WAGNER-COLUMBIA SCENE-SETTER
New York, NY - The Wagner Seahawks travel to upper Manhattan to face the Columbia Lions on Saturday, September 16 in a "Battle of the Boroughs" matchup that will be televised on SNY. This marks the third consecutive season that the schools have met and Columbia has won each of the first two meetings. Saturday's game marks the third of the season for the Green & White, which opened with a 37-7 win over Saint Anselm (8/31) in the 2017 lid-lifter at Hameline Field, followed by a 31-6 loss at Saint Francis U on September 9.
WAGNER ALL-TIME VS. COLUMBIA
This is the third all-time meeting between the schools with the Seahawks and Lions having faced one another in each of the last two seasons.
THE COACHES
JASON HOUTAGHLING - WAGNER
Jason Houghtaling (say it Ho-tal-ling) is in his third season as the head coach of the Seahawks and, at age 36, 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 (8-16), who guided Wagner to a 6-5 record (4-2 in the NEC, third place) in 2016, 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.
AL BAGNOLI - COLUMBIA
Nine-time Ivy League Football Champion and one of the all-time winningest head coaches in NCAA FCS history, Al Bagnoli was named Columbia head coach on February 23, 2015 and begins his third season at Columbia in 2017. Nationally known for his ability to turn football programs into winners, Bagnoli arrived at Columbia after 23 years at the University of Pennsylvania, where he totaled a 148-80 overall record and 112-49 record in the Ivy League. His Penn teams won nine Ivy League Championships, including six undefeated conference marks (1993, 1994, 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010) and three perfect seasons (10-0 in 1993 and 2003, 9-0 in 1994). In 35 years as a head coach, Bagnoli's career record currently stands at 239-112. His career winning percentage (68.1%) ranks second among active FCS coaches and 16th all-time. His 239 victories rank as the 35th all-time total in the history of college football, sixth among active college football coaches, 11th among all-time FCS coaches and third among active FCS coaches. Bagnoli's 115 career Ivy League victories rank as the second highest total in league history.
HOUGHTALING THIRD-YOUNGEST COACH IN FCS
Jason Houghtaling is the nation's third-youngest FCS head coach in the nation. The only two coaches younger than the 3-year old Houghtaling are Mitch Stewart of Murray State and Cornell's David Archer.
TWO-HEADED TACKLING TANDEM
The Wagner inside linebacker tandem of junior
Quintin Hampton (Moultrie, GA / Colquitt County / UCF), a 2016 Second-Team All-NEC choice, and redshirt-sophomore
Santoni Graham (Arlington, VA / Bishop O'Connell / Fork Union Military Academy), the Seahawks' leading tackler from a year ago, have picked up where they left off last season. In the first two games of the season, this two-headed tackling tandem has amassed identical statistics as each leads the team with 16 tackles on eight solo and eight assisted stops. Their 8.0 tackles per game average is tied for sixth in the NEC
WR D'ERREN WILSON LEAD NEC IN RECEPTIONSJunior wide receiver D'erren Wilson (Greeneville, TX / Greeneville), a transfer from UCF, is the NEC's top receiver through two games with 15 receptions for 182 yards. Following is 10-catch, 140-yard, one touchdown receiving night in Wagner's 37-7 season-opening win over Saint Anselm, Wilson was named an NEC PrimerPerformer
PROFESSIONAL SEAHAWKS
Wagner has three current former players playing professional football. Linebacker Julian Stanford is in his sixth season in the NFL and is currently on the New York Jets. Linebacker
Najee Harris is in his first season with the Oakland Raiders, having earned a spot on the practice squad. C.O. Prime is in his fourth season in the CFL as a member of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.Former
#Seahawk @Mr_NxtLvl with 2 tackles in the Jets game vs the Bills today.
#SeahawkNation #NFL pic.twitter.com/BPB8fE48WQ
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