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Staten Island, NY - The Wagner College Seahawks and the Bryant University Bulldogs meet at newly-named Hameline Field at Wagner College Stadium in a contest that will be a central piece of
Family Weekend. The field was officially dedicated in honor of Seahawk long-time head coach and athletic director
Walt Hameline during a ceremony prior to the September 15 game vs. Monmouth.
WAGNER ANNOUNCES FAMILY WEEKEND TICKET SPECIAL
HOW TO FOLLOW THE GAME IF YOU CAN'T MAKE IT TO THE GAME
The Wagner-Bryant game will be streamed live free of charge on necrontrow. com. Veteran commentator Nick Legakis will describe all of the action. Live. Fans can also receive game updates from the team's official twitter account: WagnerAthletics and the game can by logging onto wagnerathletics.com.
SEAHAWKS POST IMPRESSIVE 31-13 WIN AT CCSU
On September 22 junior RB
Dominique Williams (Bridgeton, NJ/ Milford Academy) rushed for 121 yards and two touchdowns while senior quarterback
Nick Doscher (Staten Island, NY/ Moore Catholic) added 65 yards rushing and another 112 through the air to lead Wagner to a convincing 31-13 road victory over Central Connecticut in the NEC Game of the Week televised live on MSG+ and
Fox College Sports. In notching their first victory of the 2012 season, the Seahawks improve to 1-3 on the season while evening their NEC record at 1-1. The Blue Devils, meanwhile, remain winless in falling to 0-4 overall, 0-2 in league play. After being held below 100 yards rushing in consecutive losses to Georgetown (9/8) and Monmouth (9/15), Williams and the Seahawk offensive line returned to form as the 5-9, 200-pound speedster eclipsed the century mark for the 14th time in 23 games. Senior linebacker #C.O. Prime# (Laval, Quebec/ Ontario), senior strong safety
Sidiq Soulemana (Bronx, NY/ Hudson Valley CC) and senior linebacker
Theodore Clohessy (Staten Island, NY/ St. Joseph by the Sea) led the defensive charge with 10 tackles apiece with Soulemana and Clohessy adding an interception and a sack, respectively. Yet another senior, placekicker
David Lopez (Plantation, FL/ American Heritage) also made his mark by booting a 51-yard field goal as time expired in the first half to extend Wagner's lead to 10-6. Wagner outgained Central Connecticut 383-330, including a 271-165 advantage on the ground.
FIRST WIN AT CCSU SINCE 2000
Wagner's 31-13 win over Central Connecticut broke a five-game road losing streak to the Blue Devils. The last time the Seahawks posted a victory at Arute Field was on October 14, 2000 when Wagner came away with a 24-7 victory.
ABOUT BRYANT
The Bulldogs enter today's fray saddled with an 0-4 record for the first time in school history for a showdown with Wagner, a team they have gone 3-1 against all-time in a series that began in 2008.
DID YOU KNOW?
Every time senior QB
Nick Doscher (Moore Catholic/ Staten Island, NY) gains a yard running or passing, he adds to his Wagner all-time total offensive yardage mark which, following the Central Connecticut game stands at 6,486.
O'CONNOR SECOND IN NEC IN TACKLES
Senior free safety Patrick O'Connor (Leominster, MA/ Leominster) has recorded a team-best 40 tackles on the season and averages 9.8 tackles per game average which is second in the NEC. The 6-1, 190-pound O'Connor, who has has been in double-digits in all three games, had 10 tackles and a fumble recovery in the season opener at Florida Atlantic (August 31) which earned him NEC Defensive Player of the Week honors. He followed up that effort with a career-high 13-tackle game at Georgetown (September 8) which placed him on the NEC Performer of the Week List.
WRIGHT RANKED 4TH NATIONALLY IN KICKOFF RETURN YARD AVERAGE
Sophomore running back and kickoff return specialist
Otis Wright (Fort Lauderdale, FL/ Dillard) is evolving into a legitimate big-play threat for the Seahawks. The 5-10, 180-pound Wright is ranked fourth nationally and tops in the NEC in kickoff return average at 36.00 yards per return. Wright broke multiple tackles en route to a 27-yard third quarter touchdown en route to a career-best 58-yard rushing day which came on just seven carries. Against the Blue Devils, Wright also returned a pair of kickoffs for 43 and 37 yards, respectively, a 40.0 yard average. This was the second consecutive sensational special teams performance in a row for Wright, who entered the game as the reigning NEC Special Teams Player of the Week for his efforts vs. Monmouth (9/15), which included a spectacular 89-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
HAMELINE FIELD AT WAGNER COLLEGE STADIUM
In a stirring pre-game ceremony, the field at Wagner College Stadium was named after 3Walt Hameline3 who is in his 32nd year as athletic director/football coach. One of just eight active Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) coach to win 200 games, he also ranks 16th all-time among FCS coaches and 18th among active NCAA coaches. Heading into the Bryant game, Hameline has an overall record of 205-126-2.
COACH TO CURE MD
When Wagner hosts Bryant on Saturday at 1:00 pm, the Seahawk coaching staff will join forces with college football coaches nationwide in support of the Coach To Cure MD program this weekend by wearing a Coach To Cure MD logo patch. The rapidly growing annual effort has raised more than a million dollars to battle Duchenne muscular dystrophy. On September 29, American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) members will wear patches on the sidelines and college football fans will be asked to donate to research projects supported by Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD), the largest nonprofit organization in the U.S. focused entirely on Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Football fans can donate to Duchenne muscular dystrophy research by either going online to
www.CoachtoCureMD.org or by
texting the word CURE to 90999 (a $5 donation will automatically be added to your next phone bill).“It's a tremendous cause which Wagner is proud to once again be a part of,” said Seahawk head coach
Walt Hameline. Last year, more than 10,000 college coaches at 505 different institutions participated in Coach To Cure MD events. Both those figures are well higher than in any of the program's first three years (2008-10). The four-year fundraising total is just over $1 million.Duchenne muscular dystrophy is the most common fatal genetic disorder diagnosed during childhood and primarily affects boys across all races and cultures. Boys and young men with Duchenne muscular dystrophy develop progressive muscle weakness that eventually causes loss of mobility, wheelchair dependency and a decline in respiratory and cardiac function. Currently, there is no cure for Duchenne muscular dystrophy and limited therapeutic options exist.
THE LAST TIME:
Wagner Edged at Bryant 30-28 In NEC Shootout
September 24, 2011
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 NEC action.
In suffering their third straight defeat, the Seahawks missed out on a chance to reach the .500 mark in falling 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.
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.
NOTES – Bryant now leads the series, which began in 2008, 3-1. 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.
NUGGETS LEFT OVER FROM WIN OVER CENTRAL CONNECTICUT
BEST RUSHING DAY SINCE NOV. 12, 2011
The 271-yard rushing output by Wagner vs. Central Connecticut were a season high and the most by the Seahawks since November 12, 2011 when they rumbled for 272 yards on the ground in a 38-17 win at Robert Morris.
FIRST-TIME STARTERS
Senior DE
Jerome Williams (Burlington, NJ/ Holy Cross), a transfer from UConn, was among the four Wagner players who made their first career starts at Central Connecticut. Also in the starting lineup defensively for the first time was true freshman nose tackle
Fidel Okoye (Williamstown, NJ/ Williamstown), who made his presence felt by blocking a first-quarter extra point. On offense, true freshman
Brus Palaj (Staten Island, NY/ Monsignor Farrell) made his first career start at right tackle while sophomore RB
Otis Wright (Fort Lauderdale, FL/ Dillard) started for the first time at halfback.
PHILLIPS MAKES DEBUT
Senior cornerback
Torian Phillips (Staten Island, NY/ Port Richmond) saw his first action of the season and got the start at cornerback. The 5-9, 180-pound Syracuse transfer was credited with five tackles, including two solo.
HAPPY HOMECOING FOR MASELLA
Associate Head Coach, Staten Island native and former Seahawk standout (1978-81)
Tom Masella served as head coach of Central Connecticut for two seasons. In 2004, he guided the Blue Devils to an 8-2 record, tying for first place in the NEC with a 6-1 record. Following that season, Masella was named NEC Coach of the Year. In 2005, he led Central to a 7-4 mark before taking over as head coach at Fordham where he led the Rams
