Donald Liotine rushes for 203 yards as Stony Brook closes out football season at .500, taking Golden Apple trophy
Stony Brook Seawolves running back Donald Liotine looks for running room against the Albany Great Danes at LaValle Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 21, 2015. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
When time expired on Stony Brook's 20-2 victory over Albany on Saturday at LaValle Stadium, one of the injured players doused coach Chuck Priore with the icy contents from a cooler and the Seawolves gathered around the Golden Apple trophy to take a picture. It was the first time it ever was presented to the winner of the rivalry game for the two SUNY schools.
Call it corny, but it meant something to a team that battled through a series of injuries to key players and pulled together at the end of the season to win three straight games and finish 5-5. Maybe senior quarterback Conor Bednarski understood the significance best of all after being benched at midseason in favor of freshman Joe Carbone before returning to start the final three games.
"It's been a wild ride, but I guess that's life," Bednarski said. "Coach always said football is like a metaphor for life. I'm just proud of the guys and the way we kept fighting through everything. In our lowest lows, we were out there grinding in practice, the stuff everybody doesn't see. I'm proud of these guys and I love them . . . It's cool to be the start of a tradition, the first one with a trophy."
Bednarski had a remarkably efficient game, completing 18 of 27 passes for 163 yards, including a 3-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Ray Bolden for Stony Brook's opening score. Bolden caught 11 passes for 112 yards, including a 33-yarder that set up Przemyslaw Popek's second field goal for a 13-0 halftime lead.
Third-string running back Donald Liotine had his third straight big game with 31 carries for 203 yards and a 1-yard TD run for a 20-0 third-quarter lead.
Liotine was forced into a workhorse role by season-ending injuries to Stacey Bedell and Isaiah White, and he delivered big-time in the final three games with 98 carries for 521 yards, twice breaking the 200-yard mark. Liotine's yardage would have been even greater against Albany (3-8, 2-6 CAA) had an 88-yard fourth-quarter run not been reduced by 57 yards because of a penalty. He later broke a 56-yard run.
"For me to come in and consistently close games like I have the past three weeks and just keep this team moving down the field, that's great," Liotine said. "That's what's expected of a good running back and that's what I've been able to do, and I'm grateful for that."
The defense again was utterly dominant. Albany's only points came on a safety when Liotine was tackled in his own end zone at the end of the third quarter. Senior defensive end Victor Ochi made his final game a great one with a team-high seven tackles, two sacks, 3 1/2 tackles for loss and one forced fumble.
"Any time you have a great player, you're going to miss him," Priore said wistfully.
But Stony Brook (3-5 CAA) returns plenty of other players, including defensive tackle Aaron Thompson (three sacks), end Ousmane Camara (2 1/2 tackles for loss) and safety Chris Cooper, who had two interceptions against Albany quarterback Neven Sussman. The Seawolves allowed only 160 total yards and held the Great Danes to 1-for-16 on conversions on third and fourth down.
"They kicked our behinds last year when we weren't at full power," said Ochi, who was out with an injury. "We had a lot of emotion behind us and we knew we were going to make it happen."
Reaching the .500 mark was a big motivator. "Coming into this game, that was the focal point," Bolden said. "We wanted to send our seniors out the right way."
A three-game winning streak gives the returning Seawolves something to build on during the offseason.
"To be able to say we finished something, even though everything we went through with injuries and adjustment to our new personnel and losing homecoming, to be able to finish on top and win the Golden Apple brings everybody's spirits up for next year," Liotine said. "It's a better vibe."
Greg Logan has worked for Newsday since 1982 covering a wide array of sports and events, currently including the Brooklyn Nets beat.
