Stony Brook, N.Y. -
Stony Brook's football team will have a chance to play for a share of the Big South championship on Saturday when the Seawolves will host Liberty at 1:00 p.m. in LaValle Stadium in the final regular season game for both teams. It will be a battle between the first-place Flames and the second-place Seawolves, with a victory by Stony Brook over the 16th ranked Flames giving SBU a share of the 2009 Big South title with Liberty. It will also be Senior Day, with the 2009 senior class honored in a pregame ceremony. All of the action can be heard over the airwaves on WUSB, 90.1 FM, starting at 12:45 p.m. In conjunction with the game, Stony Brook Athletics will be hosting a food drive in concert with Island Harvest. For every fan who donates a non-perishable food item, they will receive a discounted price for an admission ticket.
Kickoff It all comes down to the last game of the season for the 2009 Big South championship as second-place Stony Brook hosts first-place Liberty at LaValle Stadium with conference bragging rights on the line. The Sea¬wolves, who trail the Flames by one game in the standings, can claim a share of the Big South title with a victory on Saturday. A win would also give the Seawolves at least one victory against every team in the Big South in its two-year history in the league. Stony Brook, which can finish no worse than a tie for second in the final standings, has already won a school record four Big South games and will finish the season with a winning conference record for a second season in a row. Last week at Charleston Southern, Stony Brook's hopes of an outright Big South title came to an end in a tough, 30-27, overtime loss to the Buccaneers. The Seawolves came back from a 10-point third quarter deficit to tie the game in the fourth quarter only to see Charleston Southern kick a field goal on its first possession in the overtime to win it. The Seawolves' ground game shifted into high gear against the Buccaneers, shredding their defense for a season-high 340 yards. For the first time this season the duo of Ed Gowins and Conte Cuttino went over the 100-yard mark, with Gowins rumbling for 177 and two TDs and Cuttino going for 163 yards and a score, moving the duo into second and third in the Big South in rushing. Gowins went over the 2,000-yard mark for his career while Cuttino, SBU's all-time rushing leader, eclipsed 3,500 yards.
The Opponent Liberty comes into the game at Stony Brook riding a six-game winning streak and sits in first place with a 5-0 conference mark after last week's 51-28 win at Gardner-Webb. The Flames have been putting up some big numbers lately, scoring over 50 points in four of their last five games, averaging 47.6 points in that stretch. Quarterback Tommy Beecher leads the conference in passing efficiency and averages 164 yards per game and has thrown just four interceptions. Mike Brown and Chris Summers are the top receiving targets and have over 1,100 receiving yards be¬tween them. Brown also has 343 yards rushing and has scored 10 TDs. On defense Liberty is tops in the Big South, allowing an average of 315 yards of total offense a game. The "D" has been stellar in the area of turnovers, picking up 29 for the season while the offense has surren¬dered just seven miscues, placing LU No. 1 in the nation with a turnover ratio of +2.2. Wes Cheek leads the team with 66 tackles, while Kajuan Lee has five interceptions to lead the Big South.
The SeriesThis will be the second meeting between Stony Brook and Liberty. In the first meeting last season in Virginia, the Flames held the Seawolves to 91 yards rushing and zero points in a 33-0 win in a contest that was SBU's debut in the Big South conference. Dayne Hoffman threw for 142 yards and Ed Gowins rushed for 55 to lead the Seawolves. The Flames, led by Rashad Jennings' 101 yards, rushed for 299 yards and held the ball for over 37 minutes in the win.
Stony Brook's football team will have a chance to play for a share of the Big South championship on Saturday when the Seawolves will host Liberty at 1:00 p.m. in LaValle Stadium in the final regular season game for both teams. It will be a battle between the first-place Flames and the second-place Seawolves, with a victory by Stony Brook over the 16th ranked Flames giving SBU a share of the 2009 Big South title with Liberty. It will also be Senior Day, with the 2009 senior class honored in a pregame ceremony. All of the action can be heard over the airwaves on WUSB, 90.1 FM, starting at 12:45 p.m. In conjunction with the game, Stony Brook Athletics will be hosting a food drive in concert with Island Harvest. For every fan who donates a non-perishable food item, they will receive a discounted price for an admission ticket.
Kickoff It all comes down to the last game of the season for the 2009 Big South championship as second-place Stony Brook hosts first-place Liberty at LaValle Stadium with conference bragging rights on the line. The Sea¬wolves, who trail the Flames by one game in the standings, can claim a share of the Big South title with a victory on Saturday. A win would also give the Seawolves at least one victory against every team in the Big South in its two-year history in the league. Stony Brook, which can finish no worse than a tie for second in the final standings, has already won a school record four Big South games and will finish the season with a winning conference record for a second season in a row. Last week at Charleston Southern, Stony Brook's hopes of an outright Big South title came to an end in a tough, 30-27, overtime loss to the Buccaneers. The Seawolves came back from a 10-point third quarter deficit to tie the game in the fourth quarter only to see Charleston Southern kick a field goal on its first possession in the overtime to win it. The Seawolves' ground game shifted into high gear against the Buccaneers, shredding their defense for a season-high 340 yards. For the first time this season the duo of Ed Gowins and Conte Cuttino went over the 100-yard mark, with Gowins rumbling for 177 and two TDs and Cuttino going for 163 yards and a score, moving the duo into second and third in the Big South in rushing. Gowins went over the 2,000-yard mark for his career while Cuttino, SBU's all-time rushing leader, eclipsed 3,500 yards.
The Opponent Liberty comes into the game at Stony Brook riding a six-game winning streak and sits in first place with a 5-0 conference mark after last week's 51-28 win at Gardner-Webb. The Flames have been putting up some big numbers lately, scoring over 50 points in four of their last five games, averaging 47.6 points in that stretch. Quarterback Tommy Beecher leads the conference in passing efficiency and averages 164 yards per game and has thrown just four interceptions. Mike Brown and Chris Summers are the top receiving targets and have over 1,100 receiving yards be¬tween them. Brown also has 343 yards rushing and has scored 10 TDs. On defense Liberty is tops in the Big South, allowing an average of 315 yards of total offense a game. The "D" has been stellar in the area of turnovers, picking up 29 for the season while the offense has surren¬dered just seven miscues, placing LU No. 1 in the nation with a turnover ratio of +2.2. Wes Cheek leads the team with 66 tackles, while Kajuan Lee has five interceptions to lead the Big South.
The SeriesThis will be the second meeting between Stony Brook and Liberty. In the first meeting last season in Virginia, the Flames held the Seawolves to 91 yards rushing and zero points in a 33-0 win in a contest that was SBU's debut in the Big South conference. Dayne Hoffman threw for 142 yards and Ed Gowins rushed for 55 to lead the Seawolves. The Flames, led by Rashad Jennings' 101 yards, rushed for 299 yards and held the ball for over 37 minutes in the win.
