Maybe it was the season-opening jitters. Or maybe it was simply Stony Brook living up to the low expectations that come with being picked 10th of 12 in the Colonial Athletic Association preseason poll. Either way, the Seawolves stumbled badly out of the gate before they regained their footing in the second half to get back into the mix.
The combination of New Hamshire’s crisp passing and Stony Brook’s miscues put the Seawolves into a 27-point hole early in the third quarter. And though Stony Brook was able to cut the margin to six points, it never got all the way back as it dropped its 2021 fall debut, 27-21, at LaValle Stadium on Thursday night.
Stony Brook first looked as if it just might come all the way back in the middle of the fourth quarter. Quarterback Tyquell Fields connected with Shawn Harris Jr. for a 32-yard gain to the Wildcats’ 8. But they couldn’t put points on the board. Fields threw to Khalil Newton near the end zone but he was ruled out of bounds on third-and-goal. UNH’s Pop Bush sacked Fields for a 10-yard loss to take over on downs with about eight minutes left.
UNH used up a bunch of clock but fumbled to give Stony Brook the ball back. Fields had capped an 81-yard drive with a 17-yard touchdown run with 3:03 left to make it 27-21.
Stony Brook seemed to find itself after trailing by 20 at halftime and by 27-0 early in the third quarter.
It did a better job with controlling field position and used a couple of big plays to score on two of its first three possessions and get back into the mix.
A 32-yard pass from Fields to Thomas Dutton set the table for Ty Son Lawton’s 4-yard touchdown run with 6:15 left in the third quarter. Then Fields hit Newton with a 41-yard touchdown pass with 5:17 left in the third to make it 27-14.
New Hampshire was so dominating during the first half that the Seawolves had to be feel good about trailing by just 20-0. The Stony Brook highlights were few and far between during those first 30 minutes, but there was a very big one right before halftime.
Bush made a late pick on a long Fields pass and returned it 65 yards to the Seawolves’ 20. Edwards took the ball 13 yards on the first snap of the UNH possession. The ‘Cats got four cracks inside the 7, but could not extend their margin.
On third-and-goal from the 1, linebacker Tyler King made a huge stop on Isaac Siede for a 1-yard loss. After UNH wound the clock down for a final play before the intermission, they sent Westhampton product Dylan Laube between the tackles and nose tackle Brandon Lopez stopped him cold. Lopez had to be helped off the field to the locker room after the play.
Still the tale of the tape at the break – including the score – told the real story of the first half.
New Hampshire and quarterback Bret Edwards picked apart the Seawolves secondary with aplomb, completing 11 of 16 passes for 88 yards and a pair of touchdowns as the Wildcats outgained SBU 146-79.
But so much of the damage they were able to inflict on Stony Brook was due to the Seawolves’ self-sabotage.
Running back Jayden Cook fumbled a first-down carry close to the SBU goal line and the Cats’ Zedane Williams recovered at the Seawolves’ 4. One the next play Edwards threw a beautiful late option pitch to Sean Coyne for the 4-yard score and a 13-0 lead.
The ensuing Stony Brook possession ended with Wildcats’ cornerback Jonathan Collins Jr. stepping in front of Delante Hellams to pick off a Fields pass and return it to the SBU 5. Edwards hit Brian Espanet on a slant for a touchdown three plays later for the 20-0 lead.
Stony Brook just couldn’t get it ground game going in any way early. At halftime it had run 15 rushing plays for just 22 yards.
