The Stony Brook Seawolves defeated the Sacred Heart Pioneers 38-21. Thanks to a loss by Robert Morris to Monmouth, Stony Brook is now in sole possession of the conference lead, being the only undefeated team left.

Stony Brook jumped out to a 14-0 lead by the middle of the 2nd quarter following a 10-yard touchdown pass from Josh Dudash to Lynell Suggs, followed by a 9 yard run from freshman sensation Conte Cuttino. By halftime, Sacred Heart was back to 14-7, but it would’ve been 14-10 if not for a blocked field goal attempt by Cory Giddings, last week’s NEC Rookie of the Week. He would later pick up another interception.

Dudash would throw for 140 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception. The team rushed for 257 yards to Sacred Heart’s 20, although Sacred Heart’s numbers were skewed by a play which cost them 33 yards. They also capitalized on their scoring opportunities, scoring 5 out of 5 times in the red zone.

The Seawolves played strong throughout the game, recovering from a couple of errors, including a blocked Sean McGinty punt in the second quarter, and fumble by Cuttino in the third. Stony Brook’s turnover differential during conference play remained a very strong +10, despite their 2 turnovers today.

About the win, Head Coach Chuck Priore said that ‘Good wins come with issues.’ He also emphasized that there was a ‘whole other half,’ after the first half struggles. Running back Conte Cuttino said he had ‘confidence in the other running backs,’ referring to the team’s ability to recover from his fumble. He added that it’s ‘always fun when you’re not getting tackled.’

Stony Brook wraps up their regular-season home schedule this Saturday against Robert Morris. Kickoff is at 1PM, and can also be heard on 91.1 FM, WUSB.