The Stony Brook University football team (4-4, 3-0 Big South) defeated Charleston Southern (2-6, 0-4 Big South) on Saturday, 41-21 behind a balanced offense and opportunistic defense.
The Seawolves began the day looking to go 3-0 to start their conferece schedule for the second time in two years.
On offense, the stars of the game were sophomore Miguel Maysonet (Riverhead, N.Y.) and junior Brock Jackolski (Shirley, N.Y.), who both transferred from Hofstra after that school closed its football program last winter. Maysonet had 195 overall yards on Saturday with four touchdowns (three rushing, one receiving), setting a record for a Stony Brook player at LaValle Stadium and tying an overall school record. Jackolski had 185 yards and one touchdown.
Both players concurred as to where credit was due.
“It says a lot about our linemen,” said Maysonet after the game.
His fellow former Hofstra player agreed. “I was confident in the O-line today,” Jackolski said. “They had a fantastic day.”
Maysonet also singled out one player in particular for his work blocking the lane, allowing the backs to push the ball foward.
“I want to give the credit to [wide receiver] Matt Brevi,” said Maysonet. “He did a great job blocking the corner every single time.”
Six drives could produce no points in the first quarter and only five first downs and 112 yards of offense by both squads.
“Games are won or lost by adversity,” said Priore.
The second quarter was far more exciting. The Bucs struck first and took the 7-0 lead. But Stony Brook attacked back in the next drive. Maysonet ran 32 yards for Stony Brook’s first score, but Seawolves kicker Wesley Skiffington, who also missed from 48 yards and had another 29-yard attempt blocked on earlier drives, missed the extra point.
The Bucs couldn’t muster much on their next drive and had to turn it over to the Seawolves once again. Jackolski carried the ball for 57 total yards on this play, but Maysonet dealt the finishing blow with an eight-yard run to give Stony Brook its second touchdown of the day.
Stony Brook really went to town in the third quarter. They scored 21 unanswered points. Jackolski pushed his way for the first touchdown of the half with a one-yard run. Maysonet notched the other two touchdowns, one via the run and the other via the pass.
Priore has a very high opinion of his running backs.
“They’re certainly talented,” he said after the game. “We knew that when they were coming in. They come in with a smile on their faces every practice. I love coaching kids like that.”
Another big moment in the third quarter put the Seawolf defense in the spotlight. With third down and five yards from a first down, Bucs quarterback Andrew Trudnowski tried to run the ball himself, but junior Andrew Nelson (Uniondale, N.Y.) of Stony Brook forced the ball out of Trudnowski’s hands. Sophomore Craig Richardson (Malden, Mass.) recovered the fumble.
“It was huge,” said Richardson. “It gave good field position to the offense. Big momentum shift.”
Richardson also had a game-high 10 tackles on the day.
The Bucs clawed back for the rest of the game, managing to score two more touchdowns. However, Seawolves junior quarterback Michael Coulter (Yorba Linda, Calif.) put the game out of reach with his second touchdown pass of the day, this one being to sophomore wide receiver Jordan Gush (Dallas, Tex.), raising the score to 41-14 Stony Brook.
Though Stony Brook had some harsh penalties down the stretch, Priore was able to find a silver lining.
“Most of the time when we don’t have penalties, we’re not playing aggressively. I can live with aggressive penalties.”
It was head coach Chuck Priore’s 100th game in said position. He is 65-35 through those hundred games.
“I’m getting old,” Priore said with a laugh. “It’s a tough business. You coach for a kid’s success.”
Stony Brook will next go down to Clinton, S.C., to play Presbyterian, their fourth conference opponent of the season. They will play their final home game on Nov. 13th against Gardner Webb at 1 p.m. They will finish off the season once again against Liberty.
“I feel that Presbyterian’s getting better and better every week,” said Priore. “We’ll have our work cut out for us on the road.”
