Brock Jackolski, Miguel Maysonet are Seawolves now

As Stony Brook football coach Chuck Priore gazed at the stat sheet following the Seawolves' 31-14 romp over American International College Saturday night at LaValle Stadium, he couldn't help but admire the rushing yards compiled by former Hofstra running backs Brock Jackolski and Miguel Maysonet.

With a big smile, Priore repeated it aloud: "325 yards."

But the smile dimmed a bit when the pair of transfers were asked again about the adjustment they've made since Hofstra gave up football last December. "The rest of the time, we're not fielding Hofstra questions," Priore said. "They're Stony Brook players now. They bleed red. We're lucky to have them, and the community is lucky to have them. I'm pleased they had success, but I knew they would. They're talented kids."

Boy, are they ever. With starting tailback Eddie Gowins sidelined by a strained abdomen, Jackolski and Maysonet got all the practice reps and made the most of their opportunity behind a dominant offensive line featuring 6-8, 350-pound redshirt freshman right tackle Michael Bamiro.

Jackolski totaled 167 yards rushing on 15 carries, scored on runs of 11 and 17 yards and broke a 69-yard run for good measure. Maysonet added 158 yards on 20 carries, broke a 48-yard touchdown run, caught one pass for 11 yards to keep a scoring drive going and returned a kickoff 16 yards.

The pair couldn't have made a more spectacular first impression at their new school. Former William Floyd star Jackolski said, "It was awesome. I had 25 people from my hometown [of Shirley] all congratulate me. It was big that we had big games. It showed Stony Brook what we can offer."

Riverhead's Maysonet added, "I had 30 people that came, and I only left tickets for like 20."

Turning to Bamiro and slapping him on the back, Maysonet said, "I think it was a great debut for me and Brock to have the game we had, but it's all thanks to my man right here, my roomate 'Big Mike.' He opened up the holes for me and the rest of the guys did as well, and we just made the right reads."

Maysonet's slashing style was accompanied by great second effort and a refusal to go down from the first hit. Jackolski read the blocks and saw the holes brilliantly, showing tremendous instincts. But it also was important to see how the offensive line was getting a great first surge and opening the initial hole, especially on the right side behind Bamiro.

He gave all the credit to Jackolski and Maysonet saying, "They made our job pretty easy." But Jackolski begged to differ, saying, "You make it easy."

Just the thought of all the space Bamiro created for his running backs put the smile back on Priore's face. "Michael has progressed tremendously," Priore said. "I'm proud of the way he's competed. If you do the math, he's got 42 starts left. You'll be seeing a lot of him."

When Gowins is healthy again, the Seawolves will be able to throw one terrific back after another at the opposition as they attempt to defend the Big South title they shared last season with Liberty. Priore noted that Gowins was one of six injured starters last night, including two that were lost for the season in Stony Brook's 59-14 loss last week at South Florida.

Those same Bulls who beat up on SBU played toe-to-toe with No. 8 Florida on Saturday in Gainesville, keeping the score tied at 7 until midway through the third quarter before the Gators pulled away for a 38-14 win. Stony Brook might have taken its lumps from the big boys after taking an early 14-7 lead in Tampa, but the Seawolves bounced back impressively this week.

"It's an interesting team," Priore said. "They haven't been too excited by anything, but their preparation has been consistent. I said, 'I'm okay with not being a rah-rah team as long as you come to play.'"

Doesn't look like effort is going to be a problem for a young team that should mature as the season progresses.