The rainy weather in New Rochelle, N.Y., was sure to limit the Seawolves passing game against the Iona Gaels.
But the Seawolves’s rushing attack, led by Edwin Gowins and Conte Cuttino, certainly picked up the slack.
Gowins ran for a Big South single-game record 278 yards and Cuttino added 205 yards on 17 carries to help Stony Brook set its single game rushing record. Junior Tarrant Anderson also chipped in with 110 of the Seawolves’s school record 635 rushing yards in a game the Seawolves won 68-9.
Gowins and Cuttino each scored three touchdowns. Gowins was named the Big South offensive player of the week and Stony Brook athlete of the week for his efforts.
The poor weather, combined with the porous Gaels defense, could not stop a single Stony Brook drive short of the goal line in the first half. The Seawolves scored touchdowns on all six drives in the first half, and added a seventh in a row on its first drive in the second half.
With the Seawolves already ahead 40-2 at the half, Gowins added his signature play to the game early in the third quarter. He broke off a 62-yard touchdown run that put the Seawolves ahead 47-2. It was his third touchdown of the day, and he did not carry the ball again in the game.
Iona was finally able to force the Seawolves to punt on its next drive, but only after Anderson and running back Rock Contardi added 39 more rush yards to Stony Brook’s total.
The Gaels took the ball after the Seawolves’s punt and put together a quick strike drive that culminated with a 74-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Warren Smith to Tim Mastrino.
Any momentum Iona picked up from that drive was quickly dashed.
Donald Porter took the ensuing kickoff 76 yards, all the way down to the Iona six yard line.
Cuttino made quick work of the drive, picking up the six yards and scoring on the drives first play.
A 26-yard interception return for a touchdown and a 30-yard run by Anderson in the fourth quarter provided the final 68-9 margin.
Dayne Hoffman finished the game three of seven for 33 yards and did not turn the ball over.
The football team’s up-and-down season concludes Saturday afternoon when they host the Virginia Military Institute, a team that may be able to match Stony Brook yard-for-yard on the ground. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.