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Staten Island, NY – Junior quarterback Chris Andrews (Queens, NY/St. Joseph's/Valley Forge Military Academy) tossed a nine-yard touchdown pass to fifth-year senior tight end Bryant Watts (Burlington, NJ/Florence) in the second overtime, one of three TD receptions for the 6-5, 245-pounder, as Wagner earned a wild 46-39 win over Saint Francis U in the Northeast Conference (NEC) opener for both teams.

The Seahawks sealed the victory when senior linebackers Max Wassel (Totowa, NJ/Passaic Valley) and Anthony Emannuele (Depew, NY/Depew) combined to sack Red Flash quarterback Zack Drayer for a 14-yard loss.

With the victory, the Seahawks even their overall record at 3-3 while the Red Flash fall to 2-4.

Wagner jumped  out to an early 21-0 lead before Saint Francis U stormed back with 22 straight points to take a 22-21 lead. The lead would change hands five more times the rest of the way. The game was tied at 32-32 following regulation.

Andrews, who stepped in for starting quarterback Brian Gehring (Tigard, OR/Tigard/Laney JC) when the senior suffered a left wrist injury in the second quarter, completed 9-of-17 passes for 165 yards and two touchdowns while also leading the Green & White ground game with 63 yards on 16 carries while junior running back Otis Wright (Fort Lauderdale, FL/Dillard) had 62 yards on 21 carries.

Sophomore wide receiver Isaiah Gills (Bel Air, MD/Hartford Technical) had a career game with seven receptions for 152 yards with a long of 47. All of Watts' three receptions (for 33 yards) went for touchdowns, which marks a single-game career-high for TD catches.

For SFU, Drayer went 14-of-31 though the air for 286 yards and four touchdowns. His favorite target was wide receiver Anthony Abeid who finished with eight receptions for 189 yards and two touchdowns. On the ground, shifty running back Khairi Dickson, who entered the game ranked No. 1 in all of FCS football with a 183.2-yard average, gained a hard-fought 125 yards rushing while logging 30 carries.

Defensively, Wassel and senior safety Daniel Mack (Miami, FL/Dade Christian/Wake Forest) tied for team-high honors with 10 tackles apiece for the Seahawks, while Emmanuele and fellow senior linebacker Greg Hilliard (Brockton, MA/Suffield Academy/UMass) recorded seven stops apiece.

For SFU, linebacker Solomon Laeno registered a game-high 13 tackles while defensive tackle Lorenzo Coscarelli had 12 tackles, including a game-high 10 solo stops.
Fifth-year senior cornerback Jarrett Dieudonne (Fort Lauderdale, FL/Dillard/Purdue) came up with his 10^th career interception, and it was a big one, as he out-leaped wide receiver Franklyn Williamson at midfield, snaring the pick midway through the fourth quarter that led to the touchdown drive which gave Wagner a 32-25 lead.

That lead was forged when Andrews hit Watts over the middle on a third-and-six pass for a 19-yard score with just 3:10 left to play in regulation to make it a 30-25 game. The Green & White then successfully executed the two-point conversion when Andrews hit junior tight end Ryan Owens (Gainesville, NY/Leftwich), extending the lead to 32-25.

Saint Francis U then countered with an eight-play, 90-yard drive with a 33-yard strike pass from  Drayer to Abeid which made it first-and-goal, setting up a two-yard TD pass from Drayer to tight end Matt Camilletti with 30 seconds left in regulation, tying the game at 32-32 and forcing overtime.

Wagner won the toss in the initial overtime and deferred, putting its defense on the field  first from the Seahawk 25. On the sixth play from scrimmage, Drayer hit Williamson on a nine-yard TD pass to put SFU on top, 39-32.

The Seahawks answered in four plays, all on the ground, with Wright taking it in from the two, with senior kicker Bryan Maley's (Eagle River, Alaska/Chugiak) extra-point knotting the game at 39-39. By overtime rules, Wagner then got the ball and the Seahawks covered the 25 yards in seven plays with Andrews hitting Watts on the nine-yard score which made it a 46-39 game.

The Seahawks then staged their dramatic game-ending defensive stand. With SFU facing a second-and-10 from the Seahawk 12, senior safety Daquan Cooper (Philadelphia, PA/George Washington/Temple) deflected an on-target half-back option pass from Dickson, intended for wide receiver Terrell Smith, in the end zone. On third-and-10, Hilliard came up with a pass deflection as well, which set the stage for the fourth-and-10 play which resulted in the Wassel/Emmanuele combination sack of Drayer, sealing the win.

NOTES – At halftime, the undefeated 1964 Wagner team was honored at midfield in recognition of the historic 10-season that was accomplished under head coach and Hall of Fame member, Bob Hicks. More than 20 former players and coaches were on hand for a pre-game reception and halftime ceremony.
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