The Seawolves offense sputtered and Brown raced to a 17-0 lead on its first three possessions as the Seawolves lost 17-7 in an out-of-conference game. Four minutes in, Brown punctuated a 67-yard drive with a 19-yard td run. Brown made what would be a game-changing decision on its next possession. They elected to go for it on 4th and 1 from the Stony Brook 45 and were rewarded when Brown running back Derreck Knight bulled his way to a first down. The Bears would go on to score on a short run and make it 14-0.
Stony Brook had only 10 yards of offense in the first quarter and know that they must improve if they hope to do well in the competitive Big South conference. “We have a lot of work to do to get better as a football team,” said Seawolves head coach Chuck Priore.
The Seawolves offense struggled throughout the day and particularly in the first half. It didn’t get a first down until there was 3:25 left in the second quarter. Stony Brook’s failed to score despite a golden opportunity with under a minute left in the half.
With a first and goal from the one, the Seawolves were stopped twice. On third down quarterback Dan Sweeney rolled right in a change of pace and looked to score, but was leveled by a Brown linebacker. The hit caused Sweeney to spin and fumble the ball which Brown recovered. “That goal line stand was a thing of beauty,” said Brown head coach Phil Estes.
Stony Brook played better in the second half as their defense held Brown to only 33 yards. Two minutes into the fourth quarter, junior Cory Giddings grabbed the second Stony Brook interception of the day and returned it 19 yards for a touchdown to cut the Brown lead to 17-7. The Seawolves offense still fared no better than in the first half. One reason it struggled was because the two-headed monster of junior Conte Cuttino and impact freshman Edwin Gowins couldn’t get going. Gowins had just 35 yards while Cuttino had only 30 on the day.
The Seawolves loss was their third in a row.
The Seawolves look to change the tenor of their season when they face rival Hofstra at LaValle stadium on Friday, Sept. 26. Maybe the sight of Hofstra on their turf will be just the thing to get Stony Brook going.
