BRONX, N.Y. - Stony Brook put together an impressive comeback Saturday afternoon, highlighted by a six-yard rushing touchdown from Brandon Boria, to erase a 21-17 third-quarter deficit to take down Fordham in the Bronx, 27-21.
The Seawolves were led offensively by freshman quarterback Malachi Marshall in the air and the runningback duo of Brandon Boria and Roland Dempster on the ground. Marshall tossed for 268 yards (18-for-36), while Boria finished 65 yards on the ground and his first career touchdown, while Dempster notched 51 yards and his fourth touchdown in the last two games. Tyler Knoop gave the Seawolves a passing touchdown with his seven-yard strike to Jayden Cook.
RJ Lamarre reeled in seven catches for 96 yards. Dez Williams got in on the action in the passing game as well, hauling in three balls for 73 yards. The Seawolves also got 69 yards receiving from Jasiah Williams in the contest.
Rushawn Lawrence paced the Stony Brook defensive effort, collecting five tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and one interception. Rudy Silvera added an interception and two pass breakups and Rodney Faulk had 1.0 TFL and one sack in the win. Chayce Chalmers led the way with a team-high nine tackles.
Defensively, Stony Brook held the Fordham offensive attack in check, allowing the Rams 257 total yards. The Seawolves kept Fordham under 150 yards on both the ground and through the air, allowing 125 passing and 132 rushing yards. The Seawolves hassled the Fordham passing attack all game long, piling up seven sacks and adding two interceptions.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- After both teams went three-and-out in their first drive, the Seawolves defense held strong in the Rams next possession by forcing a punt at the Fordham 46-yard line.
- With 6:44 remaining in the first quarter, the Stony Brook offense recorded their first first-down following an eight-yard strike from Marshall to Lamarre. However, the Rams held the Seawolves in-check and would force a punt.
- Fordham got on the scoreboard first following their nine-play drive that resulted in a 11-yard rushing touchdown to take an early 7-0 lead.
- Following the Rams touchdown, Stony Brook responded right back with their own eight-play drive that led to a 34-yard field goal by Enda Kirby to cut the Fordham advantage to 7-3.
- The defense for Stony Brook went right back to work, forcing a three-and-out by the Rams that was highlighted with a sack from Taylor Bolesta.
- The Seawolves used the momentum from the defense to score in their next possession with a nine-play drive resulting in a seven-yard touchdown pass from Knoop to Cook, giving Stony Brook a 10-7 lead.
- After the turnover by Stony Brook with 8:12 left in the second quarter, the Rams made the most of the turnover by scoring in their next possession, taking the lead 14-10.
- Stony Brook kept their composure by going on their longest drive on the day, 13 plays, to re-take the lead, 17-14. In the drive, D. Williams made a one-handed grab that would lead to the one-yard touchdown run by Dempster.
- Fordham recorded a first down before the end of the first half, but the Seawolves held the team from the Bronx in check to secure the 17-14 lead into the break.
- After the Seawolves punted in their first drive to start the second half, the defense for Stony Brook held strong again by forcing a Fordham punt on their own 45-yard line.
- The Rams re-took the lead, 21-17, with 9:07 in the third quarter after a pick-six touchdown from their defense.
- Stony Brook pushed the ball down the field in their next possession as they reached the Fordham 27-yard line. However, the Rams forced a turnover on downs following the incompletion from Marshall.
- The Seawolves defense forced a turnover on downs in their stance with 3:31 remaining. Ferrelli made the tackle on fourth down to give the football back to the Seawolves.
- Sacks from Tyson McCloud, Anthony Franco, Taylor Bolesta and Ferrelli allowed the Seawolves to force a punt and start with the ball to begin the final frame.
- It was the Marshall and Jasiah Williams connection for the next possession, as the duo tallied 69 yards in the drive to set up a six-yard rushing touchdown by Boria, giving Stony Brook a 24-21 lead.
- Kirby connected with a 41-yard field at 8:34 in the fourth quarter, allowing Stony Brook to take a 27-21 advantage.
- Lawrence continued his historic afternoon with an interception after AJ Roberts tipped a pass with 6:16 remaining in the game.
- Jayson Allen broke-up the Rams final chance on fourth down with 1:34 left in battle to secure the victory for Stony Brook.
STATS AND NOTES
- Stony Brook out-gained Fordham 432-257, including a 328-125 advantage through the air.
- The Seawolves tallied 17 points in the second quarter.
- Stony Brook converted 8 of 21 third downs while Fordham was successful on 2 of 14.
- Stony Brook forced one red zone turnover in the contest.
- Boria totaled a career-high 65 rushing yards, also tallying his first career touchdown.
- In his second start under center, Marshall totaled a career-high 268 yards in the air.
- Williams tallied a career-high three receptions for a career-best 73 yards in the win.
- Cook scored his first touchdown of the season and ninth of his career.
- Jasiah Williams had a career-day for Stony Brook, tallying 69 yards and six receptions, both his new high as a Seawolf.
- Lamarre grabbed a career-high seven receptions, finishing with a career-best 96 yards, the most by any Stony Brook receiver this season.
- Chalmers led the defense with a team-high nine tackles. He is second on the team with 23.0 tackles and leads the team with 3.0 tackles for loss this year.
- Lawrence secured his first career interception and tallied a career-high two sacks. He is the first Stony Brook player with two sacks in a game since Anthony Williams recorded two in 2023.
- Silvera now leads the country with six pass-break ups this season and is tied for second in FCS with two interceptions this year after he tallied two pass break-ups and one interception in the victory.
- Rodney Faulk, Anthony Ferrelli,Taylor Bolesta, Chalmers, Lawrence all tallied a sack while Franco Milano and Tyson McCloud both recorded 0.5 sacks.
- Stony Brook won the time of possession battle 36:12 to 23:48.
- Stony Brook ends a three-game losing streak against the Rams.
- The Seawolves move to 4-4 all-time against Fordham.
- Today's victory is the second straight for the Seawolves, marking the first time Stony Brook has picked up back-to-back wins since winning three in a row during the 2021 season.
QUOTES FROM THE SEAWOLVES
"Defensively, I thought we were outstanding. [Loughridge] is a really good player, he's a big-time back. It was a great job by the [defense] tackling and making big plays. Our defense kept us in the game," head coach
Billy Cosh said. "I'm proud of them, because its the same team. They have the same players from last year that beat us pretty good. We responded and we're playing hard, we've just got to play smarter on offense. [The offense] was good in moments, but I think the consistency is not good enough at times where we can really step on the throat and put them away."
"I'm really proud, I'm happy. We've got a lot to get better, but we're playing really hard and we're going to learn to play smarter. Fordham was a great quality opponent, give credit to them, they're really well coached. It was a hard-fought battle, we found a way to win and I'm just happy for our players," Cosh added.
UP NEXT
Stony Brook is back on the road for their next contest as they head to Buies Creek, North Carolina, to face-off against Campbell for the first time in program history. Kick-off is set for 5:00 p.m. and the Seawolves CAA-opener can be streamed live on FloFootball.
