With a move to the Big South football conference on the horizon next year the Seawolves could have liberally used the phrase ‘transition-year’, to describe the 2007 football season. They could have talked a lot about moral victories and reminded people that patience is a virtue; what with tougher and unfamiliar opponents on the schedule. So while the team has indeed talked about team progress and improving in a multitude of ways, it is refreshing to note that it has all been in the context of a greater goal. The ultimate measure of success: Winning football games.
The Seawolves have a record of 6-4 but that includes two games that were decided on the last play. As junior defensive end and leading tackler Adam Soivilien put it, ‘We are eight points from being 8-2.’ Two games were out of reach in terms of the final score, but one of those games, against a team in Richmond who was ranked nationally in the Football Championship Subdivision(formally 1-AA), was competitive until the wheels fell off for Stony Brook in the third quarter.
Following the 42-0 loss to Richmond, the Seawolves defeated Maine 30-23 in double overtime at homecoming. They then blew out previously undefeated Bryant, and laid the proverbial smack down last weekend against Central Connecticut State 34-7 to finish the season undefeated at home. Head coach Chuck Priore believes his team’s success at home is due in part to the Seawolves’ fans who are increasingly making their presence felt. Asked about what he considered the best moment of the season, Priore said, ‘It would have to be winning the Maine game at homecoming in front of the big crowd and so many alumni.’
In a way of fostering the relationship between fan and team, Priore posts a weekly article in the football section of the stony brook athletics website entitled ‘Letter from the Desk of Coach Priore’ and holds a ‘Chalk Talk’, one hour and forty five minutes before the game, to give fans insight into the team’s game plan. Asked about his reasoning behind this level of accessibility Priore said, ‘It’s important in college athletics to give a snapshot so people understand what the kids do. The job that these kids have is very difficult. They have to maintain the rigors of an academic schedule, grow up, have fun and dedicate a tremendous amount of hours mentally and physically to the sport.’
This year, the time the Seawolves dedicated was even greater than in years past. For the first time the entire team spent the summer at Stony Brook, taking classes and practicing. ‘It helped with cohesiveness, working together and getting to know each other better,’ Soivilien said. And it had a personal benefit for him as well. ‘I came in to the season in the best shape I’ve ever been in. I gained forty pounds and didn’t lose any speed,’ he said.
The Seawolves who left the Northeast Conference last year are playing as an independent team this year and will be moving to the Big South conference in the 2008 season. Stony Brook is making this move because in contrast to the NEC, which has a 30 scholarship limit, the Big South conference allows for 63 scholarships. Additionally, the conference is expected to have an automatic bid to the FCS playoffs by 2010. While the team is in transition and will be playing a slate of mostly different opponents, there is an air of familiarity with one opponent, where a burgeoning rivalry has begun to crystallize. That team is Hostra.
In an article in Newsday before this year’s game against Hofstra, Coach Priore was quoted as saying that he wasn’t sure if there was a rivalry yet. ‘I would anticipate that hopefully it will take on a rivalry at some point and it might be here at that point right now,’ he said. Though the 33-28 defeat wasn’t the result Priore or his team was looking for, he said he believes Stony Brook did its part. ‘We performed correctly in the game and held up our end of the bargain,’ Priore said. ‘We did something that maybe Stony Brook hasn’t done in years past, which is show up, Saturday afternoon, for four quarters. A lot of it is about respect and they have that for us now.’
And all signs point to the Stony Brook Football program gaining even more respect in the coming years. Speaking about the recruiting he did during the bye week before the game against CCSU Priore said, ‘We have a national name now. As a football program we have to utilize that. We are 50 miles outside New York City so we want to touch base in areas regionally and nationally. Kids gravitate to the coasts and that is something we can provide.’
And increasingly the Seawolves have been able to provide something that players, coaches, and fans can all gravitate towards. Winning.
