Pictured Above: Sr. LB Greg Hilliard (left) returns an Oct. 25 interception at CCSU with fellow Sr. LB Max Wassel and Sr. DL Patrick Gibbons in tow.

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Moon Township, PA - The Wagner Seahawks make their second consecutive appearance in front of the ESPN3.com cameras today when the Green & White meet Robert Morris in a Noon road tilt.

Wagner is coming off of a tough, "closer-than-the-final-score-would suggest" 23-7 home loss to defending NEC Champions, Sacred Heart, on November 4. In a wild, action-packed game that featured several huge, momentum-swinging plays and 14 Pioneer points coming on special teams, SHU earned the defensive-minded victory, spoiling Wagner's Homecoming in the process on a bone-chilling afternoon complete with 25 mile-per-hour wind gusts and several periods of falling hale.

With the loss, the Seahawks saw their three-game winning streak come to an end as Wagner fell to 4-4 on the season, 2-1 in the NEC while the Pioneers improved to 7-2 overall, and 3-1 in league play. This was a matchup of teams that had claimed the last two NEC titles as Wagner captured the league championship in 2012 while the Pioneers were the 2013 NEC Champions with their lone conference blemish last season coming in a 23-20 home loss to the Seahawks.

The game turned when SHU defensive back Preston Sanford returned a blocked field goal 96 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter that gave the Pioneers a 17-7 lead. On Sacred Heart's next possession, Seahawk freshman defensive lineman Jordan Baskerville (West Point, NY/Milford Academy) blocked a field goal but SHU fullback Pat Casey scooped it up and ran it in for a 26-yard touchdown.

Junior running back Otis Wright (Fort Lauderdale, FL/Dillard) carried the ball 16 times for a career-high 98 yards, highlighted by a 53-yard first-quarter touchdown run that gave Wagner a 7-0 lead. Fifth-year senior linebacker Max Wassel (Totowa, NJ/Passaic Valley) delivered a career-high 18-tackle effort, headlined by a career-high 11 solo stops and two forced fumbles. The 5-11, 235-pound captain was credited with three tackles for loss, including a sack.

Wagner-Robert Morris: The Matchup
This is the 21st all-time matchup between the schools with the Colonials holding a 13-7 edge. The last two contests have been held on Staten Island, with RMU surviving a 17-13 contest last season on Oct. 26, 2013, while Wagner claimed a 21-13 win the previous year, en route to claiming the' 2012 NEC title. This Oct. 27, 2012 Seahawk win was Wagner's fifth of what would become a nine-game winning streak that carried the Seahawks to a 9-4 final mark. After posting the NEC's first-ever NCAA Division I FCS Playoff win over Colgate, Wagner finished the 2012 campaign ranked No. 21 in the final FCS Sports Network Poll and No. 22 in the final FCS Coaches Poll.

Max Wassel - 5-11, 235
Senior Inside Linebacker/Totowa, NJ/Passaic Valley
*Leads the Seahawks with 67 total tackles, 40 solo stops, 14 tackles for loss (minus 45 yards, 2 forced fumbles and 2.5 sacks)
Wassel in the NEC
Tackles/Game: No. 1, 8.40
Forced Fumbles: No. 2,  0.25
TFLs/Game: No. 3, 1.75

Thumbnail Sketch of Seahawks on......
......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 174 yards and three touchdowns on the year while passing for another 342 yards and two scores.  True freshman Colin McGovern, who has seen spot duty the last two games, is 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 linebacker's 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. Speedy junior Otis Wright is the Seahawks' leading rusher with 408 yards and three TDs, and is coming off a career-high 98-yard day vs. SHU which featured a career-long 53-yard TD jaunt. Sophomore wide receiver Lloyd Smith's 24 catches for 301 yards paces the team.

.......Defense
Fifth-year senior inside linebacker Max Wassel (Totowa, NJ/Passaic Valley) leads a Seahawk defense that ranks No. 3 in the NEC, allowing just 296.6 yards per game. The 5-11, 235-pound Wassel was all over the field on Saturday, recording a career-high 18 tackles, including a career-high 11 solo stops, four tackles for a loss with two forced fumbles and one sack. The 18 tackles are the most by an NEC player this season, surpassing the previous mark of 15, notched by Duquesne defensive back Rich Piekarski at Buffalo back on August 30. The most tackles in NEC history belongs to Sacred Heart's linebacker Kellen Sperduto, who registered 22 tackles against the Green & White last season (October 5). Fifth-year senior safety Daniel Mack leads the secondary in tackles with 49 while ranking second overall on the team, and is No. 1 in the NEC in fumble recoveries with three. Junior inside linebacker Stephon Font-Toomer and senior defensive tackle Al Page, a Rutgers transfer, are tied for third in tackles with 33 apiece.

.....Special Teams
Fifth-year 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 37.3-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-16 field goals with three misses coming at Lafayette (9/27). With junior Otis Wright' and senior Deangelo James averaging 29.9 and 29.0 yards, respectively, the Seahawks rank third in the NEC in KO return average at 24.4.return, which ranking No. 9 nationally.

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