Stony Brook’s road through the playoffs ended on Saturday with a 34-27 loss at the hands of Sam Houston State University in the second round of the Division I Football Championship.
It was Stony Brook’s first trip to the FCS playoffs. The Seawolves season ended with their record at 9-4, including a perfect 6-0 conference season.
The Seawolves fought hard and kept up with the Texas team for the majority of the game, but SHSU’s quarterback, Brian Bell, rose to the occasion towards the end to lead his team to a victory.
Bell finished with 161 yards and three touchdowns, while SHSU’s running back Tim Flanders ran for 102 yards and a touchdown.
Flanders ended a 10-play, 83-yard drive when he ran the ball seven yards into the end zone with 1:01 left on the clock for a touchdown that ultimately held up as the game-winning score.
While Stony Brook is usually recognized for its running game, SHSU held Stony brook to only 150 yards for the night.
Sam Houston State ranks first in the FCS in rushing defense (59.0) yards per game.
Despite the loss, Stony Brook’s running back Brock Jackolski continued to impress and showed how he helped lead his team to a Big South conference championship. Jackolski finished the game with 86 yards and a touchdown.
With this game, Jackolski is now the all-time Big South leader for touchdowns in a season with 20 of them. Stony Brook’s quarterback, Kyle Essington, used the wide receivers to his advantage in Saturday’s game. Junior wide receiver Kevin Norrell led all receivers with 4 catches for 114 yards and a touchdown.
Sam Houston gained the lead 20-13 after the Seawolves and the Bearkats both scored field goals in the beginning of the fourth quarter.
Shortly after, Norrell’s 3-yard TD reception tied the game at 20-20 before Bell’s rocket 80-yard pass to wide receiver Trey Diller put the Bearkats ahead 27-20 with 8:45 remaining in the game.
Jackolski tied the game 27-27 with a two-yard touchdown run, but it wasn’t enough to prevent SHSU from coming back with time running out.
The Seawolves started off the season 0-3 but managed to come back and win nine straight to win the Big South conference and take their team to the NCAA playoffs for the first time ever.
Stony Brook began its run on Homecoming weekend against Lafayette College. The team was still seeking its first win. The Seawolves decisively took the game, 37-20.
The Seawolves went on from that point to win every game left on their schedule, scoring at least 40 points in each game.
The final opponent of the season was once again Liberty University, who had defeated the Seawolves last year to win the conference. This year, Stony Brook would come out on top, winning 41-31.
Stony Brook then defeated the University of Albany and fell to Sam Houston to round up its playoff run.
Sam Houston hosts Montana State (10-2), a 26-25 winner over New Hampshire on Saturday, in a quarterfinal game next week.
