An outstanding effort falls short for Albany
Albany defensive end Eddie Delaney (96), who played for Sachem East high school, plays without a left hand. (Nov. 26, 2011) Credit: Joseph D. Sullivan
Albany arrived at LaValle Stadium carrying a very big chip on its shoulder for its FCS first-round playoff game against fellow SUNY system school Stony Brook. The Great Danes have only 36 full scholarships compared to 63 for the Seawolves, and they admittedly were envious of SBU's 8,200-seat stadium.
So the Northeast Conference co-champions played their hearts out, building an 18-point lead and taking Stony Brook down to the wire before losing, 31-28, when quarterback Dan Di Lella threw a pass from the Stony Brook 3-yard line that was tipped and intercepted with 47 seconds to play. Seawolves cornerback Donald Porter deflected the pass intended for tight end Brian Parker and Stony Brook safety Dominick Reyes picked it off.
"I'll be reliving it for the rest of my life," said Di Lella, who completed 24 of 43 passes for 223 yards and one touchdown but threw two interceptions. "We had a big guy on a small corner. I figured I'd take a shot and put it up where I thought only [Parker] could get it. I probably should have just thrown it 50 feet in the stands and let Drew Smith run it in the next play.
"To end with a play like that on the 3 is basically giving it away."
Despite the ending, Albany's defense played better than any other opponent had in Stony Brook's nine-game winning streak. The Seawolves came in averaging 287.4 yards rushing per game, third in the country, and were held to 164 yards. They also entered the game leading FCS in scoring at 39.6 points per game and were held to 31.
The Great Danes sacked Seawolves quarterback Kyle Essington four times, among 10 Stony Brook plays that produced negative yardage.
Albany defensive end Eddie Delaney, the inspiring 6-6, 250-pounder from Sachem East who was born without a left hand and also suffers from diabetes, had a half- sack plus another tackle for a loss.
"We were getting after them," Delaney said. "Their offense blitzed us in the second half. They were max-protecting, and they didn't take any plays off.
"It was a great atmosphere. I'm about 10 minutes away from my house and had my family here, my high school coaches, my peewee coaches. I'll never forget the experience, but it was a tough way to go out."
