by Mary O’Connor
Seawolves football’s Miguel Maysonet was swift on the field against Big South rival Gardner-Webb University on Saturday, Oct. 20, rushing for 244 yards, including a 52-yard touchdown in the first half, and a 75-yard score off a kick return in the second half.
Stony Brook dictated the pace of the game all afternoon, both offensively and defensively, and emerged with a 41-10 home victory.
Junior Grant Nakwaasah dominated on the defensive side of the ball, making nine tackles, and contained Gardner-Webb’s offense. The Seawolves held Gardner-Webb’s offense to just 111 yards in the second half.
After the game coach Chuck Priore commented on the performance, saying, “I thought we had good focus all week. We practice hard and were prepared to be successful. The key to success is taking care of what we need to do Sunday through Friday. Saturdays are supposed to be fun.”
It was a red-out for the 5,500 fans at LaValle Stadium and it was the fifth straight win for Stony Brook, which has won its first three games in Big South play for a fourth consecutive season. Since joining the Big South for the start of the 2008 season, the Seawolves are 22-4, with only one home loss.
After the game, Victor Ochi, a defensive lineman for the Seawolves analyzed Stony Brook’s performance.
“The game went well, we were dominant on both sides of the ball. The offense came on and exploded when we needed them to,” he said.
As the whistle sounded for the end of the first half, The Seawolves were up by just ten, but when they came back onto the field, they executed and extended their lead.
Kyle Essington, the Stony Brook quarterback, completed 11 of 17 passes and had an excellent second half. He connected twice for touchdowns to Kevin Norrell, including a 30-yard score in the third quarter, and a 27-yarder midway through the fourth quarter to round out the scoring.
Matt Faiella, a fullback for Stony Brook commented on his team’s performance, saying “They were a tough team, but we were more skillful and dominated in the second half.”
Stony Brook’s next game is against Presbyterian, and will be played on Saturday in Clinton, South Carolina.
