FINAL STATS

PHOTO GALLERY

Staten Island, NY – Senior linebacker Julian Stanford (Bloomfield, CT/ Bloomfield) returned a fourth quarter pass 36 yards for a touchdown which jump-started a run of 20 unanswered points and sophomore running back Dominique Williams (Bridgeton, NJ/ Bridgeton) rushed for 109 yards on 28 carries, eclipsing the 1,000-yard mark for the season, as Wagner posted a come-from-behind 27-21 Senior Day victory over Sacred Heart.

With the win, the Seahawks snap a seven-game losing streak in improving to 2-7 on the season, 2-4 in Northeast Conference (NEC) play while the Pioneers, who came into the game tied for third place in the conference, fall to 5-4, 3-3 in league play.
 
The Pioneers seized a 14-7 halftime lead and then the respective defenses took over as neither team could generate any sustained offensive for the better part of the third quarter. With 5:56 left in the third, Wagner put together a mammoth 15-play, 79-yard drive that bridged the third and fourth quarters and chewed up 9:39.
 
A critical play in the drive came when the Seahawks faced a fourth and two at the Sacred Heart 20 with 13:07 left. At this juncture, Wagner called a timeout to mull over its options and then called an option pitch left to Williams. After running parallel to the line of scrimmage, drawing attention from an outside linebacker, junior quarterback Nick Doscher (Staten Island, NY/ Moore Catholic) pitched the ball to Williams for a five-yard gain to the 15. After a pair of Williams rushes netted zero yards, Doscher found fifth-year senior wide receiver Sean O'Reilly (Howell Township, NJ/ Howell) all alone in the left corner of the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown that knotted the game at 14-14.
 
On Sacred Heart's ensuing drive, another senior comes up big on Senior Day as Stanford jumped in front of a pass in the left flat and raced 36 yards into the end zone, putting the Seahawks on top 21-14 with 11:23 left in the game.
 
The teams then traded punts, the latter a fine 39-yard effort by senior Rory Creegan (Woodside, NY/ St. Francis Prep) that pinned the Pioneers back on their own 13-yard line with 2:29 to go. The Pioneers then strung a few plays together and had a first and 10 at the Seahawk 40 with 1:45 to play when the Wagner defense struck for its second pick-six of the game. This time it was redshirt freshman cornerback Jarrett Dieudonne (Fort Lauderdale, FL/ Dillard) who stepped in front of a Sacred Heart receiver, snatching the ball at the Wagner 34 before gliding 66 yards up the left sideline for a touchdown that seemingly put the game out of reach at 27-14 with 1:33 to go.
 
Wagner was then flagged for a pair of 15-yard penalties after the touchdown, an excessive celebration penalty and unsportsmanlike conduct. The first penalty was assessed on the extra point try which failed. The second penalty was enforced on the kickoff. With the Seahawks kickoff off from their own 20-yard line, the Pioneers took over in excellent field position on their own 46. On a second and 10 at the Seahawk 35, Little lofted a pass to wide receiver Rock Tate for a 35-yard score to cut the deficit to 27-21 with 47.7 seconds left. Wagner recovered the on-side kick and, with Sacred Heart out of timeouts, was able to run out the final 48 seconds to preserve the win.
 
The Pioneers jumped out to an early 7-0 lead when running back Greg Moore burst free up the middle of the field for a 40-yard touchdown run just 2:05 into the game. The long run by Moore capped a quick four-play, 66-yard drive that took just 2:00.
 
Late in the first half, the Seahawks put together a scoring drive of their own. Doscher rushed six yards for a touchdown with 3:21 left in the half to tie the game at 7-7. Doscher dropped back to pass on the play, saw no one open and tucked it and scampered into the end zone.
 
The key play in the drive came on a first and 10 at the Pioneer 45 when speedy scatback Wandy Saintilien (Miami, FL/ ASA Institute) took an option pitch from Doscher and sped 19 yards up the left sideline to put Wagner in business at the 26-yard line. A Sacred Heart personal foul, sandwiched around a pair of five-yard runs by Williams, led to Doscher's TD run burst which came on a second and five from the six.'
 
Early in the second quarter, Sacred Heart defensive lineman Justin Embler intercepted a Doscher screen pass at the Seahawk 35 that set up a six-play, 35-yard drive that took 2:30. Running back Keshaudas Spence ripped off an 18-yard run that helped set up a four-yard touchdown pass from quarter Tim Little to wide receiver Sean Kessler that made it 14-7 with 2:30 remaining in the first half. That's the way the score remained until Wagner's long game-tying drive that began late in the third quarter and ended with O'Reilly's touchdown grab early in the fourth.
 
For the game, Sacred Heart out-gained the Seahawks 364-215. Through the air, Little was 22-of-37 for 278 yards but was victimized by three interceptions, including the two Wagner took back to the house. Moore led the Pioneers' ground game with 94 yards on 14 carries. Wide receiver Garrett Coles was Little's favorite target, hailing in eight passes for 124 yards while Tate had 62 yards on four catches.
 
In support of Williams' 109-yard rushing day, Doscher was 7-of-14 passing for 57 yards. There were a host of heroes on the defensive side for the Seahawks. Junior linebacker Carl-Olivier Prime (Quebec, Canada/ The Kent School) paced Wagner with nine tackles to go with one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and one pass breakup. Sophomore cornerback Torian Phillips (Staten Island, NY/ Port Richmond) made eight stops and a big second quarter interception near the goal line which he returned late in the second quarter that helped Wagner stay in touch at 14-7.
 
Junior linebacker Mike Lombardo (Jupiter, FL/ Jupiter Christian) also had a productive afternoon with seven tackles and two sacks (minus 17 yards). Senior Jeremiah Brown (Brooklyn, NY/ Grand Street Campus) also had seven tackles along with one sack and one pass breakup.
 
The Seahawks will look to make it two in a row when they take to the road next week when they travel to Pittsburgh, PA on Saturday, November 12 for a Noon contest vs. the Colonials of Robert Morris.
 
NOTES – Williams entered the game with 897 yards, leaving him 103 shy of the 1,000-yard mark. With 1,006 yards on the season, he becomes the first Seahawk to crack the 1,000-yard barrier since 2007 when Jason Butler rushed for 1,353 yards. Though Doscher did not pick up big numbers, he did reach a career milestone vs. Sacred Heart. The junior entered the game in need of 60 yards of total offense (passing and rushing) to become the Wagner all-time leader. Against the Pioneers, he totaled 72 total offense yards with 57 through the air and another 15 on the ground. With 5,958 yards, he surpased John Sciarra, who amassed 5,845 yards from 1994-95. O'Reilly's big fourth quarter touchdown was the first of his career. The all-time series between the schools is now tied 7-7 Prior to the game, 18 Seahawks were honored in a Senior Day pre-game ceremony. The 18 seniors, all of whom are on schedule to graduate in May, include: Quintin Anderson DL, 6-5, 280 (Rochester, NY / Penfield/Milford Academy), Jeremiah Brown DB 6-0, 205 (Brooklyn, NY / Grand Street Campus, Matt Connelly OL, 6-3, 255 (Kingston, PA / Wyoming Valley West), Rory Cregan P 5-10, 185 (Woodside, NY / St. Francis Prep, Derrick Forrest   DL, 6-225 (Ft. Lauderdale, FL / Calvery Christian Academy), Dom Gaston Sr LB, 6-2 225 (Phillipsburg, NJ / Bergen Catholic), Sal Gigante DL, 6-1, 270 (New Windsor, NY / Cornwall Central Catholic), Nick Linehan, LS, 6-0, 200 (Plainville, MA / Bishop Feehan), Mark Mangion PK, 5-11, 190 (Basking Ridge, NJ / Ridge), Justin Matthews WR, 6-1, 190 (Hillside, NJ / Hillside), Ricky Morgan RB, 5-11, 195 (Miami, FL / Palmer Trinity) Dustin Nelson QB, 6-4, 230 (Fort Benning, GA / Christchurch), Sean O'Reilly WR, 6-2, 180 (Howell, NJ / Howell), Tyler Seling OL 6-3 280 (Plymouth, MI / Detroit Catholic Central), Edgar Sheppard DL 6-3, 290 (Washington, DC / Georgetown Prep), Julian Stanford OLB, 6-2, 225 (Bloomfield, CT / Bloomfield) Nick Suppes LB, 6-2, 220 (Dumont, NJ/ Dumont), Rich Vellucci RB, 6-0, 220 (Newtown, PA / Council Rock).