Pictured Above: Junior inside linebacker Stephon Font-Toomer is tied for third on the team with 30 tackles (photo by Dave Saffran)

Sacred Heart Pioneers (6-2, 1-1 NEC) at Wagner Seahawks (4-3, 2-0 NEC)
3:30 pm./Wagner College Stadium at Hameline Field (3,300)/Staten Island, NY

Watch Live on ESPN3.com
Paul Dottino - Play-by-Play
Steve Levy - Color Analyst
John Schmeelk - Sideline Reporter
Producer - Eric Singer

Game Notes I Live Stats I Google Hangout with Jarrett Dieudonne I Dieudonne Named NEC Defensive Player of the Week

Seahawks Seek Fourth Straight Win, 3-0 NEC Start vs. Defending League Champion Sacred Heart on on Homecoming

Staten Island, NY - The Wagner Seahawks look  improve to 3-0 in Northeast Conference (NEC) play and for their fourth straight overall win when they host defending league champion Sacred Heart in a 3:30 pm Homecoming Day tussle at Hameline Field.

The Green & White are coming off of a solid 20-10 victory at Central Connecticut on Saturday, a game that was preceded by a well-earned and needed bye week, following a thrilling 46-39 double-overtime home win over Saint Francis U on October 11.

Wagner-Sacred Heart: The Matchup
Today's game features a head-to-head battle between the last two NEC Champions. In 2012, the Seahawks rebounded from an 0-3 start by roaring to nine straight wins en route to their first-ever NEC title. Last season, it was the Pioneers' turn to notch their first-ever conference championship as Sacred Heart went 5-1 in NEC play. The only blemish on the Pioneers' league record last year? A 23-20 home loss to the Seahawks who overcame a 20-3 deficit and won it when kicker Bryan Maley nailed a 45-yard field goal with four seconds left in the game.

Sacred Heart and Wagner are meeting for the 17th time, every season since 1998, with the Seahawks leading the series 9-7.  Wagner has won the last three meetings, including a 23-20 win at Sacred Heart last fall, and four of the last five. The Pioneers last win came at home on November 20, 2010, 38-22.  Sacred Heart has not won at Wagner since November 3, 2001, 45-24, the middle win of a three-game series win streak for the Pioneers. The last two contests have been held in Fairfield, CT, with the last meeting between the schools on Grymes Hill having come on November 5, 2011, a 27-21 Seahawk win.

Seahawks' Last Time Out:
October 25, 2014
Wagner 20, Central Connecticut 10
New Britain, CT - Wagner won its third game in a row and moved to 2-0 in conference play by doubling up Central Connecticut on the road. The Seahawks took a 3-0 advantage on a 23-yard field goal by senior Bryan Maley midway through the first quarter and led the rest of the way. Wagner junior quarterback Chris Andrews scored on a pair of 3-yard touchdown runs, the first of which gave the Seahawks a 10-0 edge 5:20 into the second quarter. CCSU pulled within 10-7 on a 69-yard scoring strike from Nick SanGiacomo to Tyrell Holmes, but would get no closer. Holmes finished with seven receptions for 165 yards. Seahawk fifth-year senior cornerback Jarrett Dieudonne had two interceptions vs. the Blue Devils en route to earning NEC Defensive Player of the Week honors, and leads the NEC, while ranking No. 2 nationally, with five interceptions.

Pioneers' Last Time Out:
October 25, 2014
Saint Francis U 23, Sacred Heart 20
Fairfield, CT - Lance Geesey broke a 27-27 tie by booting a 35-yard field goal with 5:28 to play and Saint Francis U held on for its first-ever win over a nationally-ranked opponents. SFU's Dave Coleman corralled a deflected pass at mid-field to squelch a potential Sacred Heart rally with 1:09 left on the clock. Powered by three touchdown pass and a touchdown reception from quarterback Zach Drayer, the Red Flash jumped out to a 27-10 lead midway through the third quarter. Sacred Heart, however, responded with three consecutive 60-plus yard drives that produced 17 points. Senior running back Keshaudas Spence rushed for a season-high 173 yards and one touchdown on 23 carries. Drayer finished 13-of-21 passing for 242 yards and three touchdowns for SFU, which had lost its prior two road games against nationally-ranked opponents this season (at Fordham; at Youngstown State).

Seahawk Offense
In command of the Seahawk offense is junior QB Chris Andrews, a mobile lefty who saw action in eight games last season with three starts. Senior Brian Gehring was Wagner's starting signal-caller in the first six games this season before suffering a left wrist injury in the win over Saint Francis U (10/11). Andrews has rushed for 167 yards on the year while completing 18-of-41 passes for 316 yards, two TDs and one INT. Speedy junior Otis Wright is the Seahawks' leading rusher with 310 yards and two TDs. Sophomore wide receiver Lloyd Smith's 20 catches for 280 yards paces the team.

True freshman Colin McGovern, who played one snap last week at CCSU in his collegiate debut, is listed as the Seahawks' No. 2 QB. A product of New Jersey prep powerhouse Bergen Catholic HS, McGovern hails from an athletic family. His uncle, Bill, is linebackers coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, and his uncle, Robb, is a former NFL linebacker. In addition, McGovern's uncle Jim is a former professional on the PGA Tour while his father, Jack, is the athletic director at Bergen Catholic. .

Seahawk Defense
Senior inside linebacker Max Wassel leads a Seahawk defense that ranks No. 3 in the NEC, allowing just 314.3 yards per game. Wassel is tied for 10th in the conference with 49 tackles, including 20 solo, to go with a team-high 10.0 tackles for loss (minus 38 yards). Fifth-year senior safety Daniel Mack leads the secondary in tackles with 42 while ranking second overall on the team. Junior inside linebacker Stephon Font-Toomer and senior defensive tackle Al Page, a Rutgers transfer, are tied for third in tackles with 30 apiece.

Seahawk Special Teams
Senior punter A.J. Firestone, a First-Team All-NEC choice in 2013 and a 2014 Preseason All-NEC selection, tops the league with a 39.3-yard average, with a long of 57 yards. Senior kicker Bryan Maley, the first Alaska native to ever play football at Wagner, has made 8-of-14 field goals this year with all three misses coming at Lafayette (9/27).  Thanks in large part to Otis Wright's 29.9 yard kickoff return average, the Seahawks rank third in the NEC in this category with a 26.3-yard average. Senior Daquan Cooper has recently taken over the punt return duties for Wagner, and averages 10.0 yards on four returns thus far.

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