To say that things didn’t go the way of the Stony Brook Seawolves (2-2) in the second half of their matchup with the Sacred Heart Pioneers (4-0) would be an understatement.
The game was tied 10-10 at the half, then Sacred Heart went on a four-touchdown torrent in the latter half of the game for a dominant 38-10 victory at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium on Saturday evening.
“We certainly didn’t have our ‘A-game,’ and we’ll figure out why,” Stony Brook head coach Chuck Priore said. “[Sacred Heart] came out with a little more pizzazz than us in the second half. As the head coach, this falls on my shoulders directly.”
Sacred Heart senior quarterback RJ Noel converted his second 1-yard rushing touchdown of the game with 8:50 remaining in the third quarter. The Pioneers never looked back.
Senior running back Jay Croom added his own 1-yard touchdown, Noel found senior wide receiver Moses Webb for a 14-yard score and senior linebacker Kevin Barry converted a pick-six after intercepting Seawolves sophomore quarterback Joe Carbone to put the game out of Stony Brook’s reach.
Carbone had a rough go of it, as he completed just 8-21 passes for 97 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions.
“I just need to play better,” Carbone said. “[Sacred Heart]’s a really good team, but I don’t think they got our best shot. Their defense did a great job.”
The complexion of the game seemed to change completely in the last minute of the first half. Carbone fumbled the ball with 49 seconds remaining, and Sacred Heart took over.
“That was a big play,” Carbone said. “That was one of the turning points in the game. It gave them a lot of momentum. I just have to throw [that ball] away.”
Following a last-minute drive, Pioneers senior kicker Alec Finney notched a 33-yard field goal that tied the game at 10 as time expired in the second quarter.
Then Sacred Heart ran away with the game and the momentum shift was apparent in the second half.
Speaking of momentum, the Seawolves seemed to lack it in this game after last week’s victory over Richmond, which was arguably the biggest win in the program’s history.
“I give Sacred Heart a lot of credit,” Priore said. “I don’t think it’s really fair for me to take anything away from Sacred Heart. They deserved to win and outplayed us. Hopefully, we’ll be able to put this [game] in the closet, close the door and move forward.”
The lone bright spot for Stony Brook from the defeat to Sacred Heart was redshirt junior running back Stacey Bedell tacking on another touchdown, his fifth of the season. Bedell, who found the endzone four times last weekend, converted a 3-yard run to tie the game at seven late in the first quarter.
However, it was Stony Brook’s lone touchdown in the game.
The Seawolves have a bye week upcoming on Oct.1 and they will look to rebound when they visit Towson on Oct. 8.
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