Pictured Above: Junior RB
Ryan Fulse bulldozes his way on an eight-yard touchdown run (photo by Kimberly Moss)
Photo Gallery (By Kimberly Moss)
Final Stats (PDF)
Kalamazoo, MI – The Wagner football team trailed by just a 21-7 count at halftime before FBS member Western Michigan pulled away for a 49-14 victory tonight at Waldo Stadium.
With the loss, the Seahawks fall to 1-3 on the season while the Broncos, who opened the season with competitive losses to then third-ranked USC (49-31) of the PAC-12, and Big 10 member Michigan State (28-14), even their season mark at 2-2.
Western Michigan, which earned its first win of the season by a 37-28 count over Idaho last week, is coming off of its best finish in school history. After claiming the MAC Championship, the Broncos took a 13-0 record into the 2017 Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic where they battled Wisconsin of the Big 10 to the wire before falling by a count of 24-16.
The Seahawks are next action on Saturday, September 30, when Wagner hosts Lehigh University of the Patriot League for a 6:00 p.m. kickoff at Hameline Field. The Mountain Hawks fell to 0-4 on the season today after dropping a wild 65-47 contest to the University of Pennsylvania. This will mark the first-ever meeting between Wagner and Lehigh whose campuses are separated by just 87 miles.
Tonight, WMU quarterback Jon Wassink completed 11-of-12 passes for 165 yards and three touchdowns while running backs Jamauri Bogan and Jarvi Franklin added 132 and 111 yards on the ground, respectively.
For the Seahawks, junior quarterback
Luke Massei (Cary, NC / Green Hope) gained his second consecutive start at quarterback in place of All-Northeast Conference (NEC) Preseason selection
Alex Thomson (Keyport, NJ / Keyport). Thomson, a 6-5, 225-pound redshirt-junior, suffered a season-ending shoulder injury at Saint Francis U on October 7 and underwent successful surgery on Friday.
Trailing 21-0, Wagner punched in its first touchdown in the waning seconds of the opening half on a possession that began when junior linebacker
Quintin Hampton (Moultrie, GA / Colquitt County / UCF) delivered a crunching hit on WMU quarterback Jon Wassink in the open field. Hampton's blow jarred the ball loose, with senior defensive back
Tyamonee Johnson (Ft. Wash-ington, MD / Bullis School) recovering at the Broncos' 30-yard line.
Western Michigan initially stopped the drive with 1:11 left in the half, forcing a 47-yard field goal attempt by
Eric Silvester (Lincolndale, NY / Somers), but the left-footed freshman was run into by a WMU player after the try missed, with the 15-yard penalty giving Wagner a first down at the Broncos' 15. Next, a pass interference penalty on Western Michigan in the end zone gave the Green & White a first-and-goal at the two. On first down, redshirt-junior running back
Denzel Knight (Rochester, NY / Salisbury School) barreled in for the score with 19 seconds to go in the half, cutting the deficit to 21-7 at the intermission.
After WMU reeled off 28 consecutive points to open the second half, the Seahawks made it a 49-14 game on the legs of Fulse, as he carried both times on a quick-strike, two-play, 28-yard TD drive. On first down, Fulse scooted 20 yards around left end to make it first-and-goal at the eight. On the next play, the junior bulldozed his way in up the middle for the score.
The score was set up by senior defensive lineman
Maurice Diawara (Lakewood, NJ / Lakewood), who scooped up a fumble and returned it 11 yards to the WMU 28.
The Seahawks had a chance to score some early points on their second offensive possession of the game. With Wagner trailing 7-0, Massei connected with redshirt-sophomore wide receiver
Willie Dale (Staten Island, NY / St. Peter's) up the right sideline on 21-yard completion which sparked a 57-yard drive. After the drive stalled on the Broncos' 18-yard line, kicker
James Cooper (Linwood, NJ / Mainland Regional/ Temple) came on for a 35-yard field goal, but the graduate student's attempt sailed wide right.
Fulse, coming off a 153-yard, two-touchdown game at Columbia last week, finished with 61 yards rushing on 19 carries. Massei went 7-of-15 through the air for 54 yards with junior tight end
Chris Woodard (North Tonawanda, NY / North Tonawanda) leading with three receptions (16 yards) while Dale led in receiving yards with 27 (two receptions). Massei was shaken up in the third quarter and replaced by true freshman
Donald Glenn (Middletown, NJ / Middletown North), who went the rest of the way, completing his lone pass attempt for three yards.
Defensively, sophomore linebacker
Allaah Sessions (Elmira, NY / Elmira) paced the Seahawks with a career-high seven tackles, five of them solo stops. In the punting department, Silvester, the reigning NEC Rookie of the Week for his efforts at Columbia last week, which included a career-long 64-yarder, delivered another top performance vs. WMU. Tonight, the southpaw was called on to punt the ball seven times, hitting for a 40.3-yard average with a long of 55 yards.
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