Sept. 10, 2005

Box Score

(Sept. 10, New Rochelle, NY) - The Wagner College football team improved to 2-0 on the 2005 season with a 14-0 win at Iona (1-1) this afternoon at the Gaels' Mazzella Field. Wagner has now won nine straight games over Iona and 15 of the 16 meetings between the schools. The Seahawks shut out the Gaels for the eighth time and notched their first shutout since a 7-0 win over St. Francis (PA) in October of 2002.

Wagner senior QB John Sciarra (La Canada, CA) completed 22 of 41 passes for a game-high 264 yards including touchdown passes of one and 43 yards. Senior WR Shaun Grover (Cheshire, CT) matched a career-high with eight receptions and set a new career-high with 132 yards, including the fourth quarter, 43-yard TD grab. Junior Warren Barnett (Springfield, MA), graduate student Marcus Wilson (Staten Island, NY) and sophomore Aliga Betts (Pembroke Pines, FL) all rushed for over 30 yards apiece as the Green & White tallied 118 yards on the ground.

Defensively for Wagner, red-shirt sophomore Thomas Davis (Syracuse, NY) made a career-best ten tackles including a sack while senior linebacker Craig Romano (Syracuse, NY) made seven stops including his third career interception. Sophomore defensive back Jason Butler (Syracuse, NY) recorded two first quarter interceptions while Al Phillips (Hialeah, FL) intercepted his first pass of the season in the end zone to thwart an Iona drive.

In the first quarter, Butler intercepted an Iona pass at midfield and seven plays later Wagner cashed in on the turnover when Sciarra hit Barnett out of the backfield on a play-action pass from a yard out. Piotr Czech's (Keyport, NJ) PAT gave the Seahawks a 7-0 lead.

Wagner drove down the field inside the Gael five yard line on two separate occasions, once in the second quarter and once in the third quarter, only to fumble the football away both times.

With two minutes remaining in the third quarter Iona had a long completed touchdown pass called back due to a holding penalty and with seven minutes to go in the game, Iona had a fourth and one from the Wagner nine yard line but the Seahawk defense held its ground as junior defensive end Antonio Pinder (Brooklyn, NY) sliced into the backfield to stop Iona running back Rudy Arcara.

Wagner's second score came at the 14:53 mark of the final period as Sciarra hit a streaking Grover down the middle for the 43-yard touchdown that capped a five-play, 56-yard drive.

Notes... The victory marks the fourth straight season the Seahawks have started 2-0 and eleventh time in Head Coach Walt Hameline's 25 seasons... It was the sixth consecutive Wagner victory over a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) school dating back to 2003 and the Seahawks have won eight of the last nine games over MAAC opponents... Sciarra's 43-yard TD pass was the second longest of his Green & White career (68-yarder to Joe Kinard vs SHU (10/2/04)... Wagner recorded four interceptions in a game for the first time since Nov. 3, 2001... The Iona Athletic Department collected more $1,000 that will be donated to the Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund.