WAGNER-SACRED HEART SCENE-SETTER
Staten Island, NY - The Wagner Seahawks open Northeast Conference (NEC) play vs. Sacred Heart with a Homecoming clash at Hameline Field in a 6:00 p.m. start in a game that will be seen live on ESPN 3.The Green & White enter tonight's matchup with a record of 2-1 while the Pioneers are a perfect 4-0 on the young season. After winning three consecutive games in the series, between 2011 and 2013, SHU has won the last two meetings played between the teams, including last season's 45-17 in the 2015 regular season finale on November 21 in Fairfield, CT.
NEC OPENERS
A charter member of the NEC, Wagner is 11-9 all-time in NEC openers since the inaugural conference season of 1996.
SEAHAWKS TAKE EARLY LEAD AT BOSTON COLLEGE
After opening the season with wins over Saint Anselm (38-16) and Concordia (38-0), the Seahawks traveled to Boston College on September 24. Aginst the Eagles, Wagner took an early 7-0 lead on a 55-yard touchdown run by junior QB
Alex Thomson (Keyport, NJ/ Keyport). The Green & White hung tough, trailing by just a 14-10 count midway through the second quarter before the Eagles pulled away for the 42-10 win.
SACRED HEART IS WAGNER'S FIRST FCS FOE THIS SEASON
After opening the season with games against a NCAA Division II team (Saint Anselm's), a team from NAIA (Concordia), and a Football Bowl Championship (BCS) program, Boston College, the Seahawks will finally face a fellow Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) foe in Sacred Heart. Wagner has the distinction of being the only team in FCS football this season that will face opponents which compete in four different levels of classification. The Seahawks' 11-game 2016 schedule features a cross-section of opponents who hail from the FBS (Boston College and UMass), Division II (Saint Anselm), NAIA (Concordia) and FCS (Columbia, as well as the conference rivals Bryant, Duquesne, Central Connecticut, Robert Morris, and Saint Francis U).
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 (3-11) 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.
Sacred Heart
Mark Nofri, who is in his fourth season as head coach at Sacred Heart and 22nd with the program, has led the Pioneers to a 24-15 record in this time, including back-to-back Northeast Conference titles and Coach of the Year accolades. Nofri earned his second consecutive NEC Coach of the Year award in 2014, leading the Pioneers to their first-ever national rankings and second straight berth in the FCS Playoffs. SHU defeated nationally ranked Delaware, on the road, and Bryant, at home, for the program's first-ever wins over nationally ranked opponents. Nofri and the Pioneers went 9-3 in 2014, with a 5-1 mark in league play as they earned the league's automatic FCS berth on the strength of a win at Wagner. A 1993 graduate of Keene State University, Nofri took over as the Pioneers' interim head coach for the 2012 season and the Pioneers finished 2-9 and were 1-7 in the Northeast Conference.
SPECIAL TEAMS, SPECIAL TIMES
A key to Wagner's 2-1 start this season has been the play of the Seahawks' special teams units. In the punting department, senior punter
Bryan Rafano (South River, NJ / St. Joseph's-Metuchen), had a productive game on a busy afternoon at Boston College, punting the ball a career-high ten 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 and enters the Sacred Heart game averaging an NEC-best 40.5 yards per punt.
Senior
James Cooper (Linwood, NJ / Mainland Regional/ Temple) has been a weapon for the Seahawks. In three games, the South Jersey native tops the team with 20 points scored on 3-of-4 accuracy on field goals and a perfect 11-of-11 on extra-point attempts. His strong leg has also been a positive factor on kickoffs as eight of his boots have been downed in the end zone for touchbacks.
Senior return specialist
Andre Yevchinecz (Binghamton, NY / Binghamton), meanwhile, leads the NEC in punt return average at 15.2 yards per return. His signature moment came in the 38-0 win over Concordia, when he returned a punt 77 yards for a touchdown, becoming the first Seahawk to find pay dirt via a punt return since Al Phillips turned the trick in 2006.
The 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.
ROBB & LIA TROPHIES
Annually at homecoming, two Wagner College football players are selected to receive special awards for outstanding play. The James Robb Memorial Trophy is presented to the outstanding offensive player, while the Nick Lia Memorial Trophy is awarded to the Seahawks' outstanding defensive player. 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. It was presented to Wagner's outstanding individual player in the annual homecoming game until 1969. In that season, the Lia Trophy was introduced in honor of another Wagner football player, Nick Lia. The 1965 recipient of the Robb Trophy was killed in the Vietnam War. An outstanding defensive player and team captain, the Staten Island native was a graduate of Curtis High School. In 2000, Lt. Nick Lia was honored for his athletic achievements by being inducted into the Wagner College Athletics Hall of Fame. Lia helped lead the 1964 football team to an undefeated season and captained the '65 team. This year's winners, as selected by an alumni panel, will be announced at the end of this season's Homecoming contest. Each recipient receives an award and his name is added to the standing trophies which will be on display in the Hall of Fame Room in the Spiro Sports Center.
