Seawolves Overcome 21-Point Deficit to Upend No. 13 Villanova

STONY BROOK, N.Y. – Trailing visiting Villanova 21-0 late in the second quarter, the Stony Brook football team rattled off 29 straight points to take the lead late in the fourth quarter and hold off the Wildcats to preserve a 29-27 victory on Saturday night at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium. The 17th-ranked Seawolves received a three-touchdown night from senior QB Joe Carbone(Wethersfield, Conn.) that included two to senior WR Julius Wingate (Englewood, N.J.) and another to senior TE Cal Daniels (Bethel, Conn.), while senior RB Donald Liotine (Medford, N.Y.) added the other touchdown. Defensively, Stony Brook had 10 tackles-for-loss and four sacks against the 13th-ranked Wildcats. One of the sacks, by senior DL John Haggart (Sayville, N.Y.), resulted in a safety that broke the 21-21 tie in the third quarter. SCORING

• Villanova scored the first touchdown of the game on it's opening drive when QB Zach Bednarczyk found TE Todd Summers in the left side of the end zone with a five-yard pass. The PAT by K Drew Kresge was good. The drive was seven plays for 65 yards and took 3:26 off the clock.

• The Wildcats added to their lead with a two-yard touchdown run by RB Aaron Forbes. The PAT by K Drew Kresge was good. The drive was nine plays for 70 yards and lasted 4:17.

• Villanova expanded the first-half lead with some trickery when WR Adeyemi DaSilva threw a 56-yard catch-and-run touchdown to WR Changa Hodge. The PAT by K Drew Kresge was good. The drive was just one play for 56 yards and took 0:09.

• Stony Brook cracked the scoring column late in the second quarter when QB Joe Carbone found WR Julius Wingate in the right corner of the end zone with a 15-yard pass. The PAT was no good. The drive was 10 plays for 75 yards and took 3:41 off the clock.

• RB Donald Liotine punched it in from three yards out early in the third quarter to cut into Villanova's lead. The PAT by K Jack Pruban was good. The drive was eight plays for 37 yards and took 2:48. The drive began as a result of a Wildcat fumble on the opening kickoff of the second half, forced and recovered by LB Elijah Duff.

• Stony Brook tied it up with a 26-yard touchdown pass from QB Joe Carbone to WR Julius Wingate with 7:06 remaining in the third quarter. The two-point conversion was good from Carbone to WR Donavin Washington. The drive was nine plays for 97 yards and took 3:26 off the clock.

• The Seawolves took the lead thanks to DL John Haggart's pressure on Villanova QB Zach Bednarczyk in the end zone that led to an intentional grounding that resulted in a safety with 1:31 left in the third quarter.

• Stony Brook added what looked to be some insurance when TE Cal Daniels pulled down a QB Joe Carbone five-yard pass in the end zone with 4:13 left in the fourth quarter. The PAT was no good. The drive was 11 plays for 59 yards and lasted 5:07.

• Villanova was able to come back down and score on a 25-yard pass from QB Jack Schetelich to WR Jarrett McClenton with 0:56 left. A two-point conversion attempt to tie the score was knocked down by Stony Brook DB EJ Fineran. The drive was 10 plays for 75 yards and took 3:17 off the clock.

THE NUMBERS

• Stony Brook gained 433 yards of total offense on 80 plays. Villanova had 399 yards of total offense on 60 plays.

• The Seawolves had the ball for 31:30 minutes of the game.

• PASSING: Stony Brook: 20-35-0 for 270 yards, 3 touchdowns Villanova: 21-30-0 for 292 yards, 3 touchdowns.

• RUSHING: Stony Brook: 45 carries for 163 yards, 1 touchdown. Villanova: 30 carries for 107 yards.

• RB Donald Liotine gained 78 yards on 22 carries with one touchdown.

• QB Joe Carbone had 270 passing yards with three touchdowns.

• LB Shayne Lawless had eight tackles, while DL John Haggart has eight stops with 2.0 sacks.

QUOTING THE SEAWOLVES Head Coach Chuck Priore "I'm really proud of this team. When I walked into the locker room at halftime you would have thought we were winning 21-0 nothing. That is a little bit of their belief of being successful. This group has won quite a few games the last few years and it is contagious now." DB EJ Fineran "I followed their tight end when he released and I just happened to make a play. It felt great. I knew that was a play that we needed to stop them on and it was good doing it." DL John Haggart "Our energy changed at halftime. We knew that we could run with (Villanova) and we knew we had to change our energy. That is what we did and everyone was rallying and making plays." QB Joe Carbone "We all agreed as a team that no one was ever going to break us. We didn't break and we regrouped and went out there and kept playing. Football is a four-quarter game and it came down to the fourth quarter." NOTES

• With the victory over Villanova, Stony Brook has now defeated each of the other 11 CAA Football schools in a conference game.

• Stony Brook picked up its 10th victory against FCS ranked opponents with Saturday's win over No. 13 Villanova.

• TE Tyrone Wheatley Jr. pulled down his first catch as a Seawolf on the opening possession of the game.

• QB Joe Carbone tossed a second-quarter touchdown pass to WR Julius Wingate and another to Wingate in the third quarter. He then found TE Cal Daniels in the fourth quarter. The TD passes were Carbone's 33rd, 34th and 35th of his career.

• Carbone's three touchdown passes against Villanova marked his 13th career multi-passing touchdown game and tied a career-best with his performance against Sacred Heart last season.

• WR Julius Wingate pulled down a 15-yard touchdown pass from Carbone in the second quarter and a 26-yard touchdown pass from Carbone in the third quarter. It was Wingate's, a fifth-year senior, second and third career touchdowns.

• Wingate had a career-high six receptions against Villanova for a career-best 83 yards and a career-best two touchdowns.

• WR Andrew Trent had a career-high six receptions against the Wildcats for a career-high 122 yards. It marked his first career 100-yard game.

• RB Donald Liotine scored on a rushing touchdown in the third quarter for his 19th career rushing score. It moved the senior into a tie for eighth place on Stony Brook's career list.

• DL John Haggart recorded Stony Brook's first safety since Ousmane Camara had a sack in the end zone at Rhode Island on Nov. 14, 2015.

• Tonight's first-time starters for Stony Brook were: DL Casey Williams.

• Captains for tonight's game were QB Joe Carbone, TE Cal Daniels, DE John Haggart, LB Noah McGintyand LB Shayne Lawless.

UP NEXT Stony Brook hits the road for the next two games, both CAA Football contests. Next week the Seawolves visit Towson for a 4 p.m. ET kickoff. The next home game is Oct. 20 when Rhode Island visits LaValle Stadium for Homecoming. Kickoff for that game is set for 6 p.m. ET. Buy Season Tickets | Buy Single Game Tickets