FINAL STATS

Staten Island, NY - Sophomore quarterback Nick Doscher (Staten Island, NY / Moore Catholic) threw for a career-high 261 yards while leading the team on the ground with 62 yards and matching his career-best with three touchdowns in the air as Wagner posted a 29-21 win over Bryant in Northeast Conference (NEC) play at the Wagner College Stadium. With the victory, the Green & White improve to 2-2 and 1-1 in the NEC while the Bulldogs fall to 3-2 and 0-2 in the NEC.

Also having a monster game was senior defensive end Mike Cox (West Hempstead, NY / Friends Academy). The UConn transfer had 4.5 tackles for loss, including 2.5 sacks and a safety.

The game was not without entertainment as Bryant had the ball in Wagner territory with just under a minute to go, only to have the ball snapped over the quarterback's head before junior Quintin Anderson (Rochester, NY / Penfield) snared the loose ball to clinch the Seahawks' first conference win of the year and the 197th for 30th-year coach Walt Hameline.

Doscher, who was limited to just 46 passing yards and 23 on the ground in a 6-2 loss to Bryant a year ago, was 13-for-27 in the air for his 261 yards while completing passes to seven different receivers as three different players scored. Junior David Crawford (Carrollton, TX / Hebron) led the way with three catches for a career-best 107 yards while senior Justin Matthews (Hillside, NJ / Hillside) recorded three catches for 80 yards, including a 62-yard receiving touchdown. Also snaring a team-high three passes for 35 yards was graduate student Chris Jaeger (Sterling, VA / Potomac Falls) while scoring his first collegiate touchdown. 

The Bulldogs took the early 7-0 lead on Jordan Brown's one-yard plunge with 12:18 to go in the opening period. Bryant started at the Wagner three-yard line after Tyler Carter blocked a Seahawk punt.

Wagner immediately responded, driving all the way down to the Bryant five yard line, before Doscher fumbled the ball on a rushing attempt. The Bulldogs took over at their own four-yard line but could not escape their own end as Cox wrapped up quarterback Mike Croce for a safety, making it 7-2 with 9:34 to play in the first. The Seahawks then busted off a 10-play, 44-yard scoring drive on the ensuing possession, capped by a David Lopez (So., Plantation, FL / American Heritage) 35-yard field goal with 5:18 remaining in the first.

After forcing a Bryant punt, Wagner faced another third and long, but once again the Seahawks rose to the challenge. Doscher hit Matthews on a 62-yard scoring strike down the right side of the field on the first play of the second quarter, making it 12-7, following the Lopez extra point.

The Bulldogs rallied to retake the lead on a big third down conversion of their own. Jordan Brown took a Mike Croce screen pass 48 yards on third and 16 while making a bevy of Seahawk defenders miss en route to making it 13-12, as the snap on the extra point was muffed.

Wagner immediately responded with an 11-play, 66-yard scoring march, capped by a six-yard touchdown pass from Doscher to Jaeger with 3:20 before halftime. Following the Lopez extra point, the Seahawks assumed a 19-13 lead. Lopez would add a 30-yard field goal, making it 22-13 at intermission.

In the third quarter, the Green & White appeared poised to add to the lead. On their second offensive play of the half, Doscher hooked up with Crawford on a 57-yard pass to the Bryant 14. However, the Bulldogs forced a fumble at the three-yard line and recovered in the end zone to temporarily evade trouble.

Wagner would get the ball back in excellent territory on another poor snap from the Bryant special teams on a punt attempt, resulting in the Seahawk ball on the Bulldog 29-yard line. Doscher made the opposition pay with his third touchdown pass of the game, an 18-yard strike to sophomore Dan Ford (Staten Island, NY / St. Peter's) on third and long. After the Lopez extra point, Wagner assumed an insurmountable 29-13 lead.

Bryant would immediately get that touchdown back on the ensuing possession. Karl Turner returned the kickoff 57 yards and received an additional 15 yards on the play thanks to a Wagner personal foul. Starting at the Seahawks 25-yard line, Bryant needed just three plays to score as Mike Canfora ran up the middle for a two-yard score. Following the two point conversion, the Bulldogs trailed 29-21 with 3:12 remaining in the third period.

The teams would then trade possessions before Wagner ripped off a massive 16-play, 85 yard drive. Despite not putting any points on the board, the Seahawks ran used seven minutes and 51 seconds while leaving the Bulldogs just 4:30 on the clock.

The Green & White appeared to be in good shape as Carl-Olivier Prime (Quebec, Canada / Kent School) snuffed out an end-around play for a 13-yard loss. Senior Stefen Gage (Syracuse, NY / Henninger) and junior Julian Stanford (Bloomfield, CT / Bloomfield) then combined to sack Croce for a three-yard loss, setting up a crucial third and 26 from the Bulldogs own four-yard line with just 3:34 to go. Croce rose to the challenge hitting Matt Tracey for a 31-yard gain. Bryant would drive to the Wagner 34 before the snap went over Croce's head on second down with Anderson recovering at the Bryant 48 with just 38 seconds remaining. Doscher then took a knee to ice the first-ever Seahawk football victory over the Bulldogs.

Wagner doubled Bryant in total offense by a 460-224 margin, including 298-135 in the air, while controlling the ball for 34:48, compared to just 25:12 for the Bulldogs.

Andrew Regan had a game-high 13 tackles for the Bulldogs while Brown carried the ball 18 times for 102 yards and one touchdown while adding three receptions for 51 yards and a score.

The Seahawks take a break from NEC play when they travel to nation's capital for a 1:00 pm tilt with Georgetown on Saturday, October 9.