Photo by Dave Saffran
Staten Island, NY - On the heels of last Saturday night's
impressive 45-20 Homecoming win over Sacred Heart, Wagner (3-1) will host the Columbia Lions (0-3) of the Ivy League on Saturday, October 8 at 6:00 p.m. on Hall of Fame Day.
3-1 Start
The Green & White are off to their first 3-1 start since 2007, when Wagner got out of the gates 5-1 en route to a 7-4 season.
Seahawks Receiving Votes in This Week's NCAA FCS Poll
Wagner received 45 votes in this week's
STATS FCS Poll. A national panel of sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries select the STATS FCS Top 25.
Wagner Leads Nation in Fewest Turnovers
In four games played this season, Wagner is ranked No. 1 in the nation among all FCS schools in fewest turnovers allowed as the Seahawks have turned the ball over just one time.
Close, But Not So Close
According to Google Maps, Staten Island-based Wagner College and Columbia University, located in upper Manhattan, are separated by just 20.7 miles, though completing the trip requires navigating some of the nation's toughest road ways as Google Maps estimates the travel time between the schools at an optimistic 47 minutes.
Second Meeting Ever vs. Columbia
The Seahawks and Lions met for the first time ever on the gridiron last season, with Columbia coming away with a 26-3 home victory on October 10, 2015.
Wagner vs. the Ivy LeagueThough Columbia has been playing football since 1870, while Wagner took up the sport in 1927, the schools had never met until last season. Wagner does not have an extensive football history vs. the Ivy League, as Cornell is the only other one of the seven Ivy League institutions that Wagner has ever faced. On October 30, 1999, the Green & White traveled to Ithaca, NY and dropped a 31-14 decision to Cornell in the first-ever meeting between Wagner and an Ivy League opponent. These two programs met again on two occasions in more recent times. On September 11, 2010, the Seahawks earned a 41-7 home win over Cornell. The teams met again at Cornell on October 1, 2011 with the Big Red recording a 31-7 win.
The Coaches
Wagner
Jason Houghtaling (say it Ho-tal-ling) is in his second season as the head coach of the Seahawks and, at age 35, is the third-youngest head coach in the FCS. He took over for
Walt Hameline, who announced at the end of the 2014 season that he would be stepping down as head coach while remaining as Seahawk athletic director. Houghtaling (4-11) was the Seahawks' associate head coach and offensive coordinator when the the Green & White claimed a share of the 2014 NEC title (with Sacred Heart), and overall, has spent seven years as a Wagner assistant. In his final three seasons as offensive coordinator (2011, 2012, 2014), the Seahawks amassed a 16-6 NEC record with league titles in two of those three years. In 2014, the Seahawks' offense ranked No. 4 nationally in time of possession and did not commit a turnover in the final three games of the season. Houghtaling served as offensive coordinator at Cornell in 2013 before returning to Grymes Hill as associate head coach/offensive coordinator.
Columbia
Al Bagnoli, a nine-time Ivy League Football Champion and the all-time winningest head coach in NCAA Football Championship Subdivision history, was named Columbia's head coach on February 23, 2015. The Lions were 2-8 in Bagnoli's first season at the helm in 2015, and are off to a 0-3 start in 2016. Bagnoli arrived at Columbia after 23 years at the University of Pennsylvania, where he totaled a 148-80 overall record and 112-49 record in the Ivy League. His Penn teams won nine Ivy League Championships, including six undefeated conference marks (1993, 1994, 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010) and three perfect seasons (10-0 in 1993 and 2003, 9-0 in 1994).
Houghtaling vs. Bagnoli
Tonight's game will actually mark the third time that Houghtaling and Bagnoli have stood on opposing sidelines, as the current Wagner Head Coach served as Cornell's Offensive Coordinator in 2013. That season, Bagnoli's Penn squad was bested by the Big Red, 42-41 on Nov. 23, 2013.
Senat: Two-Sport Athlete
A three-year member of the Wagner men's basketball team, who contributed to Wagner's 2016 NEC regular season basketball championship team,
Greg Senat (Elmont, NY / Elmont / Marianapolis Prep [CT]) joined the Seahawk football team in March, 2016 and has started the first two games of the season at right tackle. A power forward on the hardwood, the 6-8, 280-pound Senat competed at tight end for two years during his high school career .A three-sport athlete, who also competed in lacrosse ,in addition to basketball and football at Elmont HS, Senat was a member of the Spartans' jayvee football team as a sophomore in 2009 before being elevated to the varsity as a junior in 2010. He then transferred to Marianapolis Prep in 2010 where he focused solely on basketball.
McKinnon Sparkles In Win Over Sacred HeartSenior running back
Matthias McKinnon (Albany, NY / Bishop Maginn / Jireh Prep [NC]) rushed for 157 yards on 24 carries and two touchdowns, all career highs, in leading Wagner to a thrilling 45-20 win over previously unbeaten Sacred Heart on Homecoming Saturday night. With a boisterous crowd of 3,002 fans on hand at Hameline Field, as well as a global audience watching on ESPN 3, the teams combined for 59 first-half points as the Green & White sprinted out to a 39-20 lead at the intermission. McKinnon opened the scoring with a 41-yard first-quarter touchdown run, setting the tone for a dominating 264-yard team rushing performance. McKinnon's second touchdown of the night, on a two-yard run, gave Wagner a 25-6 lead with 3:20 to play in the opening half en route to seizing the 39-20 halftime lead.
Cooper Named NEC Special Teams Player of the Week
Wagner senior placekicker
James Cooper (Linwood, NJ/Mainland Regional) has been named the Northeast Conference (NEC) Special Teams Player of the Week. The South Jersey native tallied nine points, highlighted by a career-long 52-yard field goal, while booming four kickoffs for touchbacks during the Seahawks' resounding 45-20 conference-opening win over previously unbeaten Sacred Heart. Cooper, who made both of his field goal attempts in the impressive Homecoming win on Saturday night, turned a 12-6 lead into an 18-6 advantage over a 4:49 span in the second quarter. After nailing a 39-yard attempt five seconds into the second period, the Temple transfer connected on the 52-yard try that gave Wagner a double-digit lead with 10:06 remaining in the first half. This kick is the longest field goal in the NEC thus far this season, surpassing the 51-yarder that Bryant's Ricky Perez booted at Montana State in Week two. Handling the kickoff duties as well, Cooper averaged 61.2 yards per boot while sending four of his nine kickoffs for touchbacks. For the season, Cooper is 5-of-6 on field goal attempts and leads the NEC with 12 touchbacks on the year. Cooper's 52-yard field goal was the longest by a Seahawk since October 9, 2010 when David Lopez nailed a 54-yarder which forged a 13-13 with Georgetown as regulation time expired en route to a 22-16, double-overtime win over the Hoyas. Cooper's boot also marked the first from beyond 50 yards since Lopez nailed a 51-yarder on November 17, 2012 vs. Duquesne.
Largest Crowd Since 2012 NCAA FCS Playoff Win Over Colgate in 2012The near-capacity crowd of 3,002 on hand for the Homecoming win over Sacred Heart was the largest at Hameline Field since November 24, 2012 when the NEC Champion Seahawks defeated Patriot League winner Colgate, 31-20, in the first round of the FCS Playoffs in front of 3,032 people. This remains the only win that an NEC member has recorded in the NCAA Playoffs.
Robb & Lia Trophy Winners
Annually at Homecoming, two Wagner College football players are selected to receive special awards for outstanding play with the Robb Trophy going to the Seahawks' top offensive performer. Established in 1949, the Robb Trophy was named in memory of James Robb, a Seahawk gridiron star who was killed in action during World War II. Following the game, senior running back
Matthias McKinnon (Albany, NY / Bishop Maginn / Jireh Prep [NC]) was named the winner of the James Robb Memorial Trophy Offensive MVP Award. The Nick Lia Memorial Defensive MVP Trophy is named in honor of former Seahawk great and Staten Island native, Nick Lia, who was killed in Vietnam in 1968. This year's trophy was awarded to redshirt-freshman linebacker
Santoni Graham (Arlington, VA / Bishop O'Connell / Fork Union Military Academy), who paced the Seahawks with a game-high 11 tackles, including eight solo stops.
Sacred Heart Had Allowed 44 Total Points in First Four Games Before Surrendering 45 to WagnerAs an illustration of Wagner's offensive performance, consider that the Pioneer's NEC-leading defense had allowed just 44 total points during their 4-0 start to the 2016 season, including last week's 38-10 road win over No. 20 Stony Brook. On Saturday night, Wagner lit up the scoreboard with 39 points on their way to a 45-point outing.
Triple-Threat Thomson
Wagner's strong-armed and deceptively mobile 6-5, 225-pound junior quarterback
Alex Thomson (Keyport, NJ / Keyport) delivered another top performance vs. Sacred Heart. Facing the NEC's top-ranked defense, which had allowed just 44 points during the Pioneer's 4-0 start, Thomson completed 15-of-28 passes for 276 yards and three touchdowns with the yards, TD passes and attempts all establishing career highs.
Knighty ActFollowing a scoreless third quarter, junior running back
Denzel Knight (Rochester, NY / Salisbury School) shook loose on a 67-yard touchdown jaunt with 7:17 remaining in the game for the only points of the second half. For Knight, it was his second touchdown of the game as his five-yard, first quarter reception from Thomson gave the Seahawks an early 12-0 lead. For the game, the 6-2, 220-pound Knight finished with 76 yards rushing on four carries, in addition to his five-yard TD reception.
Easy Pickins
Fifth-year senior outside linebacker and co-captain
Najee Harris (Norristown, PA/ Norristown), added six tackles, a total that was matched by junior free safety
Jesse Flaherty (Oceanport, NJ / Red Bank Catholic / The Peddie School), who also contributed a big interception in the Seahawk end zone on the last play of the first half. Flaherty's INT was one of two that Wagner snared in its own end zone as freshman cornerback
Myron Morris (Miami, FL / Booker T. Washington) stepped in front of a third-quarter pass intended for wide receiver Moses Webb, to quell another Pioneer threat.
Wide Receivers Williams, Foster Join the PartyAfter Wagner seized a 25-6 lead, SHU then responded with a 99-yard kickoff return by Nate Chavious which made it a 25-13 game. Undaunted, the Seahawks answered right back with a quick-strike three-play, 63-yard drive, highlighted by a gorgeous 50-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback
Alex Thomson (Keyport, NJ/ Keyport) to a leaping
John Williams (Sewell, NJ / Washington Township/Lackawanna CC (PA), as the 6-6 junior wide receiver gathered the ball in at the five-yard line before diving into the end zone. Williams' TD put Wagner in front, 32-13 before Noel led SHU on a five-play, 75-yard drive, capped by a 29-yard TD pass to wide receiver Andrew O'Neill to make it 32-20. Incredibly, Wagner had an answer here as well as senior wide receiver
Keith Foster (Newark, NJ / Weequahic / Milford Academy) made a leaping touchdown grab of his own, this one covering 39 yards, to make it a 39-20 game, as the Seahawks tallied 21 points in the final 3:20 of the opening half.
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