Essington leads SBU past VMI, 42-14

Kyle Essington threw for 255 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score as Stony Brook beat Virginia Military Institute, 42-14, Saturday at Foster Stadium in Lexington, Va.

Essington completed 18 of 23 passes to lead the Seawolves, who racked up 383 of their 483 yards and scored 35 points after halftime in earning their fourth straight win. Ahead 7-0 at halftime, Stony Brook scored on five of its next six possessions. SBU (4-3, 2-0 Big South) has scored 176 points in the last four games.

Miguel Maysonet ran for 141 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries and Brock Jackolski added 65 rushing yards and a score. The Seawolves took their largest lead -- 42-7 -- on Maysonet's 60-yard touchdown run with 12:09 remaining. Kevin Norrell had eight catches for 129 yards and a touchdown, and Jordan Gush had six receptions for 78 yards and a TD.

"We played a solid first half," Stony Brook coach Chuck Priore said. "Our defense and special teams keyed us early, and then we turned it on offensively in the second half. We moved our tight ends to take them out of their blitzes, and that allowed Kyle to be effective out of the pocket."

Stony Brook's defense held VMI to 267 yards and forced the Keydets to punt 11 times. Junior Solice had three tackles for loss, including a sack, and Andrew Nelson and Roosevelt Kirk each had a sack. Grant Nakwaasah returned a fumble 29 yards for a touchdown that gave the Seawolves a 28-0 lead with 9:07 left in the third quarter.

"They have a good team, and you cannot make mistakes against them," VMI coach Sparky Woods said. "We had too many three-and-outs on offense . . . We gave up too many big plays, and long runs and long passes for touchdowns."

Eric Kordenbrock went 14-for-26 for 139 yards for VMI (1-6, 1-2). Adam Morgan threw an 81-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Lewis (four catches, 118 yards) in the third quarter.