Donald Liotine, Conor Bednarski help SBU keep control and halt losing streak

The strain of Stony Brook's five-game losing streak was evident in coach Chuck Priore's voice after the Seawolves fought with all they had for a 14-9 victory over a 1-8 Howard team Saturday afternoon at LaValle Stadium.

Even after his defense produced a 12-sack game that was the best in Division I this season, the game was in doubt until 2:22 remained, when running back Donald Liotine broke a 45-yard run on third-and-7 to make sure the Seawolves (3-5) could run out the clock.

Understanding all the obstacles his players had overcome to win, Priore's voice cracked a bit when he said: "I'm just really happy for Stony Brook in general and the kids. It's been a long five weeks. For the kids, awesome. They can enjoy it now. That's the most important thing."

Priore's team has been torn apart by injuries and went into the game without senior center Jerry Hubshman, pressing little-used backup Mike White into action. Then backup running back Tyler Fredericks was lost to an injury in pregame warm-ups, leaving starter Liotine to carry the full load.

When redshirt freshman quarterback Joe Carbone threw an interception to set up a 33-yard field goal by John Fleck that gave Howard a 3-0 first-quarter lead, it seemed a bad omen after his four-interception game the previous week. Priore switched to senior Conor Bednarski to start the second quarter for his maturity.

It was the right move. Bednarski settled the offense and spent most of the day handing off to Liotine, who carried 38 times for 204 yards and both Stony Brook touchdowns.

Liotine broke a 14-yard TD run on fourth down to give Stony Brook a 7-3 halftime lead. A third-quarter fumble recovery at the Bison 25 set up Liotine's 5-yard scoring run for a 14-3 lead.

"It was good to have the senior leadership on the field," Priore said. "Donny Liotine is a non-scholarship tailback. He came here as a walk-on and has worked his tail off. We started a fourth-year walk-on center in Mike White, who has never played more than two snaps in his career here. That kid is just a warrior. Getting Conor in the middle of those two young kids was probably pretty important."

The way the Seawolves' defense was playing, it seemed the lead would stand up. Defensive ends Victor Ochi and Ousmane Camara each had three sacks, rover Jaheem Woods added 21/2 and defensive tackle Aaron Thompson had two as Howard had minus-42 yards rushing.

With redshirt freshman linebackers Shane Lawless and Noah McGinty cleaning up everything in the middle, Camara said: "It let us pin our ears back and be more aggressive up front . . . A lot of teams slide to Victor's side because he's a great player. It opened up holes for Aaron and myself, so thank you, Vic."

Ochi's three sacks allowed him to tie Stony Brook career records for sacks (29) and tackles for loss (44). Priore praised him for playing through shoulder and back injuries and added that Thompson told the team Friday to "play angry."

Describing the reaction to Thompson's speech, Ochi said: "The past few weeks, we haven't been as physical as we usually are. We had to get our mojo back. So we took that to heart and we performed well."

Even so, Howard put together a 65-yard drive to score on an 18-yard pass from Kalen Johnson to Guy Lemonier that cut the Seawolves' lead to 14-9 after a two-point conversion failed with 4:55 left. But Stony Brook never gave the ball back after Liotine carried seven straight times for 70 yards.

"Fatigue doesn't really take in until right now after the game when my back hurts," Liotine said. "I feel all right, but I definitely have to go home and go to sleep."

All of Liotine's teammates could look forward to putting their heads on the pillow after a win. As Ochi said, "This is a very, very relaxing feeling."

By Greg Logan

Gregory.Logan@newsday.comGregLogan1

Greg Logan has worked for Newsday since 1982 covering a wide array of sports and events, currently including the Brooklyn Nets beat.