STONY BROOK, N.Y. – The Stony Brook football team defended the den this afternoon as they defeated Merrimack, 35-10, at LaValle Stadium in their final non-conference game of the season.
Roland Dempster paced the Stony Brook offense tonight, rushing for 114 yards on 17 carries and also adding a reception for seven yards in the victory. Dempster had his fourth career three-touchdown game after he completed the day with three rushing touchdowns to lead the Seawolves to victory.
Ikaika Ragsdale also added 14 rushing yards on four carries in the win.
Zellous continues to lead the Seawolves at quarterback as he finished with 281 total yards, a touchdown, and an interception. Through the air, Zellous was 13-of-22 for 167 yards and threw a touchdown for a 128.8 passer rating. On the ground, the QB rushed for 117 yards on 17 carries, averaging 6.9 yards per carry.
Seven different Stony Brook receivers had a reception this afternoon, with
Jayce Freeman leading the way with three receptions for 75 yards.
Marqeese Dietz had a team-high four receptions for 41 yards, while
Dez Williams caught his first touchdown pass of the season.
RJ Lamarre and
Cole Bunicci combined for three catches for 48 yards.
Justin Reshard also made his third reception of the season.
The Stony Brook defense made a major impact today, allowing their fewest points and yards this season. Leading the way was
Anthony Ferrelli, tallying a team-high 11 tackles with 1.5 sacks.
AJ Roberts had a team-high 2.0 tackles for loss, while
Franco Milano and
Dyshier Clary both recorded sacks in the win.
DaMario Crawford and
Aidan Kaler were all over the stat sheet this afternoon. Crawford tallied eight tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and a team-best two pass breakups. Kaler had a team-high three quarterback hurries with nine tackles and 0.5 tackle for loss.
Michael Mannino and
Enda Kirby both made field goals in the victory for the Seawolves today. Mannino tied his program record by making a 49-yard field goal, and Kirby connected on his 39-yard kick.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Seawolves received the football to start the game this afternoon. Dempster got the drive going after his runs of six and 15 yards gave the Seawolves the ball at the Merrimack 32-yard line. Mannino came through with the points for the Seawolves as he tied his program record by making a 49-yard field goal to give Stony Brook a 3-0 lead with 12:04 left in the first quarter.
- The Stony Brook defense went to work as back-to-back tackles for loss by Sebastian Regis and Aidan Kaler led to a three-and-out for the Warriors, giving Stony Brook the football back with 10:23 left in the first quarter.
- Dempster and Dietz got the Seawolves started on their next drive with a run of 13 yards and a reception of nine yards to put the ball at the Merrimack 39-yard line. Ikaika Ragsdale came up with a 7-yard run on third down to keep the drive alive. Later in the drive, on fourth and one at the Merrimack 26-yard line, the Warriors stopped the Seawolves to force a turnover on downs with 5:46 left in the first quarter.
- Merrimack moved to their own 46-yard line before the Seawolves forced a punt with less than three minutes left in the first quarter.
- Beginning their next drive at their own 11-yard line, Zellous and Freeman connected for a 25-yard gain, and a nine-yard rush by Zellous put the Seawolves at their 45-yard line. A few plays later, Zellous and Dez Williams connected for a three-yard passing touchdown, making the score 10-3.
- The Stony Brook defense continued to pace the team by forcing another three-and-out with 15 seconds left in the first quarter following a pass breakup by Bryson Parker.
- To begin the second quarter, the Warriors got a sack on third down to force a Stony Brook punt to the Merrimack 28-yard line.
- On their next drive, the Warriors went down the field on 13 plays for 72 yards that took nearly seven minutes, resulting in a touchdown to make the score 10-7.
- The Seawolves started their next drive with 6:54 remaining in the half at the 25-yard line following the touchback. Zellous and Freeman connected down the sideline for a highlight-reel play that put the Seawolves at the Merrimack 45-yard line. Stony Brook would settle for a 39-yard field goal to make the score 13-7 in favor of the Seawolves with less than five minutes remaining in the half.
- After Stony Brook forced a punt, the Seawolves offense went seven plays for 72 yards that resulted in a two-yard rushing touchdown by Dempster to make the score 20-7. Merrimack rushed out the clock to end the half down 13 points.
- Merrimack received the ball to start the second half of play. AJ Roberts and Franco Milano both tallied a sack that led to a punt by the Warriors with 11:24 remaining in the 3rd quarter.
- The Seawolves started their next drive with a 13-yard rush by Dempster to put the ball at the Merrimack 45-yard line. After a connection from Zellous to Dietz for eight yards, Williams and Zellous connected for another seven yards to put the ball at the Merrimack 24-yard line. A few plays later, Dempster rushed it in from five yards out to take a 26-7 lead. Zellous and Williams connected on the two-point conversion to take a 28-7 advantage.
- Following the touchdown, the Stony Brook defense held strong and forced a punt on the Merrimack 36-yard line with less than six minutes remaining in the third quarter.
- Merrimack recorded a blocked punt with 4:21 left in the third, giving themselves the football at the Stony Brook 20-yard line. The Seawolves forced an incompletion on third down that gave the Warriors a field goal from 49 yards, which Merrimack connected on to cut their deficit to 28-10.
- Stony Brook embarked on their next drive with four minutes remaining in the third quarter. Zellous and Dietz connected for a 15-yard pass as RJ Lamarre recovered the fumble on the play. The Seawolves drove down to the Merrimack 29-yard line before a missed field goal gave Merrimack the ball with less than a minute left in the third quarter. Alhaji Kamara came up with a pass breakup on second down and Faulk had a quarterback pressure on third down to force a punt heading into the fourth quarter.
- Following an interception by Zellous, Merrimack got the football trailing 28-10 with 13:39 remaining at their own 30-yard line. The Seawolves defense held strong, getting a turnover on downs with 9:27 left in the game.
- Stony Brook began their next drive on their own 41-yard line. Zellous got the Seawolves started with a 16-yard rush that put the ball on the Merrimack 39-yard line. A few plays later, Zellous had 27-yard and 13-yard rushes that put the ball at the two-yard line. Dempster rushed it in for his third touchdown of the day, making the score 35-10.
- Dyshier Clary and Anthony Ferrelli put the game to rest with a sack as time expired on the Stony Brook 9-yard line to keep the Warriors scoreless on the drive and secure the 35-10 victory at LaValle Stadium.
STATS AND NOTES
- Roland recorded his fourth career three-touchdown rushing game this afternoon. The running back ended his day with 114 rushing yards and 121 total yards. He has now eclipsed 100 total yards in four of five games this season and has five rushing touchdowns, the second most in the CAA.
- Zellous had a career-high 117 rushing yards in the victory and also threw for 167 yards and a touchdown. He now has over 50 rushing yards in three of five games and has tossed for at least 150 yards in his last three. He now has eight total touchdowns this season, leading the team.
- Freeman continues to shine, finishing with 75 yards on three catches. He now has 253 receiving yards in his last two games and leads the team with 308 yards this season.
- Mannino tied his own program record with his 49-yard made field goal in the victory.
- Ferrelli had double-digit tackles in the second consecutive game, finishing with 11 and recording his first sack of the season. He leads the team with 45.0 tackles this year.
- Roberts had a season-high seven tackles in the win. He also recorded his first sack and two tackles for loss.
- Milano tied his season-high with five tackles, including his second sack of the season.
- Stony Brook scored 32 of their 35 points in the red zone this afternoon.
- The Seawolves had nine tackles for loss in the victory. They allowed only four.
- Stony Brook had four penalties called against them compared to 12 by Merrimack this afternoon.
- The Seawolves tied their season-high with 4.0 sacks and set a new season-high with six quarterback hurries.
- Stony Brook tallied 251 rushing yards this afternoon, their most of the season.
- The Seawolves allowed just 61 passing yards, their lowest of the season.
- Stony Brook moves 3-0 all-time against Merrimack.
QUOTES FROM THE SEAWOLVES
UP NEXT
The Stony Brook football team hits the road next weekend as the squad will look to defend their Golden Apple against UAlbany on Oct. 4. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. and can 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.
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