Staten Island, NY - Junior DB
Frantz Placide returned a kickoff 89 yards for a TD and blocked two punts, freshman QB
Nick Doscher accounted for 234 yards of total offense while freshman RB
Dominique Williams ran for 101 yards, but it was not enough as Wagner dropped a 41-28 decision to Albany in the season finale for both teams.
Central Connecticut St., which defeated Saint Francis (PA) 14-13, was crowned the 2009 NEC champions. Wagner, which was picked to finish eighth in the NEC preseason poll. wound up with with an overall record of 6-5, 5-3 in the NEC, which places the Seahawks in a tie for third place.
Albany quarterback Vinny Esposito passed for two touchdowns and ran for two scores to pace the Great Danes. Esposito was 14-of-21 passing for 248 yards with his favorite target Tim Bush hauling in five passes for 77 yards.
Albany (7-4, NEC 6-2) had to hold on in the second half after building a 34-14 lead at the intermission. The Seahawks controlled the third quarter and closed to within 34-21 on Doscher's 2-yard run over right tackle with 10:26 left in the stanza. The Seahawks were looking for more points at the end of the period, but
David Lopez missed a 45-yard field goal.
The Great Danes immediately responded with an 8-play, 72-yard drive to start the final quarter. Esposito, who connected on 14 of 21 passes for 248 yards, found Bush with a 29-yard completion on third-and-18 to keep the series alive. RB Justin Gannon capped the series with a 12-yard touchdown run for a 41-20 lead with 11:40 to play. Gannon, who got the majority of the work with David McCarty sidelined by a hip injury, finished with a career-high 86 yards on 19 carries.
Doscher then moved the Seahawks 72 yards to get his draw the Seahawks to within two scores. Doscher worked his way to the right on fourth-and-goal at the Albany 13 and fired a touchdown strike to WR
Justin Matthews, who was wide open in the back of the end zone. Doscher wound up with 156 yards on 12-of-26 passing on the day while rushing for another 78 yards.
But this was as close as the Seahawks would get, as Albany used its rushing attack to run down the clock. Andrew Smith keyed that action and had 98 rushing yards on the afternoon on just 15 attempts. Safety Emerson Kinsey intercepted a Doscher pass on the sideline to seal the outcome with 2:42 to play.
The Great Danes scored twice in a one-minute-and-44-second span of the first quarter to take a 14-0 lead.Smith reached paydirt on an 8-yard run when he faked into the line out of the quarterback position and darted through the middle. After linebacker Jon Morgan recovered a fumble, Esposito, hit Smith, out of the tailback spot, in the right flat with a 9-yard touchdown pass.
Wagner regrouped with a 10-play, 83-yard march behind the Doscher's play. Williams finished off that series with a 28-yard rumble over the right side for a touchdown with 7:32 left in the second quarter. The Great Danes responded with a seven-play drive. Esposito hooked up with McCarty on a 35-yard screen pass, before Smith rushed for 27 yards. Esposito's 14-yard TD pass to fullback Chris Kenneally gave the Great Danes a 21-7 advantage.
Placide took the following kickoff 89 yards to end zone when he broke through a wedge and sped down the right sideline. Albany came back with two scores in the late stages of the period to build the 34-14 halftime lead. Esposito worked his way around right end on an 8-yard option run for the first touchdown. The senior then executed a perfect three-play series from near midfield. He threw a pair of 25-plus yard passes to Gannon and then went over from 1-yard out on a QB sneak.
NOTES – Placide has now scored four special teams touchdowns this season. It was Senior Day on Grymes Hill and Wagner honored its 11 seniors in a pre-game ceremony. The loud and boisterious crowd of 3,335 was a season high.
FINAL STATS
