Pictured Above: Senior CB
Myron Morris returns 71-yard interception in season opener at UConn
(photo by Adrienne Terzuoli)
In addition to being carried on TV by SNY and streamed by FloSports, the Wagner-Stony Brook game can also be heard live at mixlr.com/wagnerathletics. Available on laptop and on the Mixlr app, which is free. Download the app and type in WagnerAthletics
Wagner-Stony Brook Scene-Setter
Stony Brook, NY – After battling FBS member UConn on the road to the wire before falling 24-21 in the 2019 season opener on August 30, the Wagner College football team (2-1) dropped its home opener to East Stroudsburg by a 24-14 count on September 7 and now faces a major challenge with a road test at 1-1 Stony Brook on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. Saturday's matchup marks the second Northeast Conference (NEC) foe Stony Brook (1-1) has faced this season as the Seahwolves defeated Bryant 35-10 in their August 29 season opener. Last week, the Seawolves dropped a 62-7 decision at FBS member Utah State of the Mountain West Conference.
Wagner-Stony Brook Former NEC Rivals
This will be the 15th all-time meeting between the schools in a series that began in 1985 and Wagner is 9-5 in these matchups. The most recent meeting between the schools was on November 11, 2017 a 12th-ranked Seawolves team earned a 38-10 home victory. The Seahawks won the first two meetings ever in the series, prior to becoming fellow NEC members, with those wins coming in 1985 and 1995. Then, from 1999-2006, the Seahawks and the Seawolves were rivals in the Northeast Conference (NEC). As NEC rivals, Wagner was 7-4 vs. Stony Brook, having won the first five meetings before Stony Brook won four of the final six matchups.
All-Time Series
(9-5, Wagner Leads)
1985 W, 26-10
1995 W, 28-27
1996 W, 27-20
Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium
1997 W, 10-0
1998 W, 14-13
1999 W, 24-12
2000 W, 35-9
2001 L, 30-52
2002 W, 17-14
2003 L, 21-28
2004 W, 21-13
2005 L, 10-28
2006 L, 9-45
2017 L, 38-10
Wagner vs. the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) All-Time
Wagner has an all-time record of 11-76 vs. teams that are currently members of the CAA. The Seahawks have faced a pair of former NEC rivals, Stony Brook, and UAlbany, a combined 27 times apiece and has faced Delaware one time. The most recent meeting the Seahawks had prior to the 2017 meeting at Stony Brook, was was on September 21, 2013, when the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens earned a 49-9 win in Newark, DE.
Stony Brook 9-5
UAlbany 2-11
Delaware 0-1
11-17
89th Season of Seahawk Football Underway
The season opener at UConn kicked off the 89th season of intercollegiate football at Wagner College. In the 89 season-opening games, the Seahawks' all-time record, following this season's 24-21 loss to the Huskies, is 46-41-2. In five season openers under Coach Houghtaling, the Seahawks are 3-2 and saw their three-game season-opening win streak come to an end.
New Faces on Coaching Staff
The Wagner coaching staff will feature five assistants in their first season with the Seahawks, including both coordinators. Associate Head Coach/Defensive coordinator
Del Smith is no stranger to Wagner having served the 2006 and 2007 seasons as linebackers coach under former longtime Wagner head coach, and current athletic director,
Walt Hameline. Prior to his second tour of duty on Staten Island, Smith spent the last three seasons as head coach of his alma mater, West Virginia Wesleyan. The Seahawks' new offensive coordinator,
Lee Hull, is also a former head coach, having spent the 2014 and 2015 seasons as the head man at Morgan State. Prior to his tenure there, he patrolled the sidelines as a longtime assistant at Maryland, Oregon and his alma mater, Holy Cross.
2019 Seahawk Offense Features FBS Transfer at Quarterback
Wagner fifth-year head coach
Jason Houghtaling has handed over the keys to the Seahawk offense to 6-3, 225-pound graduate student and FIU transfer
Christian Alexander-Stevens. The ninth-leading passer in Florida high school history, the strong-armed and mobile Alexander-Stevens earned Offensive MVP honors in leading FIU to a 35-32 victory over Toledo in the 2018 Bahamas Bowl. In this contest, he completed 17-of-26 passes for 209 yards and one touchdown while rushing for 83 yards in the win over the MAC Champion Rockets, while stepping in for 2018 Conference USA Newcomer of the Year, James Morgan, who was sidelined by injury. Alexander-Stevens will have a talented but young cast around him as the Seahawk return just three offensive starters in guards
Chris Gangarossa and
Tyler Piekarz and wide receiver
Joshua DeCambre. Wagner has a good one at tight end in senior
Adam Giordano who is coming off a 14-catch season and now carries 255 pounds on his 6'4" frame.
Defense Boasts Six Returning Starters Headed by All-American Gill, All-NEC Performers Graham and Williams
First-year defensive coordinator
Del Smith inherits or a core of six returning starters, five whom are in the front seven. Leading the way is senior consensus All-American outside linebacker
Cam Gill, the 2018 ECAC and NEC Defensive Player of the Year, along with All-NEC inside linebacker
Santoni Graham. Not to be overlooked is sturdy, 300-pound senior nose tackle and another All-NEC player in
Chris Williams. Other returning starters for the Seahawks include fifth-year senior defensive end
Tevaughn Grant, fifth-year senior defensive tackle
Julian McCleod and senior cornerback
Myron Morris, who had three interceptions in 2018. Morris doubles as a dangerous kick returner.
Silvester a Proven Special Teams Commodity
Coming off a season that saw him average 39.4 yards per punt, which tied for second in the NEC, is junior kicker
Eric Silvester, who was named to the 2019 All-NEC Preseason Team. That 39.8-yard average was buoyed was buoyed by a career-long 68-yard launch at Bryant (11/10), which was preceded the previous week by a 62-yard missile vs. Duquesne (11/3). Silvester's powerful left leg also allowed Wagner to finish third in the NEC in net punting average at 38.8 yards per clip. For the season, the Lincolndale, NY native had 10 punts that traveled 50 yards or more, 18 punts downed inside the 20-yard line, while his hang time forced 10 fair catches on the year. While being recognized on the Preseason All-NEC team for his punting exploits, Silvester was also one of the league top placekickers a year ago where he converted on 10-of-13 field goal attempts (76.9 percent), including 5-of-5 accuracy from 30-39 yards. He also averaged 51.0 yards on 60 kickoffs per kickoff, eight of which went for eight touchbacks.
Three NEC PrimePerformers from UConn Game
Sophomore running back
Dymitri McKenzie, the understudy to consensus 2018 consensus All-American
Ryan Fulse at running back a year ago, responded to the first start of his young career with a 13-carry, 115-yard, two-touchdown performance as Wagner battled FBS member UConn to the wire before falling 24-21 last Thursday. The 5-10, 215-pound Floridian showed power, speed and burst throughout the contest vs. the Huskies. With the Seahawk trailing 17-7 in a game that was carried live on ESPN 3, McKenzie ripped off the first of his two TDs, a nifty 55-yard jaunt which made it a 17-14 game with 2:51 left in the third quarter. Then, with just 3:36 remaining in the game, McKenzie riggled free for a seven-yard touchdown over the right side to draw the Seahawks within 24-21. For McKenzie, 13 caarries, 115 yards and two touchdowns were all career highs.
Senior defensive tackle
Chris Williams showed why he was a 2018 Second-Team All-NEC choice and a 2019 Preseason All-NEC selection with a dominating career-high 11-tackle effort as Wagner battled FBS member UConn to the wire before falling 24-21 last Thursday. The powerfully built 6-2, 305-pound Brooklyn, NY native also came up with a pivotal forced fumble on UConn's first possession of the second half to quell a Husky drive that was threatening to add to their 10-0 halftime lead. With UConn facing a 1st-and-10 at the Seahawk 25-yard line, Williams stripped running back Kevin Mensah of the ball with junior defensive lineman
Macai Bruce pounced on. This play loomed even larger later in the third quarter when senior defensive back
Myron Morris recorded a 71-yard pick-six to make it anybody's ballgame at 10-7. Of Williams' 11 tackles, four were of the solo variety.
Senior cornerback
Myron Morris turned in a huge momentum-changing play late in the third quarter of Wagner's hard-fought 24-21 loss at FBS member UConn on Thursday night when, with the Seahawks trailing 10-0. With Wagner having mustered just two first downs all evening to that point, and UConn on the move, Morris stepped on front of a pass from Husky QB Mike Beaudry, at the Seahawk 29-yard line, and stuck out his left hand for a one-handed interception, which he returned 71 yards up the left sideline for a score that made it a 10-7 ball game. From that point forward, the game was up for grabs as Wagner battled the Huskies to the wire. For the game, the speedy 6-0, 180-pound Florida native wound up with seven tackles, including three solo, in addition to one pass breakup. For Morris, the game-changing INT was the eighth of his career and second career pick-six, as he returned an interception 31 yards to paydirt in a 2017 home contest vs. Central Connecticut. Morris' eight career INTs move him to within one pick of entering the Wagner all-time top-10 career interception list.
