Maysonet, Jackolski, SBU romp on ground

Brock Jackolski had shed his waterlogged football gear and changed into dry "sweat" clothes, but he still was shivering 15 minutes after Stony Brook finished pounding Big South rival Coastal Carolina, 42-0, in a driving rain and wind storm Saturday at LaValle Stadium.

"Hands down, this is the worst conditions I've ever played in," Jackolski said with a smile. "But that's Northeast football. You've got to love it."

The Chanticleers (4-4, 1-3 Big South) might not share those sentiments after leaving sunny 63-degree weather in Myrtle Beach, S.C., to fly into the face of a nor'easter and the Seawolves' all-weather running game. The 446 rushing yards Coastal allowed were the second-worst in school history, behind only the 512 it gave up to Georgia Southern in 2007, and on the flip side, the Chanticleers managed only 73 yards of total offense against a physical Stony Brook defense.

The Seawolves (5-3, 3-0) had the horses for the wet course as Miguel Maysonet rushed for 191 yards and three touchdowns, Jackolski ran for 193 yards and a touchdown and JeVahn Cruz made the most of his limited time with 70 yards and a TD. It didn't matter that Stony Brook had zero passing yards because quarterback Kyle Essington, who went 0-for-6 thanks to three dropped balls in the first half, completed all his handoffs.

Coastal often had nine defenders in the box to stop the run, but Maysonet beat the Chanticleers with his nifty moves between the tackles and Jackolski beat them around the corner.

"It makes it tougher, but you've got to run the ball regardless of how many men they have in the box," Maysonet said. "Obviously, we weren't able to pass. I was just trying to hold the ball and run between the tackles, and the offensive line did a great job blocking again."

Maysonet gave Stony Brook a 21-0 lead early in the third quarter with TD runs of 9, 1 and 26 yards. His second touchdown was set up when Carolina punter Austin Cain fumbled the snap and was tackled at his own 1 by Matt Brevi in the first quarter. Every play in the kicking game was an adventure.

In the third quarter, Cain fumbled a low snap at his 13-yard line, and Seawolves defensive lineman Jonathan Coats blocked the kick and scooped it up at the 2-yard line to score for a 28-0 lead. It was Coats' second TD this season.

"I saw he mishandled the ball and I tried to speed up and get my hands up," Coats said. "It was difficult conditions, and it was hard to catch the ball. Anything could happen."

The most surprising thing might have been Coats fielding the ball cleanly on his way to score. "I was surprised," he laughed. "It was a great feeling, and I want to give credit to the rest of the defense. We did what we had to do. We wanted it more than they did, and we were energetic before the game."

Touchdown runs of 46 yards by Jackolski and 43 yards by Cruz put the game on ice at the end of a frigid day. Still trying to dry out afterward, Maysonet said, "It's only fun at the end when we win."