TOWSON, Md. -- Tyler Knoop threw for a career-high 387 yards and broke the program record with six passing touchdowns, while Roland Dempster put up 103 yards on the ground as Stony Brook dominated Towson, 52-24, on the road Saturday afternoon.
The Seawolves improved to 5-2 on the year and 2-1 in CAA play, while the Tigers fell to 3-4 and 1-2.
Jasiah Williams pulled in nine catches for 92 yards and three scores. Jayce Freeman made his presence felt in the passing game, recording five receptions for 91 yards and two touchdowns.
Rushawn Lawrence paced the Stony Brook defensive effort, collecting three tackles, 2.0 TFL, two sacks, and two forced fumbles. Kris Caine added four tackles, 1.0 TFL, and one recovered fumble and Chayce Chalmers had six tackles, 0.5 TFL, and one recovered fumble in the win.
The Seawolves won the turnover battle in Saturday's game, forcing three turnovers while avoiding any giveways, with Stony Brook turning those takeaways into 10 points. The defense also held the Towson passing attack to just 158 yards in the air.
Stony Brook dominated offensively, racking up 512 total yards, 125 on the ground and 387 through the air, while averaging 6.4 yards per play and out-gaining Towson. The Stony Brook offense was prolonging drives consistently, converting on 50 percent of third-down attempts. The Seawolves also went 2-for-3 on fourth down. In the red zone, Stony brook scored six times on six trips inside Towson's 20-yard line, picking up touchdowns on five of those trips.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Towson scored on the first play of the game on a 75-yard rushing touchdown by Devin Matthews.
- Following back-to-back punts from the Seawolves and Tigers, Stony Brook responded right back by tying the game at 7-7 with 6:32 left in the first quarter. The seven-play, 93-yard drive resulted in a 10-yard touchdown pass from Knoop to J. Williams.
- A sack by Anthony Ferrelli and AJ Roberts forced Towson to punt with 5:03 remaining in the first. Nearly two minutes later, Knoop and J. Williams would connect for a 19-yard touchdown, putting Stony Brook ahead 14-7.
- The Seawolves allowed a Tigers' field goal to begin the second quarter, cutting their lead to 14-10.
- Towson took advantage of a bad snap by Stony Brook that gave the Tigers the ball at the two-yard line. Tyrell Green punched it up the middle, giving Towson a 17-14 lead.
- Both teams would punt on their next drives. However, the Seawolves got to work on their ensuing possession, taking a 21-17 lead following a seven-yard touchdown pass from Knoop to Redman with 4:24 in the second half.
- Kris Caine broke up a pass to force a Towson punt with 2:17 remaining in the half. The Seawolves made the most of the possession, going on a nine-play, 98-yard drive that culminated with a 21-yard touchdown catch by Freeman to put the Seawolves ahead 28-17 heading to the locker room.
- On their first drive of the second half, Stony Brook went seven plays for 75 yards and seven points as Freeman and Knoop connected from 22 yards out, giving Stony Brook a 35-17 advantage.
- Silvera recorded his third interception of the season on the Tigers next possession that led to a field goal by Kirby.
- Lawrence forced a fumble after a sack with 13:03 to give Stony Brook the football. J. Williams and Knoop connected again, this time for a 20-yard touchdown that gave Knoop the program record and the Seawolves a 45-17 lead.
- With 3:30 remaining in the game, Martin scored from five yards out to give Stony Brook a 52-17 lead and ultimately, a 52-24 victory after a late score by Towson's offense.
STATS AND NOTES
- Knoop had a historic day for the Seawolves under center. The QB went 34-of-40 for 387 and six passing touchdowns. The six touchdowns by Knoop set a new program record and his passing yardage total was the fifth most passing yards by any QB in a game in program history. His six touchdowns also tied Seth Morgan from New Hampshire with the second most in any game by a CAA QB this season and equaled the second-most passing yards in a game by a CAA QB this season. Knoop also gained eight yards on the ground in the victory.
- J. Williams tallied his first touchdown of the season and tallied three in total during the Stony Brook victory. He finished the game with a team and season-high 92 yards on nine receptions. He became one of six players in the CAA to record three touchdowns in a game this season and was one shy of tying Lynell Suggs' program record with four, set on Oct. 29, 2005.
- Freeman tallied a season-high 91 yards on five catches and registered his first multi-touchdown game of his career. He finished with a career-best 136 all-purpose yards, tallying 45 yards on kickoff returns.
- Dempster continues to produce as he tallied 103 yards on 15 carries and recorded 61 receiving yards on five receptions. He now has at least 100 yards rushing in five of his last six games and leads the CAA in rushing yards this season (803).
- Lawrence now has at least 0.5 sacks in four of his last five games after finishing with 2.0 this afternoon. He also forced two fumbles for the first time in his career. He leads the team with 5.5 sacks this season.
- Ferrelli paced the defense with his team-high seven tackles. He leads the team with 48.0 on the year.
- Silvera is now one of three players in the CAA with three interceptions this season after he recorded his third of the season in the victory.
- Martin scored his second rushing touchdown of the season.
- The Seawolves were 7-for-13 on third down, compared to 3-for-10 by the Tigers.
- Stony Brook won the turnover battle 3-0 after intercepting one pass and recovering two fumbles.
- Stony Brook put together two touchdown-scoring drives of 90 yards or more, the longest drive going 98 yards.
- The Seawolves' offense came out of halftime firing on all cylinders, scoring 24 unanswered points.
- Stony Brook led the time of possession, 37:04 to 22:56, and ran 79 plays compared to the 54 by Towson.
- The 5-2 start for the Seawolves mark their best start since the team began the 2018 season 5-2.
- This was the most points by Stony Brook since they scored 59 against Lehigh in 2017. It was also the most road points since they tallied 56 at Presbyterian in 2012.
- Stony Brook moved to 4-6 all-time against Towson.
QUOTES FROM THE SEAWOLVES
"Proud of our team's performance today," head coach Billy Cosh said. "I was really proud of the offense and how we played today. We were waiting for this for a while. The pass game came alive and I thought Tyler and our receiving core played outstanding. Our defense created takeaways, which was huge. I was proud of our response, we were down seven, they could have easily cashed it in but we kept competing. We've got a lot more ball left, we gotta keep getting better. I'm excited for William & Mary next week".
UP NEXT
The Seawolves head back to Long Island for their next battle as they host William & Mary for Homecoming on Saturday, Oct. 26th. The Seawolves are 1-4 all-time against the Tribe and are looking for their first victory over W&M at LaValle Stadium. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. and the contest will air live on SNY and stream live on FloFootball.
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