They didn’t come in elaborate Halloween costumes, instead opting for their regular road uniforms, helmets and shoulder pads. However, the Seawolves were the scariest team in town.
In its first ever trip to North Carolina, the squad used a stingy defensive performance to overcome a halftime deficit and ruin Garden-Webb’s homecoming, pulling out a 24-14 win. With the victory, the Seawolves give the Runnin’ Bulldogs their first Big South loss, while keeping their own conference record unblemished and improving to 5-4 overall.
‘It feels good to be 4-0, and we’re just trying to take it one game at a time,’ said junior wide receiver Donald Porter (Charles Town, WVA), who added another touchdown to his season stats with a 30 yard grab in the second quarter.
The win, like most of the Seawolves wins this season, did not come easy.
After a fruitless opening drive, Stony Brook punted to give GWU the ball back at it’s own 15 yard line. The home team did not waste any time getting into Seawolves territory, picking up 3 quick first downs. With a little over 6 minutes remaining in the opening quarter, quarterback Stan Doolittle put the Runnin’ Bulldogs on top, by capping off the 9 play drive with a 27-yard run into the end zone. GWU would hold the 7-0 lead heading into the second.
After only picking up 13 total yards in the first quarter, the Stony Brook offense bounced back in the second to collect 101 yards in the second. Sophomore quarterback Michael Coulter (Yorba Linda, CA) completed two passes for huge gains within a 6 play scoring drive. First, Coulter found senior running back Conte Cuttino (Uniondale, NY) for a 40 yarder that took the Seawolves from their own 24 to the GWU 36. A few plays later, Coulter, facing a fourth down and needing 4 yards, threw it 30 yards to Porter, who dove into the end zone to even the score.
But the tie was short lived, as the Runnin’ Bulldogs answered right back with a 10 play, 70 yard scoring drive that gave them a 14-7 advantage heading into the halftime break.
In the third, the Seawolves defense showed how essential it is to the team’s success.
‘We played great defense the whole game,’ said Seawolves Head Coach Chuck Priore.
After failing to put points on the board, despite marching into GWU territory early in the period, Stony Brook relied on its defense to keep the home team from padding its lead. The defense rose to the opportunity, not only containing the Runnin’ Bulldogs, but also doing some scoring.
After senior defensive lineman Ryan Sollazo (Tampa, FL) forced a fumble at the GWU 16 yard line, junior defensive back Arin West (Toms River, NJ) recovered and carried the ball in for the Seawolves’ second defensive touchdown of the year. The score was now knotted at 14, but the Seawolves were not finished. The defense continued to play stingy, with West coming up big again by forcing another GWU fumble, this time recovered by sophomore defensive lineman Ryan Haber (Lafayette Hill, PA).
The offense managed to get deep into GWU territory, and freshman placekicker Wesley Skiffington (Bradon, FL) made sure that the Seawolves did not come out empty handed. His 27-yard field goal with a little under 2 minutes remaining gave the road team a slim 17-14 lead.
In the fourth, the Seawolves kept the intensity high, with both the offense and defense making big plays. Gardner-Webb lost the rhythm it previously had, being held to only 21 yards in the final period. On the other hand, when it counted most, the Stony Brook offense put together a 12-play, 77-yard drive that provided enough of a cushion for the victory. Cuttino tallied 46 yards on the winning drive, putting his team within striking distance from the end zone. On a third and nine, just before the two minute warning, Coulter completed a 21-yard TD pass to redshirt freshman wide receiver Jordan Gush (Richardson, TX), stretching the road team’s lead to 24-14.
The Seawolves sealed the deal by recovering yet another Gardner-Webb fumble with a little more than a minute to go.
Stony Brook has a little more time to enjoy the win, not playing again until the 14th at Charleston Southern. The week off is welcome, according to Porter. ‘We have a lot of people kind of banged up right now,’ he said, ‘So this bye-week will allow us to get healthy.’
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