Pictured Above: Senior wide receiver John Williams matched his career high with six receptions, which went for 80 yards and one touchdown today.
(photos by Jason Eggleston)

Amherst, MA  – Wagner junior Alex Thomson (Keyport, NJ / Keyport) threw for 295 yards, the highest output by a Seahawk quarterback in 10 years, with junior wide receiver John Williams (Sewell, NJ / Lackawanna JC) hauling in six reception for 80 yards and a touchdown, but the Green & White could not overcome a 27-0 halftime deficit in falling at UMass, 34-10.
 
With the win, the Minutemen, who compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision level (FBS) improve to 2-7. With the loss, the Seahawks fall to 4-4 on the season.  
 
Wagner returns to Northeast Conference (NEC) play next weekend when they host the Duquesne Dukes on Saturday, November 5 at Hameline Field in a noon tilt. The Seahawks are 2-1 in league play this season and entered today's play in a tie for second place in the league standings.

"Whenever  you play up, a team from the FBS, you can't do things to hurt yourself and at the beginning today, we hurt ourselves several times," said Seahawk second-year head coach Jason Houghtaling. "Credit UMass too. Maybe some of those penalties are due to us trying to block their speed.

"We eventually got some stops and did some good things offensively, but we just made too many mistakes today to beat a team like this," he added..
 
The Green & White moved the ball well early but were undone by 75 yards in penalties in falling behind by a 14-0 count after one quarter. Trailing 7-0 following a 28-yard touchdown pass from UMass quarterback Andrew Ford to wide receiver Adam Breneman, Thomson hit speedy junior wide receiver Franklin Labady (Hialeah, FL / U. of Cincinnati) for a 47-yard pickup down to the Minutemen 14-yard line. But an unsportsmanlike penalty following the play pushed Wagner back 15 yards and, after Thomson was sacked on third down, Wagner was forced to punt.
 
Late in the first quarter, UMass left-handed quarterback Andrew Ford threw the second of his three first-half touchdowns, this one a six-yard toss to Brenemen, as the Minutemen opened a 14-0 lead on an 84-yard drive that was aided by another 15-yard personal foul on the Seahawks.
 
With 12:37 left in the opening half, Ford went to work again, finding wide receiver Andy Isabella on a 55-yard scoring strike, his third of the half, to extend the Minutemen lead to 21-0.

After Logan Laurent booted a pair of field goals, from 33 and 22 yards, respectively, UMass took a 27-0 lead into the locker room at halftime. Thomson was 8-of-14 passing for 141 yards in the first half but the Seahawks had nothing to show for it, thanks in large part to five penalties and two sacks.

Ford opened the second-half scoring by scrambling 16 yards for another score that extended the Minutemen lead to 34-0 with 8:49 left in the third quarter.

Taking over on their own 23 following the kickoff, Thomson led the Seahawks on a 14-play, 67-yard drive that culminated in a 27-yard field goal by senior James Cooper (Linwood, NJ / Temple U), who improved to 11-of-14 on field goal tries for the season, to get Wagner on the board.

After junior defensive end Jordan Baskerville (West Point, NY / Milford Academy) forced UMass to punt with a third-down sack of Ford, Wagner found its offensive rhythm. With a drive that began at the Seahawk seven-yard line following the Minutemen punt, Thomson led the Seahawks on an efficient 16-play, 93-yard touchdown drive.
 
Thomson was 6-of-7 through the air during this scoring march, finding four different receivers, including Williams on a two-yard toss with 6:29 left to play, which fashioned the final score at 34-10.
 
UMass wound up with a 507-367-yard edge in total offense with Ford leading the way by completing 25-of-39 passes for 355 yards and those three scores. The Minutemen had a pair of receivers top the 100-yard mark, as Breneman wound up with eight grabs for 138 yards while Isbabella also caught eight passes, with his receptions going for 123 yards and one touchdown.
 
Williams' six-catch, 80-yard receiving day came following a six-catch,  career-high 112-yard effort at Bryant last week. Senior wide receiver Nour Aly a(North Caldwell, NJ / West Esssex also got into the act, recording career highs with four catches for 39 yards, while fellow senior wideout Andre Yevchinecz (Binghamton, NY / Binghamton) wound up with three receptions for 43 yards.
 
Senior tight end and preseason All-NEC selection Ryan Owens (Gainseville, NY / Leftwich) also had three grabs for 38 yards, as Thomson spread the ball around to eight different receivers on the afternoon.
 
In the rushing department, junior halfback Denzel Knight (Rochester, NY / Salisbury School) led the way with 43 yards on 10 carries, while his senior running mate Matthias McKinnon (Albany, NY / Jireh Prep) added 34 yards on 13 carries.
 
Defensively, senior cornerback Tiquan Garner (Brookville, NY / Long Island Lutheran) recorded a career-high 10 tackles, while junior inside linebacker Randall May (Sparta, NJ/ Sparta), made the most of his first start of the season, logging a career-high eight stops.
 
NOTES
Alex Thomson's career-high 295 yards passing are the most by a Seahawk since Matt Abbey threw for 305 yards vs. Sacred Heart on September 30, 2006. Abbey's passing day also marks the last time a Wagner QB has had a 300-yard passing day.
 
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