Photo by Dave Saffran
WATCH | Live Stats
Smithfield, RI – The Wagner College football team will travel to Bryant this Sunday for a 1:00 pm matchup with the Bulldogs, which will be broadcast live on NECFrontRow.
Defensive Standouts
In Wagner's season-opening loss to Duquesne, the Seahawk defense stepped up, holding the Dukes to just seven points in the first half while coming up with an interception and five total sacks.
Junior
Titus Leo led Wagner with two sacks, earning him NEC Prime Performer honors.
Defensive captain and senior
Ahmad Lyons came up with an interception near the end zone to keep Duquesne off the board to end the half.
Familiar Faces On Both Sides
The Seahawks and Bulldogs will have multiple familiar faces on the opposing sidelines this Sunday. Head coach
Tom Masella, who made his head coaching debut for the Seahawks last Sunday against Duquesne, was the defensive coordinator at Bryant during the 2019 season.
On the other side, current Bryant offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator Steven Ciocci won the 2012 NEC title as a player for the Seahawks before helping the Green and White win a share of the 2014 NEC title as an assistant coach.
The Captains
The 2021 Seahawks will feature two captains in seniors
Ahmad Lyons and offensive lineman
Xavier Bryson. Lyons, a 2020 preseason All-NEC selection, finished his first season on Grymes Hill with 40 tackles, two pass breakups, and two interceptions in the secondary, but was also asked to step into a multi-purpose role late in the season. Playing in all three phases of the game, Lyons returned 12 kickoffs for 247 yards, gained 51 yards out of the backfield, caught one pass for four yards in the season-finale against Bryant, and threw a touchdown pass on a trick play at Saint Francis U.
Bryson appeared in all 11 games in 2019, starting the season at center and moving to right tackle for the final stretch of the season. The versatile senior started at right tackle in four out of the final five games of the season after earning two starts at center to open the year.
Scouting The Bulldogs
The Bulldogs come into Sunday's contest with a 1-1 record, falling to LIU in their season opener before defeating Merrimack in week two.
Bryant averages 171 yards rushing and 16.5 points throughout its two contests while holding opponents to 208 yards per game.
The Series
The Seahawks and Bulldogs have met 12 times with Bryant holding an 8-4 lead in the head-to-head series. The last time these two teams met in Smithfield in 2018, All-American running back Ryan Fulse ran for 218 yards on 38 carries and three touchdowns, and added a fourth receiving, while fifth-year senior quarterback T.J. Linta passed for 167 yards and three scores in leading the Seahawks to a 52-36 victory. Overall, in this series, Bryant won the first two games played between the teams, in 2008 and 2009, and has come out on top in three of the last four meetings. In between, Wagner went 3-2 vs. Bryant, capped by a 23-20 come-from-behind road win in 2014 which clinched a tie for the NEC title that season. This game also marked the end of
Walt Hameline's 34-year tenure as head coach. Two years earlier, en route to claiming the 2012 NEC title outright, the Seahawks earned a 31-21 home win over the Bulldogs.
Coaching Changes
The 2021 Seahawks feature a new head coach and three new coordinators. Wagner's new offensive coordinator is
Chris Nugai, while
Darrell Wilson was elevated to defensive coordinator.
Jim Munson will be the Seahawks' special teams coordinator. Wilson and Munson are the only returning assistants for the Green and White this season.
Senat Signs With Browns
Former Wagner two-sport standout Greg Senat has signed a one-year deal with the Cleveland Browns.
Senat briefly spent time on the Browns' practice squad during the 2020 regular season before signing with the Dallas Cowboys, where he appeared in 10 games.
Senat won the Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2020 year after being drafted by Baltimore in the sixth round of the 2018 NFL Draft and spending his first NFL season with the Ravens.
A four-year member of the Seahawk men's basketball team, Senat went on football scholarship prior to the 2016 season and became a fixture on the Seahawk offensive line, starting all 22 games that he played in during his two-year gridiron career
In 2016-17, the Long Island native helped the Wagner hoops team to a 16-14 season as a senior before competing solely in football during the 2017 season as a fifth-year senior.
Senat was the second Seahawk ever to be selected in the NFL draft, when he was selected, joining Rich Kotite, who was selected in the 18th round of the 1965 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings.
Next Up For Wagner
Following Sunday's contest, the Seahawks will host Sacred Heart on Sunday, March 28.
