Photo by Adrienne Terzuoli
Wagner-East Stroudsburg Scene-Setter
Staten Island, 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 will play its home opener on Saturday, September 7 when the Seahawks host the East Stroudsburg University Warriors in a 6:00 p.m. kickoff at Hameline Field.
Tough, Competitive 21-21 Loss at UConn
Wagner's down to the wire 24-21 loss at UConn is the closest a Northeast Conference (NEC) team has ever been to knocking off a BCS level opponent. The second-closest margin of defeat vs. an FBS program? August 31, 2012 when the eventual NEC-champion Seahawks were edged at FAU by a 7-3 count.
89th Season of Seahawk Football Underway
Thursday's 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 Thursday's loss, 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.
All-Time Series
Saturday's game will mark the first-ever meeting between Wagner and East Stroudsburg, a member of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) which competes in the NCAA Division II classification. A year ago, the Warriors were 2-9 on the season.
Recent History vs. D-II Foes
Wagner has faced a Division II opponent in each of the last three seasons and the Seahawks are 3-0 in these games with an average final score of 38-15.
9/1/16 Wagner 38, Saint Anselm 16
8/31/17 Wagner 37, Saint Anselm 7
8/30/18 Wagner 40, *Bowie State 23 (*ranked 22nd in NCAA D-II Preseason Poll)
About the PSAC
The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference consists of 16 football-playing members broken down into an East-West Division format. East Stroudsburg, which went 2-9 in 2018, was picked sixth in the eight-team East Division Preseason Poll.
2019 East Division Preseason Poll
1. West Chester (6)
2. Shepherd (2)
3. Kutztown
4. Shippensburg
5. Bloomsburg
6. East Stroudsburg
7. Millersville
8. Lock Haven
2019 West Division Preseason Poll
1. Slippery Rock (6)
2. Cal U (1)
3. IUP (1)
4. Mercyhurst
5. Edinboro
6. Gannon
7. Clarion
8. Seton Hill
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.
