Wagner (4-5, 2-2 NEC)      at      Robert Morris (2-8, 1-4 NEC)
Gameday Info	Joe Walton Stadium (3,500)
Wagner Links	Roster | Schedule I Media Guide
Robert Morris Links	Roster | Schedule
Tickets	Click Here
Game Notes	Wagner | Robert Morris
Watch	NEC Front Row
Live Stats	Follow on Live Stats
Social Media	Twitter | Instagram | Faceboo

Wagner-Robert Morris Scene Setter
Wagner will look to improve to 3-2 in Northeast Conference (NEC) play and return to the .500 mark for the season when the Seahawks travel to Moon Township, PA to meet Robert Morris on Saturday at Noon.

Last Time Out
After getting out to a 4-2 start to the 2016 season, the Seahawks have dropped three straight, most recently a hard-fought 28-20 loss to Duquesne last week. Robert Morris, which has logged a league-high 11 takeaways during NEC play this season, forced a pair of fumbles and limited Bryant to 225 yards last week before falling by a 24-13 count.

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 (5-15) was the Seahawks' associate head coach and offensive coordinator when 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. 

Robert Morris
John Banaszak is the second head football coach in Robert Morris University history, having succeeded Joe Morriis following the 2013 season. Now in his third season as head coach, Robert Morris showed signs of growth in Banaszak's second season at the helm in 2015 as RMU won three games in which it trailed in the second half while a school record eight Colonials won Northeast Conference (NEC) weekly honors, including true freshman quarterback Mathew Barr, who was a two-time honoree. Under Banaszak, Kyle Buss became the first Colonial to be named a finalist for National Freshman of the Year, as he was part of a program that achieved a three-win improvement from the season prior. At 2-8 thus far in 2016, his record at RMU is 7-23. (.233). A graduate of Eastern Michigan, Banaszak signed as a free agent with the Pittsburgh Steelers prior to the 1975 season and was one of only three rookies to make the defending Super Bowl champion team out of training camp. Between 1978 and 1980, Banaszak started 45 regular-season games at defensive end as the Steelers won back-to-back Super Bowl championships. In Super Bowl XIII, Banaszak recorded six tackles, including a pair of sacks, and a fumble recovery in a 35-31 victory over the Dallas Cowboys, which garnered him Defensive Player of the Game honors. The following year in Super Bowl XIV, Banaszak finished with five tackles and a sack in a 31-19 victory over the Los Angeles Rams.

Greg 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.

Senat's Height, Leaping Ability Pay Dividends
Senior offensive lineman Greg Senat (Elmont, NY / Elmont / Marianapolis Prep [CT]), a two-sport athlete who doubles as a power forward on the Seahawk basketball team, used his 6-8 height and leaping ability to deliver a key special teams play, partially blocking a first-half field goal attempt in the 25-21 comeback win at Central Connecticut (10/15). 

Senior WR Nour Aly Makes Presence Felt
Senior wide receiver Nour Aly (North Caldwell, NJ / West Essex) recorded a second straight career game last week, finishing with five grabs for 60 yards, both career highs, in Wagner's 28-20 loss to Duquesne. A week earlier at UMass, Aly posted then-career highs with four receptions for 39 yards.

QB Alex Thomson Passes for Most Yards in a Decade at UMass
Wagner junior Alex Thomson (Keyport, NJ / Keyport) threw for 295 yards, the highest output by a Seahawk quarterback in 10 years, at UMass (10/29). Thomson's career-high 295 yards passing are the most by a Seahawk since Matt Abbey threw for 305 yards vs. Sacred Heart on September 30, 2006. Abbey's passing day also marks the last time a Wagner QB has had a 300-yard passing day. For the season, Thomson has completed 130-of-234 passes (55.6) for 1,697 yards with 11 TDs and just three interceptions.

Thomson Enters Single-Season Top-10
With his 17-of-31, 218-yard performance against Duquesne today, Alex Thomson has entered the Wagner All-Time Top 10 in two major statistical categories. For the season, the 6-5, 225-pound Jersey Shore native has completed 147-of-265 passes (55.5) for 1,915 yards with 11 TDs and four interceptions. 

Single-Season Completions
Alex Thomson - 9th, 147

Single-Season Passing Yards
Alex Thomson - 10th: 1,915 yards

Kicker James Cooper Moving Up On Single-Season, Career Lists
With his 2-of-2 effort on field goal tries today, James Cooper, a senior in his first season as a Seahawk after transferring from Temple, is now 13-of-16 for the season, including 11-of-11 from 30 to 39 yards. Cooper has now made five straight field goals which is his second-longest streak of the season as earlier this season, he connected on six consecutive. 

Single-Season Field Goals Made
James Cooper - T-3: 13

Career Field Goals Made
James Cooper - T-7: 13

DID YOU KNOW???
*Junior wide receiver John Williams (left) ranks 4th in the nation in yards per reception (20.25). 
*Junior RB Denzel Knight (right) ranks 9th nationally in yards per carry (6.85). 

Wagner Athletics