SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University football team returns to non-conference play this weekend as it travels to Stony Brook, N.Y., to take on the Seawolves Saturday, Oct. 5 at 6:00 p.m.
FULL GAME NOTES
LAST TIME OUT - Bryant 47 - Wagner 28
Facing the defending league champion on ESPN3.com, the Black and Gold raced out to a 17-0 lead and never looked back last Saturday at Hameline Field in Staten Island, N.Y. Bryant eventually built a 41-14 lead in the third quarter before the Seahawks posted a pair of late touchdowns. Bobby Rutland's (Bethesda, Md.) interception on the fourth play of the game set up Paul Canevari's (Warwick, N.Y.) one-yard TD run and jump-started the Bulldogs. Canevari finished the game with 173 yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries and the Bryant defense caused four Wagner turnovers that led to 21 points. Michael Johnson (New Market, Md.) swung the momentum of the game in the third quarter with a 78-yard scoop-and-score.
SCOUTING THE SEAWOLVES
Stony Brook opened the season ranked No. 13 in the country but has slipped out of the gates, dropping its last three games to fall to 1-3 on the year. Those three losses, however, have come against some very good competition. The Seawolves lost to FBS member Buffalo, 26-23, in 5OT, former national champion Villanova and No. 3 Towson last weekend. Stony Brook led the Tigers, 21-10, at the half before faltering in the fourth quarter.
The Seawolves have always been known for their outstanding running attack as they produced over 200 yards of rushing per game in each of the last three seasons. This year, that running attack is led by Marcus Coker who is averaging 96.5 yards per game. Quarterback Lyle Negron has been efficient this year as well, completing 62.1 percent of his passes for 883 yards and five scores. Malcolm Eugene has been his favorite target, hauling in 30 passes for 415 yards and four scores through the first four games of the year.
Defensively, Stony Brook is allowing 336 yards of total offense per game. Naim Cheeseboro leads the team with 28 tackles and Junior Solice has a team-leading 3.5 sacks on the year.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Bryant and Stony Brook will be meeting for just the second time in program history on Saturday evening. The first time these two teams met came on Oct. 27, 2007 when the Bulldogs were in their final year as a Division II program. The Seawolves intercepted a Bryant pass in the endzone on the first drive of the game and never looked back, defeating the Bulldogs, 30-0. The Black and Gold were able to muster just 224 yards of total offense and only nine first downs.
BULLDOG RUN GAME CHURNING OUT YARDS
Bryant's run game looks like the Bryant run game of old this season. In its most dominating effort on the ground in nearly two years, the Bulldogs put up 301 rushing yards on 52 carries and scored four rushing touchdowns. Canevari posted 173 yards, Ricardo McCray (Middletown, R.I.) had 89, Jordan Harris (Lincoln University, Pa.) had 41 and Michael Perry (Dunmore, Pa.) added seven more. The last time Bryant posted over 300 rushing yards was on Oct. 8, 2011 when it posted 329 yards in a victory over Stonehill. This season, Bryant is averaging 224.5 yards per game on the ground and has eclipsed the 200-yard mark in three of the four games this year.
