Photo by Adrienne Terzuoli
Staten Island, NY – The Wagner College Football team outgained Central Connecticut State 125-0 yards in the second quarter and went into the halftime locker room knotted at 13-13, but the 19
th-ranked Blue Devils pulled away for a 27-13 victory on Saturday at sun-splashed Hameline Field.
With the loss, the Seahawks fall to 1-8 on the season and 1-3 in conference play, while CCSU improves to 8-1 on the year and 4-0 in NEC play.
After falling behind 13-3 early in the second quarter, the Seahawks answered through the air, as freshman quarterback
Ryan Yost connected with junior wide receiver
Roland Foiyoe for a 52-yard gain, before finding junior
Joshua DeCambre for a 20-yard touchdown in the back of the end zone.
For Yost, who entered the game in the first quarter to replace graduate student quarterback
Christian Alexander-Stevens, who missed the remainder of the game due to injury, it was the first career touchdown pass of his collegiate career, while DeCambre hauled in his fourth touchdown of the season.
With no time remaining in the second quarter, the Seahawks then tied the game on a 21-yard field goal by junior
Eric Silvester, who had earlier connected on a 34-yard kick to open the scoring.
Defensively, the Seahawks took the ball away twice in the first half. On just the second play from scrimmage, senior All-American
Cam Gill added to his record-breaking sack total, taking the ball away from CCSU quarterback Aaaron Winchester and recovering the fumble in the process.
With 6:26 remaining in the first quarter, junior
Ahmad Lyons recorded his second red zone interception of the season, jumping in front of Winchester's pass at the five yard line and returning it to the 18-yard line in the process.
The Blue Devils pulled away in the second half on touchdown passes of 39 and 35 yards to Kyren Petteway and Tyshaun James, respectively.
Special Teams once again played a big role, as the Seahawks'
Drew Daniel scooped up a blocked CCSU extra point and nearly returned it for a two-point conversion while senior
Chris Williams partially deflected a punt, but it was the Blue Devils' blocked punt for a touchdown with 13:30 to play in the second quarter that stood as the biggest special teams play of the day.
Yost finished with 187 yards through the air, 64 of which went to Foiyoe, while sophomore tight end
Nolan Quinlan led Wagner with five receptions.
Williams paced the Seahawk defense with ten total tackles, including two tackles for loss, while Gill and junior
Macai Bruce recorded sacks in the contest.
Next up, the Seahawks will travel to Sacred Heart University to take on the Pioneers next Saturday, November 9, at noon.
