SBU Sports: Early scores too much as football falls to Arkansas State 31-7
Stony Brook football fell behind early and was unable to recover as the Seawolves fell to FBS foe Arkansas State 31-7 at Centennial Bank Stadium on Sept. 16. The team fell to 0-3 on the season while the Red Wolves picked up their first win, improving to 1-2. A-State enjoyed a big advantage on the ground, holding a 345-90 advantage in the rushing game.
Redshirt freshman Anthony Johnson had a big day in the receiving game, catching nine passes for 127 yards. Graduate student Rahmon Hart Jr. hauled in two catches for 23 yards and a score. Quarterback Casey Case passed for 221 yards, while completing 21-of-33 (63.6%) passes with the touchdown to Hart. Stony Brook finished with a 221-140 advantage in receiving yards.
Redshirt sophomore Shakhi Carson and redshirt junior Ross Tallarico split the majority of the carries, with Carson gaining 45 yards on 12 carries while Tallarico gained 42 on six attempts on the ground.
On defense, graduate student Aidan Kaler finished with 10 tackles, seven of them solo, adding 1.0 sack. Redshirt junior Brandon Higgs added seven tackles, four of them solo. On special teams, Clayton Taylor hit five punts for 223 yards, averaging 44.6 yards per kick and putting one punt inside the 20.
For Arkansas State, Ja’Quez Cross rushed for 164 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including a 66-yard score. Jeff Foreman led the Red Wolves in receiving with 42 yards, all on one reception. The quarterback tandem of Jaxon Dailey and Jalen Raynor combined for 140 yards, with Raynor adding a passing touchdown.
“After we struggled to execute on the first couple drives, we punched back from the end of the first quarter through the end of the quarter and could have cut into the lead or even tied the game, we’ve just got to figure out how to capitalize. I think we figured out the speed of the game defensively and executed some of the things we practiced in that stretch, credit to the kids there,” said Stony Brook head coach Chuck Priore.
Stony Brook returns home and to CAA play, taking on Richmond at LaValle Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 23 at 3:30 p.m. Streaming for the Week 4 matchup returns to FloSports.
