STONY BROOK, N.Y. -- Tyler Knoop threw for a career-high 408 yards, Dez Williams put up 134 receiving yards and two touchdowns as Stony Brook scored their most points since 2018 but the Monmouth Hawks exploded for 55 points, giving themselves the victory at LaValle Stadium.
The Hawks improved to 6-6 on the year and 4-4 in Coastal Athletic Association play, while the Seawolves fell to 8-4 overall and 5-3 in conference match-ups.
Knoop went 37-for-53 on the way to the 408-yard, three-touchdown outing with one interception. Roland Dempster led all Seawolves rushers with 95 yards in the contest, picking up 4.8 yards per carry. Dempster also added one receiving touchdown. Knoop also added 22 yards on the ground. Williams' 134-yard, two-touchdown performance led the Stony Brook receiving corps. Jayce Freeman also hauled in five passes for 93 yards and Jasiah Williams chipped in with eight grabs for 81 yards as well.
Jordan Jackson showed out for the Stony Brook defense, collecting five tackles and one forced and recovered fumble. AJ Roberts had a team-high nine tackles, while Chayce Chalmers and Shamoun Duncan-Niusulu each tallied seven, respectively.
Stony Brook also had an outstanding day offensively, racking up 559 total yards, 128 on the ground and 431 through the air, while averaging 6.2 yards per play. The Seawolves were keeping drives alive, converting on 43.8 percent of third-down attempts.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- In their first possession, the Hawks executed a nine-play, 75-yard drive, culminating in a three-yard passing touchdown from Middleton to take the lead.
- Stony Brook responded with a nine-play drive of their own, covering 71 yards and concluding with a 27-yard field goal by Enda Kirby. A 36-yard run by Dempster highlighted the drive, placing the Seawolves in the red zone.
- Following the field goal, Stony Brook's Luca Gemma blocked a punt during Monmouth's next drive, which Brandon Boria recovered and returned for a touchdown, giving Stony Brook a 10-7 lead. Robertson then connected with Neal on a 51-yard touchdown pass to reclaim the lead for Monmouth with 6:10 remaining in the first quarter.
- Kirby narrowed the deficit with a 25-yard field goal—his second of the quarter—making the score 14-13 with 2:53 left in the opening period. Early in the second quarter, Ntoh scored on a five-yard rushing touchdown. Stony Brook countered with a nine-play, 75-yard drive, ending in Dempster's first receiving touchdown of the season. This brought the score to 21-20. Knoop led the Seawolves with 50 passing yards during the drive.
- Monmouth capitalized on their next two possessions, extending their lead to 35-20 with 5:47 left in the first half.
- Knoop and Redman connected on a 21-yard touchdown pass with less than two minutes remaining in the half.
- The teams traded scores to close the half: Ntoh added a one-yard rushing touchdown for Monmouth, while Kirby kicked a 35-yard field goal, ending the half with Monmouth ahead 42-30.
- Stony Brook opened the second half with a 10-play, 75-yard drive, resulting in a 17-yard touchdown pass from Knoop to D. Williams.
- Monmouth responded quickly with an eight-yard rushing touchdown by Nelson, widening their lead to 49-37.
- The Seawolves' defense ramped up during the next two Monmouth possessions. Jordan Jackson forced and recovered a fumble on the two-yard line, and the defense stopped Monmouth on a fourth down with 4:40 left in the third quarter.
- Stony Brook capitalized on this momentum with an eight-play, 54-yard drive, cutting the lead to 49-44. The drive featured a trick play, where Knoop passed backward to J. Williams, who then connected with D. Williams on a 23-yard touchdown pass.
- Early in the fourth quarter, Monmouth's Clark-White intercepted a pass at their 14-yard line. Stony Brook's defense held firm, delivering a crucial fourth-and-goal stop at their own one-yard line with 7:22 remaining. However, Monmouth used some trickery of their own as Neal connected with Neri on a 40-yard touchdown pass, securing a 55-44 lead and ultimately the victory.
STATS AND NOTES
- Monmouth outgained Stony Brook 690-559 in the contest. It was the most yards and points the Seawolves have tallied all season.
- Stony Brook won the time of possession battle 34:11 to 25:49.
- Each team collected 31 first downs this afternoon. Stony Brook ran 90 plays, compared to 70 by Monmouth.
- The Seawolves had three penalties against the five from the Hawks.
- Stony Brook went 6-for-6 in the red zone this afternoon.
- Stony Brook had their highest scoring quarter in the second period, when they put up 17 points.
- Enda Kirby knocked through a career-best four field goals for the Seawolves with a long of 35 yards.
- D. Williams tallied his first multi-touchdown game of his career by finishing with two this afternoon. He also had a career-best 11 receptions and a career-high 134 yards in the defeat, both marking season-highs for any player of the roster this season.
- Dempster tallied his first receiving touchdown of the season and tallied 95 yards rushing yards on 20 carries. He has recorded at-least 100 all-purpose yards in 9 of 12 games this season.
- Luca Gemma recorded the longest punt return of the season for the Seawolves (25 yards).
- Knoop completed 69.8% of his passes on the day, going 37-for-53 while averaging 7.7 yards per attempt. It marked a season-high in passing yards, attempts, and completions in a game for Knoop this season.
- Roberts led the way with nine total tackles and leads the team this season with 86.0 tackles on the year.
- Stony Brook moves to 4-8 all-time against Monmouth.
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