STONY BROOK, N.Y. - The Stony Brook football team earned their first victory of the season after
Chris Zellous tossed three touchdowns, rushed for another one, and combined for 308 total yards to lead the Seawolves to a 41-18 victory over Fordham on Saturday afternoon at LaValle Stadium.
Zellous had a highlight afternoon for the Seawolves in his third start, going 21-of-28 for 260 passing yards and three touchdown passes. He also rushed 12 times for 48 yards and a touchdown in the victory. The graduate student finished with a 181.2 passer rating and had a 75% completion percentage.
Roland Dempster kept his surgence on the ground this afternoon as the graduate totaled 94 yards on 18 carries, including a long of 19 yards.
Ikaika Ragsdale finished his day with 18 yards on four carries, while MarQeese Dietz and
Dez Williams combined for 19 yards on the ground.
The Stony Brook defense was led by
DaMario Crawford, who recorded the first interception for a touchdown this season by the Seawolves, also tallying five tackles.
Dyshier Clary paced the Seawolves upfront by tallying two sacks, three tackles for loss, and eight total tackles.
Anthony Ferrelli also had an interception, forced fumble, and eight tackles, while
Chayce Chalmers and
Aidan Kaler both tallied a team-best nine tackles in the victory.
Michael Mannino paced the special teams for the Seawolves by tallying a 49-yard kick, the longest made field goal in program history.
Enda Kirby also made a field goal, a 26-yard kick.
Clayton Taylor controlled the punting game by tallying five punts for 202 yards, including a long of 63 yards, three inside the 20, and one inside the 10.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Stony Brook got the ball first this afternoon. After back-to-back rushes by MarQueese Dietz, the Seawolves got a first down to the 50-yard line. Chris Zellous and Cole Bunicci connected for a nine-yard gain, and Roland Dempster later tallied a 19-yard rush to put the Seawolves on the Fordham 15-yard line. Enda Kirby would later connect on the 26-yard kick to give Stony Brook an early 3-0 lead.
- The Seawolves' defense went to work in their first drive. On third and six, Cam Johnson came up with the pass break-up to force a punt with 10:12 remaining in the first quarter.
- After a Seawolves punt on the ensuing drive, Fordham got a first down before a sack by Sebastian Regis and a dropped snap on fourth down allowed Stony Brook to get the football on downs.
- Stony Brook got the football back with 6:17 remaining in the first quarter. Dempster got the drive going with a 10-yard gain and a connection from Zellous to Dietz for seven yards before the Rams held the Seawolves on fourth down to force a turnover on downs.
- The defense by Stony Brook came up with another three-and-out, with Johnson making the tackle on third and six to force the punt.
- With 2:35 on their own eight-yard line, the Seawolves started their next drive. Bunicci would get the Seawolves to the 24-yard line after his reception, and they advanced to the 44-yard line from a 24-yard reception from Ikaika Ragsdale. However, the Seawolves would be forced to punt following a holding penalty. Clayton Taylor sent a punt to the 10-yard line, giving Fordham the ball with 13:06 left in the second quarter.
- On the Rams' first play of the drive, Anthony Ferrelli delivered the Seawolves the ball with an interception to give Stony Brook the ball on the eight-yard line. On the next play, Zellous ran into the end zone to make the score 10-0.
- The Rams went down the field on their next drive, taking the ball to the Stony Brook two-yard line. However, DaMario Crawford came up with the field goal block on fourth down and Cam Johnson recovered to give possession back to Stony Brook.
- Following the punt by Stony Brook, the Seawolves forced a three-and-out with 3:55 left in the half to take the ball.
- With Stony Brook getting the ball on the Fordham 45-yard line, Michael Mannino came up with the 49-yard field goal to give Stony Brook a 13-0 lead. The Seawolves would force another stop to keep the 13-point lead into the break.
- To start the second half, Dyshier Clary recorded two sacks on the opening drive to force a three-and-out.
- After an interception by Zellous on the Seawolves' next drive, Jojo Garcia broke up a pass in the end zone to force a Fordham field goal from 24 yards to make the score 13-3.
- Following the turnover by Stony Brook, Fordham capitalized on a 35-yard reception by Worrell to cut their deficit to 13-10.
- With 8:14 left in the third quarter, the Seawolves started their next drive on their own five-yard line. After a two-yard rush by Dempster, Zellous and Dietz connected for 93 yards, the second-longest play in program history, to give themselves a 20-10 lead.
- After the touchdown, the Stony Brook defense held again with a three-and-out that allowed Stony Brook to take the ball with 6:31 left in the third quarter.
- In their next drive, Stony Brook went down the field on nine plays for 74 yards that resulted in a touchdown from Zellous to Freeman, allowing the Seawolves to go up 27-10.
- Anthony Ferrelli came up with a tackle for loss on the next Fordham drive to force a punt with 13:52 remaining in the game.
- The Seawolves went on to score on their next drive with a 15-yard connection from Zellous to Freeman, putting Stony Brook up 34-10.
- Following the touchdown, Stony Brook got back on the scoreboard with a 52-yard interception return for a touchdown by DaMario Crawford to give Stony Brook a 41-10 advantage.
- After Fordham scored with 2:48 remaining to make the score 41-18, the Stony Brook defense held the Rams scoreless on their final drive to secure the victory at LaValle Stadium.
STATS AND NOTES
- Mannino broke Tampa native Wesley Skiffington's 48-yard record from 2012 at Gardner-Webb with his 49-yard made kick.
- Zellous had 260 yards passing on 21-of-28 in the air, also tallying 48 yards on the ground over 12 carries with four total touchdowns.
- Freeman caught two touchdown passes, catching three total passes for 47 yards in the victory. It was the first time a Seawolf caught two touchdown passes since Dez Williams vs. Monmouth (11/16/24). He now has nine for his career, the most on the roster.
- Kaler tied the team-high with nine tackles this afternoon, also marking his new season-best.
- For the second game in a row, Chalmers paced the team in tackles by tying the team-high with nine.
- Ferrelli recorded his first career interception in the victory.
- Leath tallied five tackles this evening, the first tackles of the rookie's career.
- Dyshier Clary became the first player since Rodney Faulk against UNH on Nov. 26, 2024, to tally two sacks in a game. He also recorded a career-high eight tackles.
- The Seawolves tallied 441 yards compared to the 287 by Fordham, including 260 passing yards compared to Fordham's 163.
- The Stony Brook receivers tallied 171 yards after the catch while Fordham only tallied 52.
- The Seawolves' defense tallied 10 tackles for loss against just three by the Rams.
- Stony Brook holds a 17-11 record against teams that are currently in the Patriot League, having played against six current football member institutions.
- Among the 2025 current Patriot League members, Stony Brook has faced Lehigh (1-1), Bucknell (2-0), Lafayette (1-0), Colgate (4-1), Fordham (5-4), and Richmond (4-4).
- Stony Brook moves to 5-4 all-time against Fordham.
QUOTES FROM THE SEAWOLVES
UP NEXT
The Stony Brook Seawolves are back in action next weekend as they head to Missouri to take on Lindenwood University. Kick-off is set for 7:00 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
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.
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