ALBANY, N.Y. – The Stony Brook defense secured its second consecutive Golden Apple victory with a dominant 47-12 win over the Great Danes on Saturday afternoon in Albany. The win marked Stony Brook's largest margin of victory and highest point total in Golden Apple history.
QB
Chris Zellous led the way for the Seawolves on the offensive side in the win. The graduate student finished the day with 272 total yards, tying his season-high with four total touchdowns. He went 20-of-30 for 241 yards through the air, tossing one touchdown, and added 31 yards on 10 carries with a season-high three rushing touchdowns.
Roland Dempster was all over the stat sheet in the win. The running back posted his third 100-yard rushing game of the season, finishing with 105 yards on 20 carries and his sixth touchdown of the year. He also added a season-best 61 receiving yards on a season-high five receptions, wrapping up the day with 166 total yards.
Dez Williams was a threat all afternoon out wide, leading the team with 87 yards on a team-best six receptions and a touchdown.
Jayce Freeman contributed 40 yards on three catches, while
Justin Reshard recorded a season-high 21 yards on two catches.
Marqeese Dietz, in his first game back at UAlbany since transferring to Stony Brook, hauled in four catches for 27 yards.
Dyshier Clary led the defense, tying for the team-high with five tackles, including three tackles for loss, one sack, a fumble recovery, and a quarterback hurry.
Bryson Parker snagged an interception, while
AJ Roberts and
Franco Milano each recorded a sack.
Aidan Kaler and Anthony Ferelli also tied for the team-high with five tackles.
Michael Mannino made an impact on special teams, connecting on two field goals—including a 46-yarder—and making four extra points.
Clayton Taylor had two punts, including one that pinned UAlbany inside the five-yard line, setting up a Stony Brook touchdown.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- UAlbany received the ball to start the game. On their first drive, the Seawolves defense forced a three-and-out, with coverage by Miles McGoy leading to an incompletion on third down with 13:45 remaining in the first quarter.
- Zellous and Freeman got things rolling with a 24-yard pass followed by a 7-yard catch to move the ball to the UAlbany 49. A few plays later, UAlbany came up with a fourth-down stop at their 35-yard line to regain possession with 9:06 left in the first.
- UAlbany opened their next drive with gains of 10 and 35 yards, reaching the Stony Brook 21-yard line. But the Seawolves defense held firm, and a third-down incompletion forced a 34-yard field goal that gave UAlbany a 3-0 lead with 7:12 left in the first.
- Stony Brook answered quickly. After a five-yard run by Dempster and a 12-yard pass to Dietz, Dempster broke free for a 20-yard run, followed by a 13-yard connection to Williams. Dempster capped the drive with an 8-yard touchdown rush to give the Seawolves a 7-3 lead.
- The Stony Brook defense went back to work, forcing another UAlbany punt before the end of the first quarter.
- The Seawolves marched down the field on a 13-play, 57-yard drive. Dez Williams contributed 15 receiving yards and Dempster added a 22-yard gain, but the drive ended with a missed 31-yard field goal.
- The Great Danes moved the ball near midfield but were stopped on third and four, giving the Seawolves the ball back with 5:20 remaining in the half.
- After a three-and-out by Stony Brook, UAlbany moved to the Stony Brook 16-yard line, but pressure by Rodney Faulk forced a third-down incompletion. A 33-yard field goal cut the lead to 7-6.
- Stony Brook responded with a quick drive just before halftime. Zellous hit Williams for a highlight-reel 35-yard sideline catch, and Freeman drew a pass interference to move the ball inside the five. Mannino capped the 74-yard drive with a 46-yard field goal, extending the lead to 10-6 at halftime.
- The Seawolves received the ball to start the second half and immediately set the tone. After quick gains from Freeman, Williams, and Dempster, Zellous broke loose for a 26-yard touchdown run to make it 17-6.
- UAlbany's next drive was short-lived. Dyshier Clary recorded a tackle for loss on the first play, and Bryson Parker followed with an interception on the next.
- Dempster and Zellous connected on a 27-yard pass, aided by a penalty that brought the ball to the 11. Zellous punched it in on a one-yard run to make it 24-6.
- After another UAlbany three-and-out, the Seawolves drove again to the UAlbany 36 before a turnover on downs. The defense again stood strong, forcing another punt.
- Stony Brook kept the pressure on. Ragsdale rushed for 16 yards on three carries, and Zellous connected with Williams for a 17-yard touchdown pass to make it 31-6.
- The defense remained relentless. McGoy broke up a pass and stopped a run, while Clary added a third-down sack to force another punt.
- Taylor pinned UAlbany at their own 4-yard line with a 52-yard punt. On the next play, AJ Roberts recorded a sack and forced a fumble, recovered by Clary at the one-yard line. Zellous followed with his third rushing touchdown of the day to push the score to 37-6.
- UAlbany responded with a 47-yard touchdown pass but missed the two-point conversion, cutting the lead to 37-12.
- Casey Case entered at quarterback for the Seawolves with under 12 minutes remaining. Ragsdale opened the drive with a 9-yard run, and Case found Reshard for a first down. Ragsdale added a 13-yard run to set up a 34-yard field goal by Mannino, making it 40-12.
- Dylan Harris capped the day with a touchdown run with 2:07 left, sealing a 47-12 Golden Apple victory.
STATS AND NOTES
- Zellous recorded his third game of the season with at least 200 passing yards and his fourth with 30+ rushing yards. He now has a passing touchdown in four straight games, with seven total in that span. His three rushing touchdowns were a season-high.
- Freeman has four straight games with at least three catches and 40+ yards. He added 20 kick return yards in the win.
- Dempster now has five touchdowns in the last three games and back-to-back 100-yard rushing performances. His 166 total yards marked his second 150+ yard game this season.
- Clary posted his second game this season with at least 3.0 tackles for loss. His sack marked 3.5 in the last four games.
- Roberts recorded a sack for the second straight week and forced his first fumble of the season.
- Parker grabbed his first interception of the season and has tallied at least one tackle in every game this year.
- Stony Brook totaled 473 yards on 80 plays, compared to UAlbany's 198 yards on 52 plays. The Seawolves posted 250 passing yards and 223 rushing yards, while UAlbany had just 50 rushing and 148 passing yards.
- This marked the largest-ever win over UAlbany, surpassing the previous mark from the 2021 season (22 points). The 47 points were also the most Stony Brook has ever scored against UAlbany, eclipsing their 40-point mark from their first meeting on Nov. 23, 1995.
- Stony Brook improves to 12-15 all-time against UAlbany and has now won the last two matchups. This was the 27th meeting in 30 seasons and the 12th straight year since both joined the CAA.
QUOTES FROM THE SEAWOLVES
"Found a way to win," said head coach
Billy Cosh. "We played much better in the second half. I'm really proud of the resilience from our guys. Our offense got going in the second half, our defense played really well the whole game. We started playing together and it was great to see our response. We need to keep getting better with the bye-week and Monmouth coming."
UP NEXT
The Stony Brook football team will have next week off for their bye and return to action on Sept. 18, heading to West Long Branch, N.J., to face No. 14 Monmouth. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on FloCollege.
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