Moon Township, PA – Junior quarterback Alex Thomson (Keyport, NJ / Keyport) threw for 258 yards, senior running back Matthias McKinnon (Albany, NY / Bisho Maginn / Jireh Prep [NC] added 88 yards on the ground, and the Seahawks took advantage of three interceptions, including a pick-six from sophomore linebacker Santoni Graham (Arlington, VA / Bishop O'Connell / Fork Union Military Academy), in earning a dominant 40-5 victory this afternoon.
 
The Seahawks raced out to a 27-3 halftime lead and never looked back in evening their overall season record at 5-5 while moving to 3-2 in NEC play. The Green & White will host first-place Saint Francis U in a Saturday, November 19 noon shoot-out on Senior Day at Hameline Field.
 
With the game tied 3-3 in the early going, Thomas hit big-play senior wide receiver John Williams on a 69-yard touchdown strike to cap a 4-play, 82-yard drive, in making it a 10-3 game. Seahawk senior defensive back Tim Hayes then came up with his fourth interception of the season, the first of three against RMU QB Joe Carroll. Hayes' pick came at the Colonials' 10-yard line and the Californian returned it 35 yards to the Seahawk 45.
 
On third-and-5 from midfield, Thomson connected with sophomore wide receiver Willie Dale (Staten Island, NY / St. Peter's) on a 49-yard hookup down to the one yard-line. Thompson flipped a one-yard TD pass to Lucas De Pofi (Endicott, NY / Union-Endicott) on the ensuing play, extending the Seahawk lead to 17-3 with 12:05 left before halftime.
 
On RMU's next possession, junior defensive back Jesse Flaherty (Oceanort, NJ / Red Bank Catholic / Peddie) came up with his third interception of the season, picking off Carroll at the Wagner 41. This turnover led to a 27-yard field goal from senior James Cooper (Linwood, NJ / Mainlaind Regional / Temple) which extended the Seahawk lead to 20-3 at the 6:16 mark of the opening half.
 
Senior defensive lineman Kendlel Bramble (Freeport, NY / Baldwin)  pounced on a fumble at the RMU 15 on the Colonials' following drive, which led to a one-yard TD burst by McKinnnon with 5:06 to go in the half as the Seahawks took a 27-3 lead into the intermission at halftime.
 
On the Colonials' opening possession of the second half, Graham stepped in front of a Carroll pass and returned the interception 43 yards for a touchdown and a 33-3 Seahawk lead.
 
"I thought that we had a tremendous week of preparation and that's what led to today's performance," said second-year head coach Jason Houghtaling. "The kids worked really hard in practice all week. And today, we came out and played really hard and executed well."
 
"Defensively, we causes turnovers, were very active on that side all game long," he continued. "And on offense, we were down three key guys who were out with injuries in Diaz (senior LT Matt Diaz [Edison, NJ / Edison]), Yevy (senior wide receiver Andrew Yevchinecz (Binghamton, NY / Binghamton) and Foster (senior wide receiver Keith Foster [Newark, NJ / Weequahic / Milford Academy])."
 
"All in all, a really complete effort and we're going to enjoy this one and then begin our focus oin Saint Francis U," he added.
 
RMU then tallied its lone points of the second half when the extra point try was blocked by Amir Fenwick and returned all the way by Zach Cooper for a rare defensive PAT, resulting in two points for the Colonials which made it 33-5.
 
Wagner's final points of the game came on a crisp 12-play, 92-yard drive, which culminated in a four-yard touchdown run by junior RB Denzel Knight (Rochester, NY / Salisbury School), which fashioned the final score at 40-5.
 
Thomson's 258-yard passing day came on 18-of-31 attempts, with two touchdowns. Williams, who entered the game ranked ninth nationally at 19.4 yards per reception, had four grabs on the day for 110 yards, led by the early 68-yard score. McKinnon's 88-yard afternoon came on 22 carries.
 
For the game, the Seahawks outgained the Colonials, 428-168, holding RMU to just 21 net rushing yards. Defensively, a host of Seahawks got into the act, led by junior linebacker Randall May who recorded a team-high four tackles. Five different Seahawks were credited with three tackles apiece.
 
For RMU, Carroll was harassed into a 6-for-28 passing performance for 102 yards and had those three INTs. On the ground, TJ Neal led the way for the Colonials with 34 yards rushing on 13 carries.