The offense for the Maine Black Bears had a hard time getting their footing on Saturday afternoon, as the Stony Brook Seawolves built a 16-0 lead and held on for a 22-17 Colonial Athletic Association football win at Alfond Stadium in Orono on Senior Day.
Stony Brook got a pair of first quarter field goals from Angelo Guglielmello of 38 and 37 yards and a 6-0 lead. The Seawolves got a gifted turnover by Maine quarterback Derek Robertson late in the first. Robertson was pressured behind the line, and at the last moment tried a lateral pass which was ruled a fumble. The guests turned that into a nine yard touchdown run by Ty Son Lawton early in the second to extend the advantage. Another kick from Guglielmello made it 16-0 with 9:59 left in first half. Stony Brook was driving again with less than five minutes to go at the Maine 30 yard line, but Shakur Smalls was able to intercept a pass from Tyquell Fields in the endzone. The Black Bears to that point had only four yards of net offense, but Freddie Brock changed that with a 69 yard run on the first play after the turnover to the Stony Brook 11. Two plays later, Robertson hit Brock on a screen pass that went for an 11 yard touchdown and cut it 16-7 at halftime.
Maine (4-5, 3-4 CAA) got a bit closer on their second possession of the third quarter when Jonny Messina connected on a 36 yard field goal. The Black Bears had a good chance for their first lead of the day late in the period marching the Stony Brook 21 yard line, but on a first down play from that spot Robertson was intercepted by Randy Pringle on a pass intended for Devin Young. In one of the key plays of the entire game, Maine went for a fourth down and short at their own 34 yard line 2:31 into the fourth quarter but Robertson couldn’t pick it up on a quarterback sneak. Three plays later, Lawton caught a nine yard score from Fields. The extra point was no good and the Seawolves had a 12 point lead at 22-10. The hosts made one more run at a comeback as they finished off a 10 play, 73 yard drive with Robertson connecting with Jacob Hennie for a 10 yard touchdown with 3:49 remaining. The Bears then caught a break when a 70 yard TD run by Lawton that would of ended the game was nullified by a holding penalty. Maine was able to get a hold on that series getting the football back at their own 44 with 2:30 showing on the clock. However on the first play, Robertson tried to make a pass on the run across his body that was intercepted by Tyler King that sealed the victory for Stony Brook.
Robertson finished 17-32 passing for 160 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Brock had 10 carries for 82 yards and Elijah Barnwell also had eight for 45 yards. Brock also added the second quarter touchdown reception. Young had five receptions for 47 yards, and Montigo Moss had three for 48. Maine played without wide receiver Andre Miller who was injured. Ray Miller has 12 tackles including 2.5 for a loss. Khairi Manns added 10 tackles. The Bears were also just 3-11 on third down conversions on the day. Fields was 13-25 passing in the win for Stony Brook for 164 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Lawton had 26 rushes for 96 yards and a touchdown, adding a receiving score as well. Khalil Newton and Hunter Hayek each had three receptions for 45 and 40 yards respectively. King had nine tackles, one for loss, and the game winning interception. The Seawolves win their third straight game to improve to 4-5, 3-3 in the CAA. Maine visits UMass out of the FBS next Saturday at 12 p.m.
