DOMINIQUE WILLIAMS POST-GAME INTERVIEW

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS - CPTV

Fairfield, CT –  Junior running back Dominique Williams burst free for a career-long 81-yard first-quarter touchdown, later added a two-yard touchdown run en route to a 20-carry, 122-yard effort and the Wagner defense did the rest as the surging Seahawks made it three wins in a row with a 12-3 Northeast Conference (NEC) victory at Sacred Heart.
 
In posting their first road win over the Pioneers since 1998, the Seahawks improve to 3-1 in the NEC and into sole possession of third place in the league standings while evening their overall record at 3-3. Sacred Heart, meanwhile, falls to 1-4 overall, 1-2 in conference play.

Williams cracked the 100-yard plateau for the fourth time this season, out of six games, and 16th time in his 25-game Seahawk career. He remains in fifth place on the Seahawk all-time rushing list with 2,559 rushing yards. Next on the list in fourth place is Kito Lockwood, who amassed 3,156 yards from 1992-95. His 81-yard run surpassed his previous career-long dash of 79 yards vs. Robert Morris on November 12, 2011.

Senior quarterback Nick Doscher (Staten Island, NY/ Moore Catholic) was a force on the ground all afternoon, grossing 83 yards (netting 53 yards) on 18 carries. But the Pioneers did a nice job limiting the Seahawk passing game as Doscher finished 6-of-13 passing for 82 yards and was sacked five times for minus 30 yards in losses.

Doscher's 53-yard day on the ground moved him into the top 10 on the Wagner all-time rushing list with 1,945 career yards. He needs 29 yards to move into ninth place ahead of John Campbell (1998-2001) who gained 1,973 yards during his career. 

Defensively, Wagner was paced by a quarter of seniors in cornerback Torian Phillips (Staten Island, NY/ Port Richmond/ Syracuse) and linebacker Mike Lombardo (Jupiter, FL/ Jupiter Christian/ Arkansas St.), who led with eight tackles apiece, while strong safety Sidiq Soulemana (Bronx, NY/ DeWitt Clinton/ Hudson Valley CC) and linebacker C.O. Prime (Laval, Quebec, The Kent School) added six tackles each.
 
The Seahawk defense harassed SHU QB Tim Little into an 8-for-20 passing day for 67 yards. Running back Keshaudas Spence paced the Pioneers on the ground with 72 yards on 12 carries.
 
Wagner out-gained SHU 288-214, enjoying a 206-147 advantage on the ground.
 
The fast and aggressive Seahawk defense, which entered today's contest ranked No. 1 in the NEC in scoring defense, allowing 18.4 points per game, lowered that average to 15.8 points per outing. Wagner's defense also entered the game ranked second in pass defense (170.4 yards per game) and reduced that figure to 153.2, and second in total defense (353.8), which now stands at 318 after holding the Pioneers to 214 yards.

The three points allowed by Wagner are the least allowed since November 3, 2007 when the Seahawks blanked La Salle 28-0 on Grymes Hill and the least allowed to an NEC foe since a 7-0 win at Saint Francis (PA) on October 19, 2003.
 
Sacred Heart, meanwhile, was held to its lowest point total since the 2010 season when the Pioneers were shut out at Saint Francis (PA), 41-0.  It was the fewest points scored at home by the Pioneers in a loss since the 1998 season when SHU fell 24-3 to Iona.
 
Neither team could muster any sustained offense at the outset of the game. After Wagner won the toss and deferred, SHU managed one first down before having to punt. The Seahawks then went three-and-out on its opening drive, resulting in a punt before the Seahawks defense returned the favor, forcing a second Pioneer punt. It was at this point when Williams struck, taking a first down handoff and rumbling 81 yards to paydirt. The extra point try by senior David Lopez (Plantation, FL/ American Heritage) was blocked, leaving Wagner in front 6-0.
 
The teams exchanged punts once again with Wagner taking over at its own 38 with 28 seconds left in the first quarter. After the teams changed sides of the field to open the second quarter, Doscher went to work on the next play, connecting with senior wide receiver Cody Morgan (Boston, MA / Boston College HS/ Syracuse / Milford Academy) on a 25-yard completion to the Pioneer 34.

Two rushes for 10 yards by Williams, a two-yard Doscher run and a five-yard pickup by redshirt freshman Ralph Greene (Tigard, OR/ Tigard) brought about a third-and-five from the SHU 17.
 
The reigning NEC Offensive Player of the Week then broke SHU's back as Doscher took off on a 14-yard scramble down to the three. A plunge by sophomore fullback Patrick Gibbons (Carthage, NY/ Milford Academy), sandwiched around two Doscher runs, netted just one yard and left the Green & White facing a fourth-and-goal from the two.

The Seahawks then called timeout at the 10:00 mark of the half to discuss strategy. Following the timeout, head coach Walt Hameline elected to forego a field goal attempt and sent his offensive unit on the field. In turn, the Seahawk offense rewarded their coach's faith as Williams barreled into the end zone to make it a 12-0 game. Lopez' extra-point try was no good, however, leaving it a 12-0 game.
 
The deepest penetration either team would make the rest of the half came on the half's final drive when Doscher methodically led the Seahawks to the SHU 22. But Doscher was sacked on third-and-five and Wagner called another timeout to discuss a 44-yard field attempt. In the end, the Seahawk brain trust decided to go for it on fourth-and-12 at the 27 but Doscher's pass fell incomplete as the teams went into halftime with Wagner on top 12-0.
 
The final scoring drive by either team began when sophomore punter A.J. Firestone's 33-yard punt angled out of bounds at the SHU 7. From there, quarterback Tim Little engineered an 18-play, 90-yard drive that elapsed 9:31 off the clock and resulted in a 20-yard field goal by Chris Rogers that made it 12-3. The Pioneers were bent on making it a 12-7 game but the Seahawk defense came up with a tremendous goal line stand.

On first-and-goal from the four, junior nose tackle Tom Lindley (Mastic Beach. NY/ William Floyd/  Michigan) and sophomore LB Trevor Loveland (Cherry Hill, NJ/ Cherry Hill West) combined to hold RB Greg Moore to a one-yard gain. On second down, 230-pound RB Keshaudas Spence was nailed by Prime for no gain. On third-and-goal from the three, Little threw incomplete, settling for the field goal.
 
The closest either team got to the end zone the rest of the way was late in the fourth quarter when the Seahawks went 52 yards in 12 plays, chewing valuable time off the before giving the ball up on downs with just 40 seconds left to play.
 
The NEC's leading tackler, linebacker Justin Sexton, posted double-digit tackles for the third time this season for the Pioneers, coming up with 13 stops, including seven solo. 
 
Following a bye next weekend, the Seahawks are off until Saturday, October 20 when they travel Saint Francis (PA) to meet the Red Flash in a Noon start. 

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