ORONO, Maine – The Stony Brook football team battled hard but fell to the Maine Black Bears, 28-21, on Saturday afternoon at Alfond Stadium.
Dez Williams paced the offense for the Seawolves with a season-best 129 yards on nine receptions, including his fourth touchdown of the year.
RJ Lamarre added a career-high 71 yards on eight catches, while
Marqeese Dietz finished with five receptions for 37 yards and
Cole Bunicci added four for 26.
Roland Dempster contributed in both the air and ground game, collecting five catches for 26 yards and rushing for 23 yards with two touchdowns.
Quarterback
Quinn Boyd made his second collegiate start and turned in a career performance. The California native went 33-for-59 for 299 yards, throwing his second touchdown of the season. He also added 10 rushes and continued to show improvement leading the offense.
On defense,
AJ Roberts and Jojo Garcia both recorded their first interceptions of the season and combined for eight tackles.
Anthony Ferrelli led the unit with a season-high 16 stops, while
Chayce Chalmers and
Aidan Kaler posted new season bests with 13 and 12 tackles each. In all, 19 Seawolves recorded at least one tackle.
Clayton Taylor continued to be a steady presence on special teams, punting six times for 247 yards (41.1 average) with four punts inside the 20-yard line, including one downed at the two.
Michael Mannino handled kickoff duties with three for 177 yards and went 4-for-4 on PATs, while Dietz added a 14-yard kickoff return.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Maine won the toss and deferred to the second half, giving Stony Brook the opening possession. The Black Bears recorded a sack and stopped the Seawolves short on third down to force a punt.
- Starting at the SBU 45-yard line, Maine converted on fourth-and-three to move inside the red zone and later connected on an 11-yard touchdown pass to take a 7-0 lead.
- After a kickoff out of bounds, the Seawolves began their next drive at the 35-yard line but were forced to punt after a three-and-out. The Black Bears then broke free for a 45-yard run and followed with a 24-yard rushing touchdown to make it 14-0 midway through the first quarter.
- Stony Brook began to find its rhythm late in the opening period. On third and nine, Boyd connected with Williams for 21 yards and the Seawolves' first first down of the afternoon. However, Maine's defense held strong and forced another punt.
- Taylor's next punt flipped field position, pinning Maine at its own two-yard line. The Seawolves defense, led by Jayson Allen and Aidan Kaler, forced a quick three-and-out, giving Stony Brook the ball near midfield.
- Boyd found Marqeese Dietz for nine yards to start the next drive, but the Seawolves were stopped short on fourth-and-two, turning it over on downs. The defense immediately responded with a stop of its own, as Chayce Chalmers and Franco Milano combined for a tackle for loss, and Ferrelli made the key tackle on fourth down to give the ball back to Stony Brook.
- Boyd connected with Dempster, Williams, and Lamarre on consecutive plays to move into Maine territory, but the drive stalled near midfield, leading to another Taylor punt that pinned the Black Bears deep.
- Maine tried to build momentum with a 12-yard rush, but Stony Brook's defense continued to stand tall, forcing an incompletion on third down and a punt back to the Seawolves.
- Starting from their own 13-yard line, Boyd hit Bunicci twice for key gains, moving the ball to the 38-yard line. Maine's pressure led to a sack on third down, forcing another punt as the first half wound down.
- Ferrelli helped the defense push the Black Bears back with a four-yard tackle for loss before Maine's offense managed to move near midfield. A pass breakup by Garcia nearly resulted in an interception, and on fourth down, Ferrelli and Milano combined again to stop Maine short, giving Stony Brook the ball back with under two minutes left in the half.
- In the two-minute drill, Boyd led the offense quickly down the field with short completions to Lamarre and a highlight one-handed catch from Lamarre for 26 yards. Moments later, Boyd found Williams for a 15-yard touchdown to make it 14-7 heading into halftime.
- Maine opened the second half with a long drive that included a 44-yard pass and ended with a one-yard quarterback sneak for a touchdown, extending the lead to 21-7.
- The Black Bears forced a fumble on Stony Brook's first drive of the half and capitalized with another touchdown pass from 13 yards out to go up 28-7 midway through the third quarter.
- The Seawolves refused to go away quietly. Boyd hit Dietz on third down to extend the drive, and Taylor's next punt again pinned Maine deep. Roberts then made a key interception, giving the offense the ball back at the Maine 28-yard line.
- Boyd moved the Seawolves to the six-yard line before finding Bunicci on fourth down to keep the drive alive. Dempster powered his way into the end zone from a yard out to cut the deficit to 28-14.
- The defense kept the momentum going, forcing a Maine punt early in the fourth quarter after a pass breakup by Ferrelli. Boyd responded with a 32-yard strike to Williams to move near midfield, but the drive ended on downs.
- Garcia came up big in the red zone, intercepting a pass in the end zone to keep the score within reach. Boyd and Dempster connected for a 12-yard gain and a hurdle over a defender to bring the ball into Maine territory, but another fourth-down stop ended the drive with just over three minutes to play.
- The Seawolves defense quickly forced a three-and-out to get the ball back one last time. Boyd led a final push downfield, connecting with Lamarre, Dietz, and Reshard to reach the Maine 30-yard line. After completions to Williams and Lamarre, Stony Brook reached the two-yard line following a pass interference call. Dempster capped off the drive with his second rushing touchdown of the day, making it 28-21.
- Stony Brook's onside kick attempt was recovered by Maine, allowing the Black Bears to hold on for the win.
STATS AND NOTES
- Boyd went 33-for-59 for a career-high 299 yards and his second passing touchdown of the season. His performance marked the most passing yards by a rookie quarterback since Malachi Marshall's 268 against Fordham on Sept. 14, 2023.
- Williams recorded a season-high 129 yards on nine catches, just five yards shy of his career high set last year against Monmouth.
- Lamarre set new career highs with eight receptions and 71 receiving yards.
- Dempster is now second in the CAA with 11 rushing touchdowns this season and is just five yards away from becoming the third player in program history to reach 3,000 rushing yards.
- Ferrelli's 16 tackles marked a new career high and the most by any Seawolf this season.
- Roberts and Garcia each recorded their first interceptions of the season.
- Taylor punted six times for 247 yards, including four punts inside the 20-yard line.
- The Seawolves held Maine scoreless in the second quarter.
- Stony Brook committed just three penalties compared to five by Maine.
- The Seawolves recorded two interceptions for the second time this season (also two vs. Fordham on Sept. 13).
- Stony Brook ran 84 plays compared to 70 by Maine and tallied 299 passing yards to Maine's 188.
- The Seawolves move to 4-7 all-time against the Black Bears.
QUOTES FROM THE SEAWOLVES
"Loved our fight," said Coach Cosh. "We lost the game. Our line of scrimmage play was not good enough at all. Maine played more physical than us."
UP NEXT
The Seawolves return to action next weekend as they host North Carolina A&T on Saturday at 12 p.m. for Heroes Day. The game will be streamed live on FloCollege.
Bring your group out to Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium and enjoy the thrill of gameday, exclusive group benefits, and great discounted pricing to help create an unforgettable experience.
Click here or contact the Stony Brook Athletics ticket office at
631-632-WOLF or seawolvestickets@stonybrook.edu to get started.
More information on each theme and ticket offers will be available throughout the offseason on social media and at StonyBrookAthletics.com.
For an inside look at the Seawolves football program, be sure to follow them on Facebook,
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