Staten Island, NY – Freshman quarterback
Nick Doscher (Staten Island, NY/ Moore Catholic) ran for 123 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 157 yards and one touchdown to lead Wagner to a 49-28 Homecoming Day victory over Sacred Heart.
With the win, which marked the fourth time this season the Seahawks have eclipsed the 40-point mark, Wagner improved to 4-3 on the season, 3-1 in the Northeast Conference (NEC) while the Pioneers fell to 1-6 overall, 1-4 in league play.
This was a wild, see-saw battle, one that featured five lead changes, a combined 902 yards of offense and saw Wagner go the entire game without attempting a single punt .
The Seahawks took an early 14-6 lead. But Wagner had to overcome a 25-21 halftime deficit and did so largely due to the efforts of junior RB
Jeremy Martinez (Brookhaven, NY/Bellport), who ran for a career-high 127 yards on 24 carries and two touchdowns, filling in for freshman
Dominique Williams (Bridgeton, NJ/Milford) who suffered a first quarter leg injury after rushing for 44 yards and a TD on four carries.
Sacred Heart piled up 340 of its 443 yards of offense over the first two quarters led by fullback Brian Friedman who carried the Pioneers with 98 of his 118 yards coming in the first half.
The second half belonged to the Seahawks as Wagner put 28 points on the board and held the Pioneer offense in check, limiting them to one-of-five on third down and 103 total yards. Martinez gave Wagner back the lead at 28-25 with his first of two second half touchdown runs with 10:34 left in the third. The Pioneers tied the game up with 5:45 left in the third as Jason Plescow converted on his third field goal of the afternoon, hitting from 37-yards out to cap a 12-play drive.
The turning point of the game came after the Pioneers turned in a goal line stand on Wagner's next possession. On just the second play of the drive, Sacred Heart QB Dale Fink rolled to his right and looked for tight end Chris Rapp but safety
Chaz Legette (Syracuse, NY/ Nottingham) read the play perfectly and came up with the interception, returning it 21 yards for a TD that gave Wagner the lead for good at 35-28. For Legette, it was his second interception on the afternoon and he added five tackles and a pass breakup.
The Seahawks would tack on two more TDs on a 21-yard strike from Doscher to junior WR
Tyrone Collins (Geneva, NY/ Geneva) while Martinez rounded out the day's scoring with a three-yard TD jaunt with 2:30 left in the game to fashion the final score at 49-28.
Fink wound up completing 20-of-37 passes for 185 yards, one TD and two INTs. His favorite target was WR Steve Tedesco who snared nine passes for 106 yards.
Doscher's 157 yards passing came while completing 11-of-17 passes. His 123 yards rushing came on 19 attempts, giving him 280 yards of total offense. His favorite target was Collins, who had four receptions for a season-high 72 yards while sophomore WR
David Crawford (Carrollton, TX/Hebron) caught two passes for 52 yards, including a 44-yard grab.
Wagner out-gained the Pioneers 459-443 while piling up a season-high 302 yards on the ground. It marked the first time Wagner has rushed for 300 or more yards in a game since the Seahawks totaled 373 yards on the ground at Monmouth on Oct. 13, 2007.
Following the game, Legette was named the recipient of the annual Nick Lia Memorial Defensive Player of the Game while Doscher was awarded the annual James Robb Memorial Offensive Player of the Game.
Wagner is next in action on Saturday, Oct. 31 when the Seahawks travel to Pittsburgh to meet the Dukes of Duquesne in a 1:00 pm kickoff.
FINAL STATS
