Photo Gallery (Credit: Jason Eggleston)
Chestnut Hill, MA – The Wagner football team took an early 7-0 lead on a 55-yard touchdown run by junior QB
Alex Thomson (Keyport, NJ/ Keyport), and trailed by just a 14-10 count midway through the second quarter, before falling to Football Bowl Championship (FBS) Subdvision opponent Boston College, 42-10, this afternoon at Alumni Stadium.
Playing their sixth FBS opponent all time, and first from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), the 2-1 Seahawks open Northeast Conference (NEC) play on Saturday, October 1 with a 6:00 p.m. matchup vs. Sacred Heart in a game that will be seen on ESPN3.
Thomson finished the day 13-of-25 passing for 62 yards. Due to 47 yards lost on sacks, the 6-5, 220-pound Jersey Shore native was credited with 20 net yards rushing on eight attempts.
After BC (2-2) responded to the early 7-0 deficit with 14 straight points, the Green & White mounted an 11-play, 37-yard drive that resulted in a 33-yard field goal by fifth-year senior placekicker
James Cooper (Linwood, NJ / Mainland Regional/ Temple), who has now been successful on 3-of-4 field goal attempts, in addition to a perfect 11-of-11 on extra points.
Despite being on the field for 76 plays, as the Eagles held a 37:12-22:48 edge in time of possession, the Wagner defense was able to force the Eagles' offense into a number of negative plays in front of 22,728 fans, the fourth-largest crowd to ever witness a Wagner football game.
Leading the way defensively for the Seahawks was junior linebacker
Randall May (Sparta, NJ/ Sparta), who had a game-high eight tackles, including seven solo stops, along with sophomore linebacker
Santoni Graham (Arlington, VA / Bishop O'Connell / Fork Union Military Academy), who was in on six stops. Senior punter
Bryan Rafano (South River, NJ / St. Joseph's-Metuchen), had a productive game on a busy afternoon, punting the ball a career-high 10 times with an average of 40.3 yards per punt. The 2015 Second-Team All-NEC performer and a 2016 Preseason All-NEC choice, launched a game-long 52-yarder in the second quarter.
"It was certainly nice to take that early lead and we did some good things out there against a very big, talented and well-coached team," said Seahawk second-year head coach
Jason Houghtaling. "We lost some battles at the line of scrimmage, and struggled to get their guys blocked at times. Some guys got a little excited playing here, but I thought overall we played really hard on offense, defense and on special teams. We'll clean up a few things and get ready for Sacred Heart in our NEC opener."
"As I've said before, I really like our football team, the way they prepare and go about things," Houghtaling added.
Boston College sophomore quarterback Patrick Towles, a fifth-year senior transfer from Kentucky, had 46 yards on seven carries to go with 157 yards on 9-for-16 passing for the Eagles. Junior running back Jonathan Hilliman, a bruising 253-pounder, rushed 19 times for 83 yards and two touchdowns.
Labady Sees First Action
The contest vs. Boston College marked the Seahawk debut for junior running back/return specialist
Franklin Labady (Hialeah, FL/Milford Academy), a speedy transfer from the University of Cincinnati. On the afternoon, the 5-8, 165-pound Sunshine State native, who sat out the first two games of the season due to injury, returned five kickoffs for 78 yards against the Eagles.
Clifford Gains First Start
Sophomore center
Daniel Clifford (Hoboken, NJ/Hoboken) gained the first start of his young career.
Follow Wagner Athletics on Facebook (facebook.com/WagnerAthletics), Twitter (@wagnerathletics), Instagram (@wagnerathletics) and YouTube (@WagnerSeahawks) for all the latest news and updates on the athletic department. Follow @Wagner_Football for all the latest news pertaining to Wagner Football and second-year head coach Jason Houghtaling (@HossWagner). Be sure to follow @WagnerGameday on Twitter for all live in-game updates. #CHAOSonthehill.
