the ground, while redshirt junior
Ross Tallarico added 38 yards on four rushes, averaging 9.5 yards per carry. On the receiving end, redshirt freshman
Anthony Johnson pulled in three catches for 49 yards and one score. Quarterback
Casey Case finished 11-for-22 for 154 yards and the touchdown to Johnson.
Amidst tough kicking conditions, junior
Spencer Biscoe went 2-for-2 on field goals while sophomore
Clayton Taylor put a pair of punts inside the Richmond 5-yard line.
For Richmond, Savon Smith carried 22 times for 106 yards and a touchdown while Nick DeGennaro caught four passes for 86 yards and a score. Richmond won the ground game, 195-96.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Stony Brook got on the scoreboard first with 3:59 left in the first quarter to take a 3-0 lead, following Chimienti's interception, grabbing its first lead of the season.
- Richmond returned the favor to tie things at three, though the Seawolves' defense held for six plays at the goal line. A 56-yard touchdown pass made things 10-3 before Johnson's touchdown catch tied things up at 10 going into halftime
- Late in the third, Richmond grabbed a 17-10 lead on a 36-yard touchdown run, but Stony Brook responded with Ganthier's pick-six (followed by a blocked extra point) and a Biscoe 31-yard field to grab a 19-17 lead with 9:29 left to play.
- Richmond finished off the scoring with the game-winning kick with 46 seconds left, capping off a drive that spanned 5:25.
GAME NOTES
- The Seawolves won the turnover battle in Saturday's game 5-3, with Stony Brook turning those takeaways into 12 points.
- Stony Brook grabbed four interceptions as a team for the first time since Nov. 13, 2010.
- With three picks today, Stony Brook has three interceptions in multiple games in a season for the first time since 2016.
- Kaler's 14 tackles marked the fourth time in his career that he has come up with at least 10 stops, all coming in his last six appearances.
- Stony Brook held Richmond to 3-for-15 (20.0%) on third downs, the third time this season an SBU opponent has been held below 40% on third down.
- Johnson marked his first career touchdown catch, and is the third SBU receiver (Jayden Cook, Rahmon Hart Jr.) to haul in his first career touchdown pass in 2023.
- Biscoe marked his second game this season with a pair of made field goal tries.
QUOTES FROM THE SEAWOLVES
UP NEXT
Stony Brook is back on the road for the next two weeks, and will close the month of September with a matchup at Maine (0-4, 0-2) on Sept. 30 at 3:30 p.m on FloSports. Stony Brook is 4-5 all-time against the Black Bears, but has won the last two matchups, including a 28-27 come-from-behind victory last season.
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