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GAME NOTES

Wagner (3-4, 1-2 NEC) and Robert Morris (2-5, 1-2) wil meet for the 15th time on the girdiron in a series that began in 1994 on Saturday at 1:00 pm at Wagner College Stadium.

Seahawks Fans Urged to Join Coach Hameline in the Fight vs. Muscular Dystrophy
During the Robert Morris game, Walt Hameline and his assistants will be among the many college football coaches from around the country that are joining together to fight another opponent – Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. 

By wearing an arm band with the Coach to Cure MD insignia, coaches will show their support for Coach to Cure MD, the American Football Coaches Association's (AFCA) newest charitable project.

Seahawk fans will be able to donate to muscular dystrophy research either online at CoachToCureMD.org or by texting the word “CURE” to 90999 to automatically donate $5 from their mobile phones.

“College football is a team game and all of us in the coaching profession are asking football fans to help us defeat the Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy,” said Grant Teaff, a coaching legend at Baylor University, who is now the Executive Director of the American Football Coaches Association.

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is the most common fatal genetic disorder diagnosed during childhood. Because the Duchenne gene is found on the X-chromosome, it primarily affects boys and occurs across all races and cultures.

Boys and young men with Duchenne lack dystrophin, a protein critical to the structural stability of muscle fibers. Patients develop progressive muscle weakness that eventually causes loss of mobility, wheelchair dependency and a decline in respiratory and cardiac function. Currently, there is no cure for Duchenne and limited therapeutic options exist.

The Matchup
Wagner head coach Walt Hameline and Robert Morris head man Joe Walton have been the coaches for all 14 previous meetings and the Colonials lead the series 9-5. This year's matchup features a pair of teams who are tied for fifth place in the NEC with identical 1-2 records. The Colonials are coming off a 20-7 non-conference loss at Bryant while the Seahawks snapped a three-game losing streak last Saturday with a 17-13 come-from-behind victory at Saint Francis (PA). The teams have faced just two common opponents thus far and are each 0-2 vs. these foes. In addition to the 20-7 loss at Bryant, Robert Morris dropped a 34-26 home decision to Monmouth. Wagner, meanwhile, lost home games to Bryant (24-14) and Monmouth (31-17).

Abbey Moving up the Charts
QB Matt Abbey (La Canada, CA/ St. Francis) was the Seahawk starter the past two seasons but was beaten out in a competitive preseason battle by junior Adam Farnsworth (North Ogden, UT/Snow CC), a University of Iowa transfer. Farnsworth started the first five games of the season and completed more than 65% of his passes before suffering an injury at Central Connecticut St. (Oct. 4). Abbey took over for Farnsworth in the second quarter of that game, then started and went the whole way vs. Monmouth (10/11) and last week at Saint Francis (PA). Abbey completed 13-of-24 passes for 157 yards and two TDs vs. the Hawks and was 15-of-35 for 229 yards and one TD vs. the Red Flash. In recording the sixth 200-yard plus passing game of his career, Abbey continues his march through the Wagner all-time career lists. During the Saint Francis (PA) game, he became just the third QB in Wagner history to surpass the 300-completion mark. He now has 311 career completions, and needs just three to pass Terry O'Hare (313, 1991-92) for second place on the Seahawk all-time list. Abbey now stands sixth on the all-time career passing yardage list with 3821 yards. He is 50 yards away from passing O'Hare (3,870, 1991-92) for fifth on the all-time list and needs 75 yards to pass Greg Kovar (3895, 1985-88) for fourth place in Wagner history.

The Coaches
Walt Hameline is in his 28th season as the head man at Wagner. He became the winningest coach in Wagner College history in 1990, and boasts a .656 winning percentage at 189-101-2, which ranks in the top 10 among active FCS coaches in the United States. In 1987, Hameline led Wagner to the Division III National Championship. He is one just three NEC coaches remaining in their positions since NEC football was formed in 1996, along with Joe Walton of Robert Morris and Kevin Callahan of Monmouth. Walton was named RMU's first head football coach on July 27, 1993. He started the program from scratch, including everything from hiring assistant coaches to purchasing equipment to recruiting student-athletes for the team's inaugural season. In 2004,he had the University's on-campus football stadium named in his honor. Joe Walton Stadium hosted its first football game in 2005. His record at Robert Morris is 87-60.