Oct. 19, 2007

Richmond Game Notes

Stony Brook, N.Y. - Stony Brook returns home this week for the first time since September 22 as it hosts Maine for homecoming. The Seawolves are coming off a tough three-game road swing that saw them drop all three, a pair to teams ranked in the top-20 and one that came in the final seconds of the game. Last week Stony Brook ventured south to Richmond, Virginia where the Seawolves had more first down, more passing yardage, more total yards and held the ball for nearly 13 minutes more that the Spiders and still came out on the short end of a 42-0 score. Josh Dudash threw for 200 yards in the contest, his fifth 200-yard passing day of the season. This game will be a battle of two teams hungry for wins with Stony Brook looking to break out of a three-game losing streak and Maine a five-game stretch without a win. A win for Stony Brook would bring its record back to the .500 mark at 4-4 and also mark its first-ever win against a school from the Colonial Athletic Association.

The Opponent After starting the season with a win over Monmouth, Maine has had a tough time putting one in the win column as the Black Bears have dropped five straight to enter the game at Stony Brook with a 1-5 record. A member of the CAA for football, Maine is 0-4 in conference action. This game will be the first non-conference action for Maine in five weeks. Despite the 1-5 record, there have been a couple of close calls for the Black Bears with two of their losses (one that was in OT) coming by seven points or less, including last week's 21-20 setback at home to William & Mary. Junior Jhamal Fluellen ran for 200 yards in the setback, bumping his season average up to 103 yards per game. The Black Bears passed for two TDs against W&M, just their third and fourth scoring strikes of the season. Defensively Maine is surrendering an average of 28.8 points per game and over 360 yards of offense. Senior linebacker John Wormuth leads Maine with 60 tackles, including a pair of sacks.

The Series This will be the first meeting between Stony Brook and Maine in football. The two schools are certainly not strangers to athletic competition with both being members of the America East Conference outside of football. For Stony Brook this will be the third meeting over the last four games with Colonial Athletic Association football programs. The Seawolves have also played Hofstra and Richmond. Stony Brook and Maine have played a pair of common opponents this season, Monmouth and Hofstra. Both squads defeated Monmouth in close games; Stony Brook won 21-15 and Main 21-14. The two teams dropped games to Hofstra with the Seawolves falling 33-28 and the Black Bears by a 38-13 score.