STONY BROOK, N.Y. – The No. 15/16 William & Mary football team fell at No. 24/RV Stony Brook, 35-13, on Saturday afternoon.
W&M (5-3, 2-2) trailed just 21-13 at halftime but was unable to narrow the margin during the final 30 minutes, as SBU (6-2, 3-1) pulled away with a pair of touchdowns.
The Tribe’s defense forced three turnovers but was unable to overcome the five it committed.
Although the Seawolves jumped out to an early 7-0 lead with a 70-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Tyler Knoop to wideout Jayce Freeman on their first offensive play, W&M answered with a 1-yard touchdown run by quarterback Darius Wilson on the Tribe’s ensuing possession.
After SBU extended the margin with two more touchdowns during the second quarter, coming on a 1-yard run by Roland Dempster and a 15-yard pick-six by linebacker A.J. Roberts, W&M cut into the lead with a 28-yard scoring scamper by Wilson with just 34 seconds remaining before halftime. The drive was set up after Jaedon Joyner recovered a fumble caused by TJ McGill inside the Red Zone.
However, Wilson’s second touchdown run was the Tribe’s final score as Stony Brook pulled away for the victory.
Tribe Standouts
In addition to scoring both of the Tribe’s touchdowns, Wilson completed 14-of-19 passes for 197 yards and rushed for 37 yards on 10 carries. He also threw three interceptions.
Running back Bronson Yoder rushed for a team-high 65 yards on 14 carries with three receptions for 36 yards, while running back Malachi Imoh posted four receptions for 60 yards. Wideout JT Mayo also came up big with three receptions for 67 yards.
Linebackers Alex Washington and Quinn Osborne both posted career highs with 12 tackles apiece, while McGill totaled a career-best nine stops and a forced fumble. Marcus Barnes also came up big with nine tackles and an interception in the end zone that haulted a SBU scoring opportunity.
Inside the Numbers
SBU outgained W&M, 460-354, and owned a 220-120 advantage on the ground.
The Tribe nearly matched its season high through the air, as it posted 234 passing yards.
W&M’s defense held the Seawolves to just 5-of-13 on third down but converted just 3-of-11 offensively.
SBU owned a 32:41-27:19 advantage in time of possession.
The Opposition
Knoop completed 15-of-26 passes for 240 yards with two touchdowns, while Dempster rushed for 144 yards on 27 carries with two touchdowns.
Freeman led the Seawolves’ receivers with three catches for 101 yards to go with his 70-yard touchdown.
Defensively Shamoun Duncan-Niusulu posted a team-high 11 tackles, while Roberts finished with 10 tackles to go with his pick-six and two PBUs.
Next Up
W&M will return to action when it plays at North Carolina A&T next Saturday at 1 p.m.
