FINAL STATS

Smithfield, RI – In an entertaining shootout that featured eight lead changes and yet another 100-yard rushing day by sophomore running back Dominique Williams (Bridgeton, NJ/ Milford Academy,) the Wagner College football team ended up on the short end of a 30-28 decision at Bryant in Northeast (NEC) Conference action.

In suffering their third straight defeat, the Seahawks fall to 1-3 on the season, 1-2 in the NEC. Wagner is a whisker away from being 3-0 in league play as the Seahawks's two NEC losses have been by a combined six points. For Bryant, it was the Bulldogs' third consecutive win as they improve to 3-1 overall, 2-0 in conference play.

Williams eclipsed the 100-yard mark for the seventh time in his 12-game Seahawk career and for the third in four games this season with 101 hard-earned yards on 22 carries. Junior quarterback Nick Doscher (Staten Island, NY/ Moore Catholic) carried 16 times for 72 yards while completing 6-of-13 passes for 86 yards. The rugged 6-2,225-pound Doscher, however, was shaken up with 4:43 left in the third quarter and was replaced by sophomore Matt Misley (Park Ridge, NJ/ Park Ridge). In the first extended action of his career, Misley went 2-of-11 passing for 16 yards.

With Wagner trailing 30-28, Misley led Wagner on a promising drive that would take a dramatic turn at the eight-minute mark of the fourth quarter. Facing a second-and-17 from the Bulldog 34, Misley delivered a 19-yard strike to junior wide receiver Wandy Saintilien (Miami, FL/ AXA Institute) over the middle setting up what appeared to be a first-and-10 for Wagner at the Bulldog 15. However, Wagner was called for a dead ball illegal hands to the face penalty which made it second-and-32 from the Bryant 49. As a result of the penalty, the Seahawks lost 34 yards of field position and its final opportunity to pull out the game.

Junior safety Patrick O'Connor (Leominster, MA/ Leominster Academy) led the Seahawks defensively with a career-high 10 tackles. Senior linebacker Julian Stanford (Bloomfield, CT/ Bloomfield) turned in another productive outing with four tackles for loss (minus 24 yards), including a crunching blind-side sack that forced a fumble which Bryant recovered.

For Bryant, quarterback Mike Croce completed 13-of-24 passes for 245 yard and two touchdowns, one a pivotal 65-yarder. Running back Jordan Brown rushed for 102 yards on 32 carries.

The game played like out a 60-minute version of “can you top this” as every single time one team scored, the other responded. After Bryant drew first blood with a first quarter field goal to go up 3-0, the teams then exchanged scores eight consecutive times. It was the eighth and final lead change that proved to be the difference as Brown scampered in from two yards out with 12-59 left in the game to end the day's scoring and give the Bulldogs the 30-28 lead.

Brown's touchdown came less than five minutes after Williams had given the Seahawks a 28-24 lead with 2:37 left in the third quarter, capping a 10-play, 66-yard drive.

Early on it was evident this was destined to be a back and forth game. Williams burst free for a 25-yard touchdown run with 33 seconds to go in the opening quarter to give Wagner its first lead at 7-3. The Bulldogs responded with a sharp six-play, 55-yard drive culminating in a Brown three-yard TD run. After Wagner was whistled for offsides on the extra-point try, Bryant elected to go for a two-point conversion which was successful, making it an 11-7 game.

Right on cue, and following a short Bryant punt, Wagner countered with a nine-play, 44-yard march that took 3:39 and ended with Doscher barreling in from seven yards out to put Wagner back on top 14-11. The Bulldogs took the halftime lead when Croce found his fullback Zack Wilson open in the right flat for a seven-yard TD toss. The PAT failed as Bryant took a 17-14 lead into halftime.

The Seahawks got the ball to open the second half and. moved smartly down the field. The big play came on third-and-four when a scrambling Doscher found Saintilien open behind the Bulldog secondary. The shifty 5-7 Saintilien make a great adjustment during his route to get free and Doscher found him for a 40-yard connection. A face mask penalty on Bryant gave the Seahawks a first-and-goal at the Bulldog nine. After Williams was stopped for no gain on first down, Doscher found senior wide receiver Justin Matthews (Hillside, NJ/ Hillside) wide open on a crossing route to put Wagner back into the lead at 21-17 just 3:17 into the third quarter.

Bryant used a big play to take the lead back, covering 75 yards in just four plays, 65 of which came on a bomb from Croce to wide receiver Jordan Harris. The quick-strike aerial along the left sideline gave the Bulldogs a 24-21 lead with 7:23 to go in the third quarter.

Williams' five-yard touchdown run with 2:37 left in the third gave Wagner its last lead of the game at 28-24. It was at this juncture when Bryant responded with what would prove to be the game-winning drive, a 12-play, 60-yard march that ended with Brown taking it in from the two.

Doscher was injured during the 10-play, 66-yard drive that gave Wagner the 28-24 lead. On third-and-11 from the Seahawk 44, Doscher took off on a broken play, weaving his way for a 32-yard gain to the Bryant 24 but it would prove to be his last play of the game. Misley rushed for four yards on first down and, following an incompletion, gave the ball to Williams three straight times with the hard-charging sophomore gaining 14 and one yard, before taking it into the end zone from the five.

Wagner had the upper hand in the rushing department, out-gaining the Bulldogs on the ground 180-148 but the Bryant held an overwhelming 245-102 edge through the sir. Overall, the Bulldogs outgained the Seahawks 393-282. Bryant also held a 20-14 edge in first downs.

Wagner is next in action on Saturday, October 1 at Cornell with kickoff set for 1:00 pm.

NOTES – Bryant now leads the series, which began in 2008, 3-1. After just four games, Williams is nearly halfway to the 1,000-yard mark as he has gained 467 yards on 91 carries (5.1 avg.). He entered the game ranked ninth in the nation in rushing yards (122.0/game) and now stands at 116.2. Against Bryant, Doscher moved into fifth place on the Wagner all-time passing list with 3,902 yards and broke out of a fourth-place tie in all-time completions as his 289 place him fourth alone. Doscher also grew closer to the number one spot in career total offense. His 158 yards of total offense (86 passing, 72 rushing) gives him 5,527 for his career. John Sciarra (2004-05) holds the top spot with 5,845 yards. The Seahawks entered the game minus several key players who were out due to injury, including Preseason All-NEC picks David Crawford (Carrollton, TX/ Hebron) and junior David Lopez (Plantation, FL/ Heritage). Crawford, the play-making wide receiver, suffered a season-ending shoulder injury late in the Central Connecticut St. game last week. Lopez has a back injury and is listed as game to game. In Lopez' absence, the Seahawks' turned in a solid job on special teams. Freshman Jarrod Molzon (Lanoka Harbor, NJ/ Lacey Township) was 4-of-4 on PATs and turned in a consistent effort on kickoffs. Sophomore #A.J. Firestone# (Mercersburg , PA/ Mercersburg Academy) continues to settle into his role handling the punting chores. Ranked third in the NEC (39.4) entering the game. Firestone averaged 41.0 yards on five punts, with one downed inside the 20-yard line. Junior cornerback Torian Phillips (Staten Island, NY/ Port Richmond) came up with his second interception of the season on the final play of the first half which was the lone turnover in the game. Freshman wide receiver Josh Talbott (Jupiter, FL/ Jupiter Christian) and showed good burst, returning two kickoffs for 53 yards with a long of 32. Bryant University's Bulldog Stadium features something that is a rarity in college and professional athletics these days – a real grass field.