Pictured Above: DL Christopher Williams (photo: Dave Saffran)
Fairfield, CT - The Wagner football team will look to end the 2017 on a high note when the Seahawks travel to Sacred Heart to meet the in a Noon matchup on Saturday at Campus Field in what will be the season finale for both teams.
ABOUT WAGNER
After snapping a three-game losing streak and earning their first NEC win of the season, a 27-7 decision over Robert Morris on Senior Day (11/4), the Seahawks ran into a buzz saw last week, as No. 12 Stony Brook broke open a close game with three second-half turnovers en route to a 38-10 home victory. The Seahawk offense features the talents of junior running back
Ryan Fulse (Fort Meade, FL / Fort Meade / Hudson Valley CC) who has rushed for 100 yards or more in six times on the season, including three straight games and five of his last six. Fulse, who topped the 1,000-yard mark for the season last week, ranks sixth nationally with 1,114 rushing yards.
At quarterback, junior
Luke Massei. (Cary, NC / Green Hope) is third in the NEC with a 59.4% completion rate, having connected on 126-of-212 passes for 1,324 yards, seven touchdowns and seven interceptions. Defensively, junior linebacker
Quintin Hampton (Moultrie, GA / Colquitt County / UCF) paces the team with 76 tackles, including 47 of the solo variety. Sophomore outside linebacker
Cameron Gill (Douglasville, GA / Chapel Hill) is coming off a career-high four-sack game at Stony Brook and is second on the team with 50 tackles (34 solo). Hampton and Gill share team-high honors with 12 sacks apiece. All told, the Seahawks lead the NEC in sacks with 31.
LAST TIME OUT
Twelfth-ranked Stony Brook broke open a close game by taking advantage of three second-half turnovers in pulling away for a 38-10 win over Wagner, in the first meeting between these former NEC rivals in 11 years. Graduate student
James Cooper (Linwood, NJ / Mainland Regional/ Temple) gave the Seahawks an early 3-0 lead by capping a game-opening 13-play, 58-yard drive by drilling a 29-yard field goal. Stony Brook's Darin Peart then returned the ensuing kickoff 71 yards, all the way to the Seahawk 14. Two players later, quarterback Joe Carbone hit wide receiver Harrison Jackson on a 14-yard strike to put SBU ahead 7-3. Junior running back
Ryan Fulse (Fort Meade, FL / Fort Meade / Milford Academy) scored on a 29-yard first-quarter touchdown run, enroute to a 22-carry, 121-yard day, as Wagner took a 10-7 lead after one quarter and trailed by just a 14-10 halftime county before the Seawolves pulled away following the intermission. Junior quarterback
Luke Massei (Cary, NC / Green Hope) wound up 19-of-33 passing for 185 yards with his favorite target being senior wide receiver
John Williams (Sewell, NJ / Washington Township / Lackawanna CC), who corralled four passes for 63 yards. Not to be lost in the outcome of the game was a sensational defensive performance put forth by sophomore outside linebacker Cameron Gil (Douglasville, GA / Chapel Hill), who appeared to be unblockable at times in registering a career-high four sacks which contributed to his team-high eight tackles.
HUDIK AND WOODARD EARN ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT HONORS
Offensive lineman
Brady Hudik (Bordentown, NJ / Bordentown Regional) and tight end
Chris Woodard (North Tonawanda, NY / North Tonawanda), have been named to the Academic All-District First Team for District 1 as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Each year, CoSIDA recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. Hudik and Woodard, along with the rest of the First-team Academic All-District honorees, will now be nominated for possible inclusion on the 2017 CoSIDA Academic All-America Team.
The 6-5, 305-pound Hudik, who boasts a 3.722 GPA as a Business Administration Major, has started all 10 games at left guard and has helped pave the way for the NCAA's fifth-leading FCS rusher in junior running back
Ryan Fulse (Fort Meade, FL Fort Meade), who has amassed 1,114 yards on the ground to go with nine touchdowns.In addition to this most recent honor, Hudik was a member of the 2015 NEC Fall Academic Honor Roll (3.2 or higher) and 2016 NEC Fall Academic Commissioner's Honor Roll (3.75 or higher). The 6-4, 230-pound Woodard is a Physics Major who owns a 3.816 GPA while being one of the NEC's top tight ends with 22 receptions for 210 yards (9.5-yard average) and one touchdown. Back on September 30, the upstate New York native snared a career-high five receptions in 37-20 victory over Lehigh. A member of 2015 NEC Fall Academic Honor Roll (3.2 or higher) and 2016 NEC Fall Academic Commissioner's Honor Roll (3.75 or better), he also has at least one reception in nine of 10 games and three or more catches in five different games.
Wagner Athletics:
Football:
Head Coach Jason Houghtaling:
