No. 3/5 Football Rallies Past Stony Brook, 28-20, for Sixth Straight Win

Saturday, October 25

3 pm

University of New Hampshire

6-1

Stony Brook University

4-5

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Stony Brook

New Hampshire

No. 3/5 Football Rallies Past Stony Brook, 28-20, for Sixth Straight Win

10/25/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football

Box Score

DURHAM, N.H. – Senior quarterback Andy Vailas (Bedford, N.H) ran for a couple of touchdowns, the offense came up with two long scores in the second half and the defense overcame a slow start to lift the No. 3/5 University of New Hampshire football team to its sixth straight win, a 28-20 triumph over Stony Brook in front of 8,811 in Cowell Stadium on Saturday.

The Wildcats improved to 6-1 overall and stayed unbeaten in the Colonial Athletic Association (4-0) in a game that had a little bit of everything, including a two-point conversion run by UNH junior kicker Christian Breda (Needham, Mass.), a blocked extra point kick by UNH's Cam Shorey (Calais, Maine) and a blocked field goal by the Seawolves' Christian Ricard.

Stony Brook fell to 4-5 overall and 3-2 in the league.

"We found a way to win," said UNH head coach Sean McDonnell. "They're a good football. They're physical. They've got guys who can run to the football. Defensively, they swarm and they cause you a lot of problems."

Stony Brook had allowed a CAA-low 11 points per game coming in to Saturday's matchup. The Seawolves had given up only seven touchdowns, two of them on the ground, to opposing offenses through their first eight games. The Wildcats scored four TDs, three of them rushing.

Senior wide receiver R.J. Harris (Odenton, Md.) caught eight passes for 115 yards and a 73-yard touchdown. It was the sixth time over 100 yards in a game for Harris this year and 17^th in his career.

UNH, which was coming off a bye week, came back from a 14-0 first-period deficit to grab a 15-14 lead at the halftime break.

After failing to get a first down on their first two possessions of the second half, the Wildcats got the ball back on their own 11-yard line. Vailas ran for 16 yards to give them a little room and two plays later, passed the ball back to senior running back Nico Steriti (Toms River, N.J./three rushes-40 yards/1-for-1, 73 yards, TD). Steriti in turn passed it to Harris who was wide open behind the secondary and raced into the end zone to complete the 73-yard scoring play.

Breda's conversion kick bounced off the left upright and away, and UNH led 21-14 with 4:47 left in the third period.

SBU came up with a late drive off a blocked field goal attempt in the fourth quarter. The Seawolves cut the lead to 21-20 on a Conor Bednarski to Adrian Coxson 31-yard touchdown pass with 3:22 left in the game. Graham Ball lined up the conversion kick to tie the game and Shorey got a hand up and blocked it to preserve UNH's lead.

The Wildcats looked to run out the clock with their next possession, and after Steriti picked up one first down, senior Jimmy Owens (West Deptford, N.J.) broke through the line of scrimmage when Stony Brook was blitzing and cruised 51 yards to a final score. Breda kicked the extra point.

The Wildcats rebounded from a rough first period with an effective second and turned a 14-0 deficit into a 15-14 lead.

The first Vailas score capped off a five-play, 45-yard scoring drive. Vailas broke outside to the left and scored from 18 yards out. Breda kicked the conversion and UNH trailed 14-7 with 10:58 left in the second period.

After an exchange of punts, the Wildcats put together another five-play scoring drive, this one covering 70 yards and featuring a short Vailas to Steriti pass play that covered 33 yards. Vailas scored on a 14-yard run.

UNH lined up for a conversion kick, but Vailas, the holder, stood to take the snap and pitched the ball to Breda, who ran into the left corner of the end zone for the two points.

Vailas completed 18 of his 30 passes in the game for 131 yards and threw one interception. Owens carried the ball seven times for 74 yards.

Junior safety Keith Parkinson (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) intercepted a fourth down Bednarski pass in the fourth quarter and returned it 48 yards. Senior defensive end Cody Muller (Telford, Pa.) had a sack, forced a fumble and had a fumble recovery. Senior defensive tackle Matt Kaplan (Franklin, N.H.) had a fumble recovery, and senior defensive end Robbie Zauck (Ocean City, N.J.) forced a fumble and registered half a sack.

Junior safety Daniel Rowe (Orange, N.J.) led the Wildcats with 11 tackles and sophomore cornerback Casey DeAndrade (East Bridgewater, Mass.) and sophomore linebacker DeVaughn Chollette (Scranton, Pa.) had eight each.

Senior Brad Prasky (Groton, Mass.) had another strong game and averaged 47.1 yards on eight punts.

The Wildcats bid for their seventh consecutive win when they wrap up a three-game homestand against 25^th-ranked University at Albany (6-2, 2-2) on Saturday, Nov. 1, on Salute to Service Day at Cowell Stadium. Opening kickoff is slated for 6 p.m.

For tickets, CLICK HERE or call 1-800-745-3000.