No. 10 Stony Brook Takes 41-10 Win Over Gardner-Webb Saturday
October 20, 2012 | Football
The Seawolves (7-1, 3-0 Big South) led 13-3 at the break and traded touchdowns with Gardner-Webb (1-6, 0-2 Big South) early in the third quarter before slowly pulling away.
All-America running back Miguel Maysonet tallied 244 all-purpose yards - 169 on the ground with a 52-yard score and 75 more on a kickoff return for a touchdown - to pace Stony Brook's 385-yard effort offensively.
Gardner-Webb moved the football well again early on the road. The 'Dogs advanced into Stony Brook territory quickly on its first drive of the game, but a pair of plays for lost yardage led to a missed 48-yard field goal.
The Seawolves responded by working deeply into Gardner-Webb's side of the field on its initial drive, but a sack stalled the march and led to a career-best 48-yard field goal by Wesley Skiffington for a 3-0 lead with 6:15 left in the opening quarter.
Maysonet pushed the lead to 10-0 with 51 seconds left in the quarter, stepping out of four tackles on his way to a 52-yard scoring dash.
Another solid offensive drive saw Gardner-Webb push inside the Stony Brook 10, but the 'Dogs were forced to settle for a 25-yard field goal by Trever Austin to trim the lead to 10-3 with 11:18 left before halftime. The Seawolves muffed the ensuing kickoff, setting GWU up nicely - but an interception by Dominic Reyes on third down snuffed out that opportunity.
Skiffington connected on another long field goal to take advantage of the turnover, getting a 45-yarder inside the left upright with 3:28 left in the half for a 13-3 Stony Brook lead that would remain the same until the break.
The teams traded touchdowns in the first two minutes of the third quarter, with Maysonet taking the opening kickoff of the half back 75 yards for a score and J.J. Hubbard answering with a 47-yard dash to the end zone on a third down play near midfield to trim the lead to 20-10 13:29 left in the quarter.
The Seawolves created some cushion with a 71-yard drive to push the lead to 27-10. Essington converted a big third down with his legs to move the chains at his own 40, then hit Kevin Norrell on a corner route for a 30-yard scoring strike with 8:51 left.
Gardner-Webb drove inside the Stony Brook 30-yard line with just under two minutes left in the third, but were stopped on fourth down. The Seawolves took over at their own 29 and drove the distance in a clock-chewing 5:32 to put the game out of reach. Marcus Coker bulled over the line from one-yard out for the touchdown, and Skiffington's extra point made the score 34-10 with 11:19 to play.
A 27-yard scoring strike from Essington to Norrell with 7:29 left closed out the scoring.
Gardner-Webb finished with 241 yards offensively, getting 157 yards through the air from Beatty (15-of-23) and 63 yards on seven carries from Hubbard. Hubbard also had 106 kickoff return yards on six attempts, including a 47-yarder early in the second half.
Tanner Burch collected 13 tackles (four solo) to pace Gardner-Webb defensively and Brian Wittenberger added 12 and a half sack.
In addition to Maysonet's big day, Stony Brook got 62 yards and a score from Coker and another efficient passing day from Essington. The senior completed 11-of-17 attempts for 142 yards and two scores - hitting Norrell seven times for 111 yards.
Grant Nakwaasah led the SBU defense with nine tackles and Junior Solice had 1.5 of the Seawolves' six quarterback sacks. Stony Brook had 13 tackles for loss in the game.
Gardner-Webb returns home on Saturday, October 27, to host VMI at 1:30 pm in Spangler Stadium. The game is part of Homecoming 2012 festivities in Boiling Springs.
| Box Score (PDF) |
