Box Score FINAL STATS

Albany, NY – In one of the most impressive and potentially significant victories in school history, Wagner dominated Albany in all phases en route to posting its sixth straight win, a convincing 30-0 victory that lifts the Seahawks into first place in the Northeast Conference (NEC).

In posting a result that's sure to raise eyebrows coast to coast, the Seahawks improve to 6-3 on the season, 6-1 in the NEC, while the Great Danes fall to 7-2, 5-1 in conference play. With the victory, Wagner now controls its own fate.

A non-conference home game vs. Holy Cross is next on November 10 before the Green & White play its final game of the regular season vs. NEC rival Duquesne on November 17. A victory over the Dukes would give Wagner a 7-1 NEC mark and send the Seahawks to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (formerly 1-AA) Playoffs for the first time since elevating its program from the Division III level in 1996.
 
Senior quarterback Nick Doscher (Staten Island, NY/ Moore Catholic) completed 10-of-15 passes for 253 yards and two touchdowns, including an 88-yarder to sophomore wide receiver Anthony Carrington (Toms River, NJ/ Toms River) while junior running back Dominique Williams (Bridgeton, NJ/ Milford Academy) motored for 103 yards on 25 hard-fought carries as Wagner raced out to a commanding 27-0 halftime lead en route to the win. For Williams, it marked the 18th time in his 28-game Seahawk career, that he has passed the century mark.
 
The Seahawks' defense, ranked No. 1 in the NEC, did the rest in securing the shutout while limiting Albany to just 188 total yards. The Wagner defensive performance is even more impressive in light of the fact that the Great Danes came in averaging an NEC-best 34.2 points per game.
 
That Wagner was able to put on such a grandiose performance despite enduring a difficult week of preparation is a credit to the all of the student-athletes and coaches in the program. Last Monday night, Hurricane Sandy ravaged the Staten Island community, leaving the college without electricity for five days, and forcing the school's closure an entire week. The Wagner College campus was evacuated last Sunday, one day before the hurricane roared in, and players reconvened on Tuesday. What awaited them was a quiet, desolate pitch dark at night campus, plenty of cold showers and just four days to prepare to play the NEC's only undefeated team, on the road no less.
 
The Wagner defense set the tone early, forcing a three-and-out on the game's first possession which led to a 10-yard punt into a stiff breeze. Taking over at the Albany 39, it took Wagner just four plays and 2:03 to take the early 7-0 lead. A 27-yard third-down completion from Doscher to junior TE Joe Sidaras (Mastic Beach, NY/ William Floyd) keyed the drive and Williams finished it off with an 11-yard TD jaunt.
 
After Wagner forced another three-and-out, the Seahawks took over at their 30 and, with great precision,, marched 70 yards in 10 plays, a drive that was capped when Doscher found his tight end Sidaras open deep in the Albany end zone to make it 14-0. Early in the second quarter, Doscher hit a wide open Carrington in stride on the 88-yard TD hookup. A failed PAT attempt left Wagner in front by a 20-0 count.
 
The Green & White then put together their second sustained drive of the half, covering 72 yards in 12 plays, consuming 7:05 off the clock in taking a 27-0 halftime lead on a seven-yard TD run by Williams with 3:28 left before intermission. Senior kicker David Lopez (Plantation, FL/ American Heritage) then capped the day's scoring by drilling a 40-yard third-quarter field goal.

“First off, I'd like to recognize the many people here at Wagner College that put forth such a tremendous effort in helping to organize and coordinate things so that we had an opportunity to practice and get the things done that we needed to in order to prepare for such a quality opponent,” said Seahawk head coach Walt Hameline. “Everyone on campus, from our President, Dr. Richard Guarasci on down, stepped forward and supported us and it was nice to come back home with a big win.”

“As for the game, I think our kids knew what they were getting into. They knew there was a big game coming up, one that we were excited about, and one in which we knew we had to play really well,” Hameline continued. “The coaches and players did a great job all week and right on through the game. Today, we won all three aspects of the game. I thought a key was when we had the wind with us early in the game to put points up right away. At the end of the day, to get a shutout against a really fine football team, that's a great credit to our kids and coaches.”

The final team statistics were as one-sided as 30-0 final score as Wagner held a major edge in total yards (413-188), rushing yards (160-85), and passing yards (253-103). The Seahawks demoralized Albany all day by going a staggering 12-of-18 on third-down conversions. Playing yet another turnover-free game and converting on so many third down led to an overwhelming 39:02-20:58 Seahawk advantage in time of possession.

Senior linebacker #C.O. Prime# (Laval, Quebec/ Montreal, Canada) led the Seahawk defense with six tackles, while senior linebacker Mike Lombardo (Jupiter, FL/ Jupiter Christian), sophomore cornerback Jarrett Dieudonne (Fort Lauderdale, FL/ Dillard), senior strong safety Sidiq Soulemana (Bronx, NY/DeWitt Clinton/Hudson Valley CC and senior LB Mike Milone (Ho Ho Kus, NJ/ Northern Highlands) had four tackles apiece. Dieudonne also had a team-high three pass breakups and one sack..

Albany played without star senior tailback Drew Smith, the nation's second-leading scorer, who was suspended one game for a violation of team rules. Sophomore Omar Osbourne gained the start and led the Great Danes with 51 yards on 12 carries.

Sophomore quarterback Will Fiacchi completed 18-of-33 passes, but the sound and disciplined Wagner defense limited him to just for 103 yards passing. Defensively, senior Dave Plungas recorded a team-high 11 tackles, including 10 solo. Senior inside linebacker Joe Morgan tallied eight tackles while junior Paul Layton punted seven times in the contest, averaging 43.0 yards, including a career-long and program record 82-yarder.

Post-Game Notes/Milestones/Superlatives
 
WAGNER'S INCREDIBLE STREAK WITHOUT A TURNOVER CONTINUES
 Against Albany, Wagner continued an incredible string as the Seahawks have not committed a single turnover during their entire six-game winning streak. The last turnover committed by the Green & White was way back on September 15 vs. Monmouth with 8:27 left in the fourth quarter when the Hawks picked off a pass thrown by junior QB Kramer Berg (Plymouth, MN/ Wayzata/ Rochester CC). The 38-17 loss to Monmouth put Wagner in a 0-3 hole to start to the season. But Wagner righted the ship in week four with a win at Central Connecticut (31-13), before going on to beat Bryant (31-21), Sacred Heart (12-3), Saint Francis (PA) 31-24 and Robert Morris (23-13).
 
DOSCHER HAS NOW THROWN 143 PASSES WITHOUT AN INTERCEPTION
Senior QB Nick Doscher (Staten Island, NY/ Moore Catholic) played yet another interception-free game against Albany. His 15 attempts today makes it 143 consecutive passes without an interception over a span of 8.5 games (19 consecutive quarters). Incredibly, Doscher has not thrown an interception since the season opener at Florida Atlantic on August 31. With Wagner leading 3-0 in what would in an eventual 7-3 loss, Doscher was picked off in the end zone on a third-and-goal with 3:42 remaining in the first half against the Owls.  t was his 10th pass attempt of the game.
 
DOSCHER 8-1 TD/INT RATIO
Quarterback Nick Doscher's two TD passes vs. Albany give him eight for the season while his lone interception remains a second-quarter pick at Florida Atlantic in the season opener on September 3.

SECOND TIME SEAHAWKS COP SIX NEC WINS
This marks the second time that Wagner has won six NEC games in a season as it matches the win total produced by the 2000 tea m which posted a conference record of 6-2 (6-5 overall).
 
FIRST SIX-GAME OVERALL WIN STREAK SINCE 1988
Wagner's six-game overall winning streak is the longest by the Seahawks since 1988. That year, Wagner sandwiched an eight-game winning streak after losing its season opener and before dropping its season finale.
 
MOST TOTAL WINS IN THREE YEARS
The six wins are the most compiled by a Wagner team overall since 2009 when the Seahawks went 6-5.
 
SECOND WIN ALL-TIME VS. ALBANY
The victory was the second for the Seahawks in 17 tries against Albany and breaks an 11-game losing streak vs. the Great Danes. The only other time that Wagner defeated Albany was on September 23, 2000 when the Green & White out-lasted the Great Danes in a 38-30 shoot-out in a game that was also held on the road.
 
HAMELINE AT 210 WINS…AND COUNTING
Today's win was the 210^th (eighth among active FCS coaches) in the 32-year career of head coach Walt Hameline. His counterpart, Bob Ford, is the FCS active leader in wins with 262.
 
ALBANY ABSORDS FIRST SHUTOUT SINCE 2010
Wagner handed Albany its first shutout since October 16, 2010 when the Great Danes lost at Robert Morris 35-0.
 
FIRST HOME SHUTOUT FOR ALBANY SINCE 2006
The last time that Albany suffered a home shutout was on November 11, 2006 when the Great Danes dropped a 19-0 decision to Monmouth.
 
WAGNER RECORDS FIRST SHUTOUT SINCE 2007
The 30-0 win over Albany came five years to the day when Wagner recorded its last shutout, a 28-0 vanquishing of La Salle on November 3, 2007.
 
WAGNER'S FIRST NEC SHUTOUT SINCE 2001
The 30-0 blanking of Albany represented the Seahawks' first shutout over an NEC opponent since Oct. 19, 2002 when Wagner posted a 7-0 win over Saint Francis (PA). This marked the second consecutive shutout for Wagner that year as the Seahawks blanked Robert Morris 29-0 in their previous game on October 12, 2002.
 
MARGIN OF VICTORY
The 30-point margin of victory vs. Albany was the most lop-sided win recorded by the Seahawks since a 41-7 victory over Cornell (September 18, 2010).
 
MARGIN OF VICTORY IN NEC GAME
The 30-point margin of victory vs. Albany was the widest by a Wagner team in NEC play since October 20, 2001 when the Seahawks defeated Saint Francis (PA) 31-7.