Football Falls 20-2 In Season Finale At Stony Brook
GAME STATS
STONY BROOK, N.Y. – Facing the CAA's top defense Saturday afternoon at LaValle Stadium, the University at Albany football team suffered a 20-2 defeat in the final game of the 2015 season against Stony Brook. In the third annual Empire Clash between the two SUNY rivals, the Seawolves took home The Golden Apple trophy in its inaugural year. With the loss, the Great Danes end the season with a 3-8 overall record and 2-6 mark in the CAA, while the Seawolves finish 5-5 on the season and 3-5 in conference play.
Held to a season-low 160 yards of total offense, UAlbany struggled to get anything rolling with the pigskin. Freshman quarterback Neven Sussman led the team with 82 passing yards, completing 12-of-25 passes with two interceptions, as well as a squad-best 33 rushing yards on 15 carries.
Freshman Zee Roberson logged three receptions for 14 yards, while Jordan Crockett and Lukas Repetti each caught two for 25 and 15 total yards, respectively. Freshman running backs Elijah Ibitokun-Hanks (24 yards) and Elliot Croskey (19 yards) each carried the ball six times.
Defensively, redshirt freshman DaSharnte Thompson led the Great Danes with a career-high 13 tackles, including seven solo and two for a loss. Thompson also scored UAlbany's only points of the game on a third-quarter safety. Sophomore Jamal Robinson recorded nine tackles (7 solo), while Rayshan Clark logged seven tackles (4 solo) and had a fumble force and recovery.
On Stony Brook's first drive of the game, Clark stripped the ball from Julius Wingate at midfield and returned it 21 yards to the SBU 30-yard line. However, the Danes were held off the board when their 50-yard field goal attempt fell just short of the uprights.
The Seawolves responded, driving 67 yards on 11 plays, scoring on Conor Bednarski's three-yard pass to Ray Bolden with 5:15 remaining in the first quarter.
With 14:13 on the clock in the second, Chris Cooper picked off Sussman's pass at the UAlbany 44 and returned it nine yards to the 35-yard line. Stony Brook took advantage of the turnover with a 31-yard field goal, stretching their lead to 10-0 with 12:36 remaining in the first half.
Making two stops on defense, the Great Danes looked to get the offense going in the closing minutes of the stanza. However, on the first play of the drive, SBU's Victor Ochi popped the ball loose on Ibitokun-Hanks' carry, and the Seawolves took over on the UAlbany-31 with 3:22 on the clock.
Nonetheless, the Danes defense negated the damage two plays later, as Neil Morrison tipped Bednarski's pass up and into the hands of Chris Johnson who returned the interception to the UAlbany-30. The Great Danes worked their way down to Stony Brook's 28-yard line, but facing 4th-and-12, Cooper logged his second pick of the game, returning it 35 yards to the SBU-42.
The Seawolves used 10 plays to travel 57 yards, setting up Przemyslaw Popek's 18-yard field goal with four seconds remaining in the half.
Out of the break, UAlbany fumbled on the kickoff return, handing the ball right back to the Seawolves on the UAlbany-25. Three plays later, the Seawolves took a 20-0 lead on Donald Liotine's one-yard touchdown run.
The Great Danes finally broke onto the board with 6:04 remaining in the third, sparked by Jon Martin's 58-yard punt that pinned the Seawolves on the two-yard line. The UAlbany defense stuffed Liotine's rush attempt twice with Thompson making the tackle in the end zone for a safety.
Punting seven times in the contest, Martin averaged 44.3 yards per punt, including three that pinned the Seawolves inside the 20.
UAlbany had its strongest scoring chance of the game at the start of the fourth quarter, driving 56 yards on nine plays to earn 1st-and-goal on the five-yard line. However, the Seawolves' defense stopped Sussman in his tracks on a run and broke up three straight pass attempts, turning the ball over on downs.
With 3:06 remaining, Stony Brook attempted a 35-yard field goal, but it sailed wide left, leaving the score 20-2 the rest of the way.
The Seawolves accrued 399 yards of offense led by Liotine's 203 rushing yards and a touchdown on 31 carries. Senior quarterback Conor Bednarski finished with 163 passing yards (18-27-1) and Bolden led the team with 112 receiving yards and a touchdown on 11 receptions.
With a wildly young roster this season, UAlbany returns all 11 starters on offense and 8-of-11 starters on defense for 2016.
