The Stony Brook Seawolves football team broke their three-game losing streak in dramatic fashion with a 30-23 win over the Maine Black Bears in double overtime. The 7,000+ crowd was the largest ever at a homecoming game, and the second-largest ever for a football game at Lavalle Stadium.
This was only the second double overtime game in program history, with the first one against Jacksonville. The Seawolves played in only their fourth-ever overtime game, with the last one coming at the beginning of the 2001 season. Saturday’s game marked their first-ever overtime win.
Maine got on the board with their first drive of the game with a field goal. The ball went back-and-forth for much of the quarter, with Maine well into SB territory at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter started with Maine scoring a touchdown, capping off a strong drive. SB went on a long drive, culminating in a touchdown on a 25-yard run by Conte Cuttino to put SB on the board, though they were still down 10-7.
They wrapped up the half with another strong drive, including a 33-yard gain on a pass from Josh Dudash to J.J. Cox. However, they stumbled in the red zone, and had to settle for a field goal, tying the game at 10-10 at halftime.
Halftime began with one of the most bizarre moments in Stony Brook Athletics history. As time expired, a person dressed as a chicken ran onto the field. He ran the length of the field, waving at the crowd and pumping his arm. He high-fived all of the cheerleaders. He then ran back to the other end of the field, and into the stands, under pursuit by Wolfie.
After a brief confrontation between the two in the stands, the chicken man was taken away by security. The teams, on their way to the locker room, didn’t seem to be aware of the incident.
Maine’s first drive of the 3rd quarter saw them get back on top on an unlikely touchdown. Farkes found Fluellen on a short pass. Fluellen broke multiple tackles, having been cornered twice, before finally reaching the end zone on a 49-yard play. The rest of the quarter was uneventful, aside from Maine starting a drive on their own 1-yard line.
In the fourth, Maine gained the ball for the first time at the SB 40, following a punt. They took the ball downfield, picking up a first down and getting to the eight on a play involving a lateral. However, they got no further, and had to settle for a field goal, going up 20-10 with 10:29 to play.
SB responded in under three minutes. A series of passes pushed the team down the field, setting up a 2-yard run by Cuttino to make it a three-point game. Maine’s next drive didn’t last long, with an interception by Junior DB Mike McCoy.
SB then took possession but nearly lost the ball on a fumble that was recovered by Dudash. Later the Seawolves would stall, forcing a 25-yard field goal attempt. The kick by Luke Gaddis missed, and Maine had the ball with just over two minutes, but SB had all three timeouts.
SB put up a monumental defensive effort, and picked up a stop, while retaining one of their timeouts. With 46 seconds left to play, SB had the ball on the 50-yard line. They took the ball to the Maine 22, but they had only seven seconds left to make something happen. They gave Gaddis the chance to redeem himself, and he did, kicking a 40-yard field goal. The game was tied at 20 at the end of regulation.
The first overtime was an exchange of field goals following stalled drives for both teams. SB led off the second overtime with a touchdown in three plays, capped off by a third TD run by Cuttino. The extra point put SB up by seven. Two plays later, the game was over, thanks to an interception by Chris Brevi.
Cuttino was the star of the day on offense, scoring all three SB touchdowns on a day where he ran for 171 yards. He said, “we knew we needed to have a burst on offense.” He added, “Hopefully this will be a jump for the team,” referring to their prospects in the final three games.
Head Coach Chuck Priore credited a strong effort in the second and fourth quarters for keeping the Seawolves in the game.
SB’s next game will be on Saturday at 4PM, when they host Bryant as a part of Stony Brook University’s Parents Weekend.
