Conference Big South Conference FCS Coaches No. 16 Head coach Chuck Priore | Sports Network No. 18 2011 record 9–4 (6–0 Big South) Offensive coordinator Jeff Behrman | |
The 2011 Stony Brook Seawolves football team represented Stony Brook University in the 2011 NCAA Division I FCS football season as a member of the Big South Conference. The team was coached by Chuck Priore and played its home games at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium in Stony Brook, New York. The Seawolves finished the season 9–4, 6–0 in Big South play to win their third consecutive Big South championship and advanced to the FCS playoffs for the first time ever. They won their first ever playoff game against Albany, 31–28, before falling in the second round to #1 Sam Houston State 27–34. The program was ranked #18/#16 in the final Sports Network/Coaches Poll.
Contents
Previous season
The Seawolves finished for their second straight year with a 6-5 record, and a 5-1 record against Big South opponent to earn them a share of the conference title with Liberty and Coastal Carolina. The Seawolves played their first ever FBS opponent opening the season against South Florida in which they led for the first quarter but eventually fell 59-14. The season came down to the last game, against conference rival Liberty, in which the Seawolves battled for the FCS bid but came up too short allowing to many points against in a 54-28 loss at Lynchburg.
Losses
The Seawolves had several losses due to graduation. The Seawolves lost Edwin Gowins who earned first-team All-Big South honors in each of his first two seasons, and he was named the College Sporting News’ national freshman of the year in 2008 but experienced injuries late in the 2009 season and widely affected his performance in 2010. Gowins left to play at the Division III level. Paul Fenaroli graduated and signed a three-year contract with the NFL Atlanta Falcons.
Spring Game
The Seawolves played their annual spring game on April 10, 2011 at LaValle in front of a small crowd in which the offense beat the Defense 51-15.
Rankings and polls
The Seawolves were ranked top 15 among FCS teams by the "Phil Steele's College Football Review" ahead of their conference rivals, Liberty, which was placed in the 31st position. This is the highest ranking spot ever achieved by the Seawolves program. Stony Brook was picked second in the Big South Coaches' Preseason-Poll receiving 2 first-place votes behind the Liberty Flames. Stony Brook also received vote in The Sports Network FCS Preseason Poll.
Honors
Five Stony Brook football athletes were named preseason All-Big South. Junior Miguel Maysonet and seniors Brock Jackolski and Matt Brevi represented the team in offense while senior Ryan Haber, and junior Craiq Richardson were the defensive honorees.
Recruitment
The Seawolves have landed FBS recruit Fernando Diaz from the University of Pittsburgh eligible to play for the upcoming season. The Seawolves added 25 recruits in total for the upcoming 2011-12 season.
Schedule
For the second straight year in the program history Stony Brook will face an FBS school after facing South Florida the previous year. This year it will face Buffalo and UTEP increasing the strength of schedule. It will have six home games and it will close the season at LaValle against the conference rivals Liberty. All games will be in the Big South Network and broadcast in local radio by WUSB FM with a live stream on the web. Additionally, the Buffalo game will be regionally aired by TWCS and nationally broadcast in ESPN3 the Coastal Carolina game will also be broadcast by ESPN3, a first for Stony Brook football.
Albany (NCAA First Round)
Recap: After winning their first outright Big South Championship the prior week the Seawolves headed to their first NCAA Division I playoff game in program history ranked #22 in The Sports Network poll. The NCAA Selection Sunday Committee paired them up against the Albany Great Danes, SUNY rivals and America East Conference rivals, who were the Northeast Conference Co-Champions and also first time playoff participants. Coach Priore also attended Albany in the late 1970s and was coached by Albany's current football coach Bob Ford.
Stony Brook faced off against Albany in front of a sold-out Thanksgiving weekend crowd of 8,286 at LaValle Stadium. Albany led the way in the first quarter scoring a touchdown with 20 seconds left of regulation after the Seawolves failed to capitalize in their previous two offensive drives which included one deep in Albany's red zone. Entering the second quarter the Seawolves QB K.Essington attempted a pass which was dropped by M.Brevi and forced a punt. Albany defense blocked the punt and Brian Parker ran 21 yards to the end-zone to extend Albany's lead to 14-0. The Seawolves responded with an offensive drive of their own but had to settle for a field goal after Essington got sacked twice by Albany's defense. Albany ensuing drive was stopped by Stony Brook forcing a 33-yard punt in the 50-yard line. Stony Brook capitalized in the follow up drive as Essington capped it with an 11-yard pass to Brevi to cut Albany's lead to 14-10. Later in the quarter Albany responded once again with another touchdown taking a 21-10 lead into halftime. This was the first time since playing Buffalo early in the season that Stony Brook trailed for such a large margin.
With less than two minutes into the third quarter and with only four plays Albany's offense scored another touchdown to put the Great Danes in a comfortable 28-10 lead. However, the Seawolves defense stopped Albany from scoring again and the offense scored two touchdowns in the third quarter to cut the deficit and put the Seawolves back into the game 28-24. An intercepted pass by Donald Porter in the third quarter kept the momentum on Stony Brook's side. The fourth quarter was all Seawolves offense as Albany's defense was noticeably weakened. The Seawolves scored a final touchdown giving them the lead for the first time in the game, 31-28. Albany made one last offensive push with two minutes left in the clock but an interception by Stony Brook's Dominick Reyes at Albany's second & goal sealed the game for Stony Brook for their ninth consecutive victory and their first win in the NCAA Division I Football Championship.
On the win Head Coach Priore commented saying "Wow...I know I say it a lot, but good teams find ways to win. I'm really proud of my alma mater and the job they did tonight, but I'm even more proud of our team. We're excited for the opportunity to play another week". Porter also commented in the last interception which sealed the victory saying "My defensive responsibility was on the tight end, and I was able to get underneath him and tip the pass," and added "Luckily for us, Dom (Dominick Reyes) was there and did a great job keeping his feet in bounds". Reyes which was responsible for the interception added "As a player, I want to be in on the action...It's hard to describe what I'm feeling right now. It hasn't sunk it yet. I saw the ball up in the air and did what you're supposed to do".
Overall Stony Brook amounted to 422 total yards, 258 of those in the passing game against Albany's 348 total yards. Albany turnover the ball twice while Stony Brook committed one turnover. Stony Brook had possession of the ball for 36:40. Brock Jackolski was responsible for three touchdowns and 103 rushing yards. Stony Brook advanced to play #1 Sam Houston State and improved to 9-3, 6-0 in the Big South while Albany closed their season 8-4, 7-1 in the NEC.
Series: Albany leads 9 - 5
Sam Houston State (NCAA Second Round)
Recap: Stony Brook travelled to Huntsville, Texas looking to upset top seeded Sam Houston State, the program’s first FCS second round appearance, after the historic comeback against the Albany Great Danes the previous week.
While both teams were known throughout the season to be strong offenses, it was the defense that controlled the game early on for both sides. Sam Houston led off the first quarter but couldn’t capitalize in any play while Stony Brook offensively to get any yardage. It wasn’t until 11:43 minutes into the first quarter that Sam Houston capitalized on a field goal. The rest of the quarter remained scoreless.
However, the second quarter proved to be different as Stony Brook broke through Sam Houston’s strong defense with a three play scoring drive capped by a 37-yard pass to Matt Brevi to place the Seawolves ahead by a score of 7-3. The offensive strike continued as Stony Brook forced a punt and followed up with another 64-yard drive, this time cut short, capped with a 32-yard field goal by Skiffington. Stony Brook took a 10-3 lead into halftime in what seemed to be a defensive battle.
After necessary adjustments, Sam Houston came out in the third quarter with a renewed offense scoring two back-to-back touchdowns and effectively shutting down Stony Brook’s offense regaining a 17-10 lead into the fourth quarter. The game was all but over, as Stony Brook opened the quarter with a field goal to cut the deficit. However, SHSU responded with another field goal of their own to expand their lead and stay ahead 13-20. The game turned into a see-saw as both offenses exploded scoring in each of the remaining drives. Stony Brook used their passing game to tie the game at 20. However, SHSU responded once again with an 80-yard run to put them back on top 20-27. Stony Brook continued their effort tying the game once again with 6:37 left of regulation, but Sam Houston outlasted the Seawolves scoring on a final drive with 1:01 left and then holding off the Seawolves’ offense to seal a 34-27 victory.
Sam Houston State advanced to the third round against Montana State while the Seawolves ended their 2011 campaign 9-4 overall, 6-0 in the Big South.
Series: Sam Houston State lead 1-0