SBU Sports: Football tops Stonehill Skyhawks in home opener

Coach Billy Cosh earns first career victory

The Stony Brook football team earned its first victory in nearly 700 days, defeating Stonehill 37-10 on Sept. 7 at LaValle Stadium.

The Seawolves were led by redshirt senior Roland Dempster, who helped the Seawolves score their most points since 2019. Dempster tallied a career-high three touchdowns and matched a career best with 160 yards on 19 carries. Dempster ignited the Stony Brook offense by tallying two of his three touchdowns in the first five minutes of the game on touchdown runs of 15 and 17 yards. He tallied his third score in the third quarter; his three-yard run put the Seawolves ahead 30-3.

Freshman Malachi Marshall made his first start for the Seawolves under center and shined, throwing for 161 yards (9-for-16 passing) with a touchdown. Marshall added 10 yards on six carries. The freshman from Rock Hill, South Carolina connected with redshirt senior Cole Bunicci on a 63-yard touchdown late in the second quarter. The score represented the first of Marshall and Bunicci’s collegiate careers.

Stony Brook saw six different players record a reception, while eight different players tallied a carry in the victory. Bunicci paced the Seawolves’ receivers with a team-high 63 yards. Graduate student RJ Lamarre finished with 30 yards and classmate Cal Redman secured a team-best three catches totaling 24 yards.

Dempster led the way in the backfield with his 160 yards. Redshirt sophomore Johnny Martin and sophomore Brandon Boria combined for 72 yards on 19 carries, while redshirt junior Shakhi Carson had 34 all-purpose yards (20 receiving and 14 rushing).

Stony Brook’s defense was tenacious, forcing two interceptions, a fumble, eight punts and posting six points in the victory. Leading the way for the Stony Brook defense was seniors Rudy Silvera, AJ Roberts, Shamoun Duncan-Niusulu, redshirt junior Rodney Faulk as well as freshmen Jaxson Witherspoon and Sebastian Regis.

Silvera tallied his first interception as a Seawolf and added two pass breakups. Roberts and Duncan-Niusulu paced the team with nine and six tackles, respectively. Faulk wreaked havoc, recording six tackles and a quarterback hit. Witherspoon ended the game with his first career interception as time expired. Regis, the East Islip product, scooped up a fumble and rumbled 69 yards down the field and into the endzone for Stony Brook’s first defensive touchdown under defensive coordinator Scott Lewis.

Stony Brook’s special teams unit continued to shine, seeing Enda Kirby knock through a career-best 40-yard field goal in the first quarter. Junior Clayton Taylor punted six times for 287 yards, downing two inside the 20-yard line and booming three that were 50 or more yards.

“Obviously proud of our players. They did a great job preparing. If you prepare right, you’re going to play well. I’m excited for the team. They deserve all the credit,” said head coach Billy Cosh after the game.

“The last two years have been hard. We were working but we weren’t seeing results. We’re just happy to have Coach Cosh here and we have a whole new energy,” said Roland Dempster. 

“The main focus going into this game was discipline. I think we executed that very well,” added Rudy Silvera.

The team returns to the road on Sept. 14, heading to the Bronx to take on Fordham at 1 p.m. The game will stream live on ESPN+.