In a game that was anything but shy of offense, the No. 18/20 Stony Brook football team battled from behind but was unable to come out on top, putting its playoff hopes in limbo.
The Seawolves (8-4, 5-3 CAA) hosted the Monmouth Wildcats (6-6, 4-4 CAA) at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium for their regular-season finale on Saturday afternoon. Stony Brook was behind from the jump, and despite putting up some of its best offensive numbers of the season, fell 55-47.
The Hawks wasted no time getting up the field during their opening drive. A 30-yard completion from quarterback Derek Robertson to wide receiver Gavin Nelson and a 24-yard reception from tight end Jack Neri set Monmouth up deep in the Seawolves’ territory less than two minutes into the game.
Stony Brook effectively defended its end zone until a third-down pass interference penalty on cornerback Deshawn Jones Jr. gave the Hawks another set of downs. Two plays later, Robertson found tight end Marcus Middleton for a two-yard touchdown to put the Hawks up 7-0.
The Seawolves got on the board during their first offensive drive of the game as well. A nine-play drive that was highlighted by a 36-yard rush by running back Roland Dempster led to a 27-yard field goal from kicker Enda Kirby to make it 7-3.
Stony Brook scored once again, but its special teams did the trick this time. After its defense forced a quick three-and-out, Monmouth punter Luke Schabel’s punt was deflected by linebacker Luca Gemma, sending the ball backward. Running back Brandon Boria picked it up at the four-yard line and walked into the end zone for a touchdown, making it 10-7.
The Hawks did not let that bother them, as they regained the lead quickly. On third down, Robertson connected with wide receiver Tra Neal, who found open field and took it to the house for a 51-yard touchdown. With that, Monmouth was once again ahead at 14-10 with 6:16 left in the first quarter.
On their next drive, the Seawolves started with a big play, as quarterback Tyler Knoop found wide receiver Jayce Freeman for a 43-yard completion. Although Stony Brook found itself in the red zone quickly, an offensive holding penalty took a five-yard passing touchdown from Knoop to wide receiver Dez Williams off the board. This forced the Seawolves to use Kirby once again a few plays later, as he nailed the 25-yard attempt and brought Stony Brook to within a point.
The high-scoring start did not end there. The Hawks pushed down the field again with the help of 26- and 18-yard receptions from Gavin Nelson, which set them up at the five-yard line. On the first play of the second quarter, running back Sone Ntoh took a direct snap right up the middle for a five-yard touchdown rush. The score extended Monmouth’s lead to 21-13.
Looking for redemption on their next drive, the Seawolves struck back. After five straight completions from Knoop, Stony Brook was in the red zone and completed its drive with a familiar sight: Dempster in the end zone. On first-and-10, Knoop found Dempster with a screen pass on the right side, who broke a tackle and flew into the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown reception to cut the Seawolves’ deficit to one point with 10 minutes left in the half.
The barn burner continued, as the Hawks needed just two plays to get their next score. First, Robertson hit wide receiver T.J. Speight on the right side for a 33-yard completion. Next, it was wide receiver Maxwell James, who caught Robertson’s next pass over his shoulder and took it all the way for a 42-yard touchdown reception.
Monmouth extended its lead three minutes later. After storming down the field again, Robertson handed one off to running back Rodney Nelson, who ran up the middle for a 13-yard touchdown rush to extend the Hawks’ lead to 35-20 with 5:46 left in the first half.
Now down by multiple scores, Stony Brook continued to fight. Just outside of the red zone after the two-minute warning, Knoop dropped back looking for a big play and he got one. Tight end Cal Redman dashed out to the right side, fought off a defender at the front corner of the end zone and corralled in Knoop’s pass for a 21-yard touchdown reception.
Another rushing touchdown from Ntoh negated the Seawolves’ score, as this time, he took it one yard up the middle. Stony Brook tried to get it back, marching up the field with less than a minute left in the half, but it had to settle for another field goal from Kirby, which made the Hawks’ lead 42-30 heading into halftime.
At the open of the second half, the teams traded scores again. First, the Seawolves got their chance, as Knoop sent a pass towards Williams, who grabbed and clutched it into his stomach, making a diving catch at the front of the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown. Monmouth got one just over two minutes later, as Rodney Nelson went eight yards up the right side for his second rushing touchdown of the afternoon. The exchange left the gap at 12 points, as the Hawks led 49-37 with 8:20 left in the third quarter.
Stony Brook’s next drive marked the first big offensive mistake. With one yard to go for a new set of downs, running back Johnny Martin took a rush up the middle and fumbled the ball, allowing the Hawks to jump on top of the ball and regain possession in Seawolves territory. However, the offensive miscues were contagious. Two plays later, with just three yards to go for another score, Rodney Nelson had a blunder of his own, fumbling an attempt that Stony Brook recovered.
While Stony Brook did not do anything with that drive, it was able to get a quick stop and regain possession, and this time, it took advantage by pulling into its bag of tricks. With the end zone in sight, Knoop sent a pass over to wide receiver Jasiah Williams behind the line of scrimmage. From there, he threw it himself down the left side to a wide-open Dez Williams, who backed into the end zone for a 23-yard touchdown. The score cut Monmouth’s lead to five points, putting the game back in striking distance for Stony Brook with 1:26 remaining in the third quarter.
“We’ve practiced that for the last two weeks,” head coach Billy Cosh said during a postgame press conference. “We thought that was a good spot to do it [since Jasiah Williams] has thrown touchdown passes in his career. We wanted to create a spark.”
Another key defensive stop gave the Seawolves a chance to seize the moment to start the fourth quarter. After a 10-yard completion to Jasiah Williams set them up at the Hawks’ 27-yard line, Knoop looked for him again, but the connection was not there, as the ball went into the hands of Monmouth cornerback Israel Clark-White, who intercepted it and lunged out of bounds.
“[Clark-White] made a great play,” Knoop said. “I thought it was open and if I could go back, I would throw it again. He just made a great play.”
Characteristically, the Hawks made their way into Stony Brook territory with relative ease. With four yards left to gain for another score, Robertson found Neri on the left side, who stretched his hands out towards the goal line as he was being brought down. However, he was marked down at the one-yard line to bring up fourth down. Monmouth tried to push Robertson into the end zone, but the Seawolves defense stuffed him, preventing the touchdown and keeping the deficit at five points.
Pinned back on third-and-13, Knoop dropped back and found a lane to Redman, who dropped what would have been a stick-moving completion, forcing Stony Brook to punt.
Then, the Hawks decided to play a game of copycat. With the chance to pull ahead by multiple scores, Monmouth gave the Seawolves a taste of their own medicine, running the same trick play as they did. Robertson dropped back and lofted the ball to Neal behind the line of scrimmage, who found Neri wide open down the field for a 40-yard touchdown. Just like that, the Hawks extended their lead to double digits once again. Though safety Jordan Jackson blocked the extra-point attempt, Monmouth moved ahead 55-44 with just over three minutes left to play.
With that, Kirby’s 34-yard field goal on Stony Brook’s following possession was not enough. The Seawolves attempted an onside kick, but Monmouth grabbed it. After failing to score, its defense put the finishing touches on its 55-47 victory.
Robertson was the game changer in this one, as he threw for 536 yards and three touchdowns while completing 28 of his 45 pass attempts (62.2%). His main targets were Speight and wide receiver Josh Derry, who each caught seven passes.
Speight gained the most yardage with 151 receiving yards. Derry notched 98, followed by Neal and Neri, who had 94 and 83, respectively.
Six different players found the end zone for the Hawks. Rodney Nelson and Ntoh each took two carries to the house. Neri, Neal, James and Middleton all found the end zone through the air once with Neal also throwing a passing touchdown on his only attempt.
For the Seawolves, Knoop had a masterful game. Aside from the interception, he threw for 408 yards on a 69.8 completion rate (37-for-53) with three touchdowns. His primary target was Dez Williams, who had 11 catches for 134 yards and two touchdowns.
“It wasn’t just me,” Knoop said. “There were 10 other people on the field. Receivers were making plays for me, the [offensive line] blocked all game … everybody contributed.”
Jasiah Williams and Redman each had eight catches. Williams went for 81 yards and Redman recorded 73. Freeman also racked up significant distance with 93 yards over five catches.
On the ground, Dempster was the leading rusher, racking up 94 yards on 20 attempts.
For the first time this season, Stony Brook did not have a single sack. Linebacker A.J. Roberts led the squad with nine total tackles. Linebacker Chayce Chalmers notched the Seawolves’ lone tackle for loss.
The loss puts a dent in Stony Brook’s chances of making the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoffs. The field for the FCS tournament will be announced on Sunday and even with the loss, Cosh believes his team has done enough to get there.
“No question about it,” Cosh said. “Our losses are all against quality opponents. I think we’re a really good [team] and if we keep playing, we can show that to people.”
