SBU Sports: Seawolves topped by No. 8/11 Villanova Nov. 13
The Stony Brook University football team (4-6, 3-4 CAA) was topped by No. 8/11 Villanova (8-2, 6-1 CAA), 33-14, on Saturday, Nov. 13 at Villanova Stadium in Pennsylvania.
Both teams battled through inclement weather condition in the first half as rain and wind affected the pace of play over the first 30 minutes of the contest. After an all but even first half, Villanova pulled away in the second half by outscoring Stony Brook, 19-7, en route to sealing the result in its favor.
After Villanova scored the first touchdown of the game with 5:17 to play in the first quarter, Stony Brook responded immediately as it put together a 12-play, 71-yard drive that resulted in a touchdown to tie the game up at 7-7.
Graduate quarterback Tyquell Fields faked a handoff to redshirt junior running back Ty Son Lawton, pulled the ball down, and rushed it into the end zone from nine yards out. The rushing touchdown was Fields’ seventh of the season, which are the second-most on the team.
The Wildcats were able to find the end zone with 26 seconds to play in the second quarter and they took a 14-7 lead into the halftime break. An 83-yard run by Justin Covington sparked Villanova in the second half as it capitalized on the big play and scored a touchdown on its second drive of the third quarter.
Villanova scored 19 unanswered points in the second half until redshirt freshman running back Jayden Cook punched in a one-yard touchdown run for the Seawolves with 17 seconds to play in the game. The drive was setup by a pair of completions by redshirt junior quarterback Joshua Zamot.
Fields found the end zone with a nine-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. The touchdown run marked his seventh of the season and 13th of his career.
Lawton recorded 19 carries and rushed for 71 yards. The Staten Island, N.Y. native has rushed for 70 yards or more in six out of 10 games played this season. Cook registered five carries for 27 yards and a touchdown. The touchdown run was his first of the season and the second of his career. Both of Cook’s touchdown runs have come against Villanova. As a team, Stony Brook rushed for 106 yards. It marked the ninth time this season and the 34th time in their last 38 games dating back to the start of the 2018 season that the Seawolves rushed for over 100 yards as a team in a game.
Redshirt freshman linebacker Tyler King finished with a game-high tying 11 tackles (four solo, seven assists) and 1.0 tackles for loss. It marked the fourth time this season that King recorded 10 or more tackles in a game. Through 10 games played, King has tallied 89 total tackles (48 solo, 41 assists) and 11.0 tackles for loss. Graduate defensive back Carthell Flowers totaled seven tackles (five solo, two assists) and 1.0 tackles for loss. It was the fifth time this season that he finished a game with seven or more tackles. Redshirt senior linebacker Reidgee Dimanche recorded seven tackles (four solo, three assists) and one fumble recovery.
Redshirt junior defensive lineman Makye Smith recorded a pair of tackles and forced a fumble. Smith chased down Covington and stripped him from behind. Dimanche was there to fall on the football to give Stony Brook its 11th turnover of its last four games. Graduate punter Mitchell Wright totaled nine punts for an average of 40.8 yards per punt. He had three punts of over 50 yards and three punts inside Villanova’s 20-yard line. His longest punt on the day went for 62 yards.
“The game was really two different halves. The first half was quite interesting with the weather and I thought both teams struggled with the weather at times – it was a field position battle. We gave them a score off of a turnover and other than that each team had a drive and it was a pretty even game at the end of the first half with the exception of the turnover. We came out in the second half, the weather cleared up a little bit, still had the wind issue, and they got a big play in a crucial situation early in the second half, but it certainly changed the tide of the game,” said head coach Chuck Priore.
Up next, the team returns to LaValle Stadium for the regular season finale on Saturday, November 20, at 1 p.m., when it hosts UAlbany in the Golden Apple game. Before the game, the Seawolves will honor their senior class for all of their hard work and dedication to the program. The game is set to air on FloFootball. Be sure to purchase tickets now to be a part of the action!
