Box Score

STONY BROOK, N.Y. – It was big-boy football, FCS style. Complete with the top-20 opponent and a record-setting, standing-room crowd. And only when Stony Brook stuffed Colgate on fourth-and-1 with less than a minute remaining was the game decided.

Stony Brook had rallied – or escaped – with a 32-31 win over the Raiders here Saturday night.

“I'm very proud of the football team,” Colgate head coach Dick Biddle said. “They played their hearts out. (Stony Brook has) great speed and they're hard to contain. We just let them off the hook on third down on that last drive.”

Stony Brook drove 75 yards for the winning touchdown with 3:31 remaining, and then halted Colgate's last-gasp drive on fourth-and-1 from midfield to claim the victory.

Stony Brook was just 5-of-12 on third down for the game, but the Seahawks were 3-of-4 in the fourth quarter and converted both third-down attempts on their winning drive.

“It's just a great effort; too bad it happened,” Biddle added. “I wish we had gotten the first down at the end and kept the drive alive, but we didn't. They're a good football team.”

Tough Road Environment
A record crowd of 10,278 saw Colgate stage the game's first big rally, storming from 17 down to score 21 consecutive points in the last five minutes of the first half and take a 21-17 lead into intermission.

The Raiders (1-3) maintained that advantage and led 31-26 when Andy Burgess connected on a 27-yard field goal with 9:38 to play.

But Stony Brook drove the length of the field in a six-minute march to claim the final one-point lead on Miguel Maysonet's 1-yard run. Maysonet finished with a game-high 198 rushing yards.

“They were a good offense and we played with them for the most part,” said Colgate safety Jonathan Mputu, who had 10 tackles. “It was just a few mistakes here and there or the game could have been completely different. They were a physical team up front, but we had our game plan ready.”

Colgate's last chance to win started at its own 25 with 3:26 to play.

Tailback Jordan McCord's third-down scamper of 10 yards to the Colgate 43 had the Raiders in business. McCord was the master of the third-down conversion, especially in the second half when he gained 78 of his 116 rushing yards.

Getting Better Each Week
But after moving into Stony Brook territory in the final minute, Colgate quarterback Gavin McCarney threw incomplete on third down and McCord was stuffed at the line on fourth-and-1.

“It was really tough; that's a tough loss,” said McCord, who entered as the Patriot League's leading rusher. “In the second half, the holes opened up and the line was doing a good job of blocking.

“Hopefully, we can build on this. We've gotten better every week and we've just got to keep improving so we can turn some of these tough losses around.”

After spotting Stony Brook a 17-0 lead over the game's first 20 minutes, Colgate staged a furious rally to show it belonged on the island. The Raiders scored 21 consecutive points over a 4:32 stretch and led 21-17 at halftime.

A 12-play, 81-yard drive got the Raiders started and erased the zero. It also completed changed momentum. McCord scored first for the Raiders, tip-toeing in from a yard out with 4:45 left in the half.

McCord carried six times in the drive for 27 yards, including the final seven yards. McCarney was 4-of-5 passing for 39 yards, and also carried for 13 yards for a key first down.

Wide Open Touchdown
Stony Brook marched into Raiders territory on the ensuing possession, but Colgate held on a fourth-and-4 attempt and took over at the CU 49. On the very next play, McCarney found fullback Ed Pavalko all alone down the middle and hit him in stride for a 51-yard touchdown pass with 2:30 left in the half.

“I saw the middle of the field was wide open and I knew Gavin was going to find me,” Pavalko said. “It just worked out that we called the play when they were in that defense.”

Colgate then forced its second turnover of the game when defensive lineman Chris Horner leaped high to grab a deflected pass, giving the Raiders possession at the Stony Brook 23 with 1:34 left in the half.

It took only four plays for Colgate to find the end zone for the third time in the last five minutes, McCarney covering the final five yards to make it 21-17 at the half.

“I don't think a lot of people gave us a shot at this game, but we just proved we can hang with some pretty big teams,” McCarney said.

Stony Brook trimmed the lead to 21-20 on its opening drive of the second half. Wesley Skiffington connected on a 34-yard field goal with 9:52 left in the third quarter.

Big-Play Raiders
But the big-play Raiders stuck again to extend their lead to 28-20. Chris Horner forced a fumble by Stony Brook quarterback Kyle Essington, and linebacker Austin Dier scooped up the bouncing ball and raced untouched into the end zone.

“We preach on defense a team effort,” Mputu said. “We have guys with the ability to take over a game but that's not what we're about. We're about coming together as a defense and containing the other team.”

Stony Brook trimmed the deficit to 28-26 when Marcus Coker raced 14 yard through the heart of the Raiders defense. But Colgate held on the two-point conversion try and the lead remained two with 13:47 left in the game.

Colgate answered with another superb drive. McCord rushed for a pair of third-down conversions and the Raiders marched to Burgess' 27-yard field goal that made it 31-26 with 9:38 remaining, setting up the final Stony Brook drive.

“We had a long run from Jordan and got to the 10, but didn't score (a touchdown),” Biddle said. “We had to kick a field goal instead of getting a touchdown, which would have made it a two-possession game.

“But I thought it was a great effort, a great effort.”

Kent Leads with 17 Stops
The Seawolves (3-1) entered Saturday ranked 20th in both major national polls. Stony Brook's only loss this season was a very respectable 28-17 decision last Saturday at Syracuse, a game the Seawolves led at halftime.

Stony Brook scored on its opening drive of the game, covering 57 yards in seven plays and making it 7-0 on a 1-yard plunge by Coker. The Seawolves tacked on a field goal later in the first quarter, with Skiffington connecting from 41 yards.

Stony Brook made it 17-0 with just under 11 minutes left in the half. Quarterback Essington did the damage, hitting a wide open wide receiver Jordan Gush from 34 yards out.

Colgate's McCarney finished 14 of 24 passing for 163 yards. Raiders linebacker Kris Kent led all tacklers with 17.

“Like Coach said, we've got to start finishing these games and we've got to start winning them,” McCarney said. “Obviously, it leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

“We played South Dakota tough, we played these guys tough, we played hard at Albany – we've played some pretty good teams. We've just got to keep that focus come Monday and get ready for Yale."

Colgate plays its fourth September road game next Saturday at Yale. Kickoff from the Yale Bowl is noon.