2018 Wagner Seahawks Football Sacred Heart (2-0, 0-0 NEC) at Wagner (1-2, 0-0 NEC) Saturday, September 22, 2018 6:00 PM Hameline Field (3,300)/Staten Island, NY Staten Island, NY – The Wagner College football team will play host to the Sacred Heart University Pioneers on Homecoming this Saturday, September 22, in a 6:00 p.m. start at Hameline Field. Wagner At a Glance Location: ............................................Staten Island, NY WAGNER-SACRED HEART: THE SERIES HISTORY vs. SACRED HEART President: ..................................... Dr. Richard Guarasci Saturday’s game will be the 21st all-time meeting between these longtime Northeast Conference (NEC) rivals and the Seahawks hold an 11-9 lead in what has (11-9, Wagner Leads) Athletics Director: ................................. Walt Hameline been a close, competitive series these past two decades. Wagner has won four of Head Football Coach: ......................Jason Houghtaling the last six matchups, including last year’s contest, 28-15 win for the Seahawks 2017: Wagner 28, SHU 15 Record at Wagner: ................................. 12-24/4th year in the 2017 season finale for both teams back on November 18 in Fairfield, CT. 2016 Wagner 45, SHU 20 .................................................... Same Overall Record: 2015: SHU 45, Wagner 17 DID YOU KNOW? Media Relations: .......................................John Beisser 2014 SHU 23, Wagner 7 Beisser Office Phone: ..........................(718) 390-3227 The Wagner and Sacred Heart campuses are separated by 77 miles. 2013: Wagner 23, SHU 20 Beisser Email:[email protected] 2012: Wagner 12, SHU 3 Play-by-Play: Keith Radd ABOUT WAGNER 2011 Wagner 27 SHU 21 Color Analyst: Stuart Johnson The Seahawks enter Saturday’s play with a 2010 SHU 38 Wagner 22 Producer/Director: Marcus Thatcher 1-2 record. After opening the season with a 2009 Wagner 49 SHU 28 2018 Schedule6:00 p.m. 40-23 victory over Division II national power 2008 SHU 42 Wagner 20 Bowie State L, 62-10 Bowie State, before dropping road contests at FBS member Syracuse, 62-10, and August 30 at Syracuse 2007 Wagner 18 SHU 15 September 8 L, 47-24 most recently, a 47-24 loss at Big Sky member Montana State. The Seahawks’ at Montana State (Homecoming) 2006 SHU 25 Wagner 17 September 15 6:00 p.m. offense revolves around senior running back and preseason All-American Sacred Heart* September 22 1:00 p.m. candidate Ryan Fulse, the reigning NEC Co-Offensive Player of the Week, who 2005 Wagner 26 SHU 21 at Monmouth 2:00 p.m. ranks third nationally with 499 rushing yards and is coming off a 25-carry, 181- 2004 SHU 30 Wagner 24 (2ot) September 29 at Campbell October 6 12:00 p.m. yard, two-touchdown afternoon at Montana State. Graduate student T.J. Linta will 2003 Wagner 24 SHU 16 Saint Francis U* 12:00 p.m. look to make his second consecutive start at quarterback. The 6-4, 230-pound October 13 at Central Connecticut* 2002 SHU 10 Wagner 7 (ot) October 27 12:00 p.m. Brown University graduate, who started the last two seasons at QB for the Bears, Duquesne* 2001 SHU 45 Wagner 24 November 3 1:00 p.m. has completed 22-of-47 passes for 339 yards, one TD and one interception, both at Bryant* 12:00 pm of which came vs. Syracuse. After sitting out the opener vs. Bowie State, Linta got November 10 at Robert Morris* November 17 the bulk of the snaps off the bench at Syracuse before going the whole way at the controls last week at Montana State. Against the Bobcats, he was 15-of-32 through the air for 208 yards. He also had a long touchdown pass on a screen play to Fulse called back due to a holding penalty. Denzel Knight, another graduate student, earned Bold - Home Games / * - NEC Game NEC Special Teams Player of the Week after opening last week’s game at Montana State with a 98-yard kickoff All Times EST. return for a touchdown, which silenced the more than 18,000 fans who were on hand. Defensively, the Green & White have been paced by redshirt junior inside linebacker Santoni Graham, who leads the team with 30 tackles, including a team-best 19 solo stops. Graham’s running mate at inside linebacker, Quintin Hampton, is a two-time All-NEC selection who ranks second on the team with 19 tackles, despite sitting out the opener vs, Bowie State due to injury. Junior outside linebacker Cam Gill, also one of the top defenders in the NEC, checks in with 14 tackles and a team-best 5.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. ABOUT SACRED HEART The 2-0 Pioneers, under the direction of seventh-year head coach Mark Nofri, have opened the season with one-sided wins over Lafayette, a 35-6 home decision, and at Bucknell. Where SHU posted a 30-14 win last time WAGNER COLLEGE out. (30-14). Like Wagner, SHU had two players pick up NEC weekly accolades for their efforts last weekend. In Location: Staten Island, NY that 30-14 victory over the Bison, senior running back Jordan Meachum was named the Northeast Conference's Nickname: Seahawks Offensive Player of the Week, while defensive lineman Chris Agyemang was named the Defensive Player of the Enrollment: 2,000 Week. Meachum carried 28 times and rushed for a career-best 178 yards and one touchdown on Saturday, Founded: 1883 marking the second straight week he eclipsed the 100-yard plateau. It was also the second straight week he set a new career-high for rushing yards after running for 132 in last weekend's season-opener. Averaging 6.4 yards per carry, Meachum capped SHU's opening drive of the game with a 30-yard touchdown run to give the Pioneers the early 7-0 lead. Agyemang, meanwhile, helped lead the Sacred Heart defense, which allowed just 178 yards of total offense and seven offensive points to the Bison. Agyemang finished with four tackles, including three tackles for a loss, two sacks and one forced fumble. He came away with a tackle for a three-yard loss on second down following SHU's touchdown to start the third quarter, helping to force a Bucknell punt. He also added a quarterback hurry on the next drive. Agyemang helped put the exclamation point on the victory by coming away with a strip sack on the game's final play, which was picked up and returned 32 yards for a defensive touchdown as time expired. SACRED HEART UNIVERSITY Location: Fairfield, CT ROBB & LIA TROPHIES Nickname: Pioneers A longstanding Wagner Homecoming tradition continues on Saturday as two Seahawk football players will Enrollment: 5,428 be selected to receive special awards for outstanding play. The James Robb Memorial Trophy is presented to Founded: 1963 the outstanding offensive player, while the Nick Lia Memorial Trophy is awarded to the Seahawks’ outstanding defensive player. Established in 1949, the Robb Trophy was named in memory of James Robb, a Seahawk gridiron star who was killed in action during World War II. It was presented to Wagner’s outstanding individual player in the annual homecoming game until 1969. In that season, the Lia Trophy was introduced in honor of another Wagner football player, Nick Lia. The 1965 recipient of the Robb Trophy was killed in the Vietnam War. An outstanding defensive player and team captain, the Staten Island native was a graduate of Curtis High School. In 2000, Lt. Nick Lia was honored for his athletic achievements by being inducted into the Wagner College Athletics Hall of Fame. Lia helped lead the 1964 football team to an undefeated season and captained the '65 team. This year’s winners, as selected by an alumni panel, will be announced at the end of this season’s Homecoming contest. Each recipient receives an award and his name is added to the standing trophies which will be on display in the Hall of Fame Room in the Spiro Sports Center. 2018 Wagner Football Quick Facts General Information Head Coach Location: Staten Island, NY Jason Houghtaling (Binghamton, 2004) 4th Year Founded: 1883 Enrollment: 2,000 Assistant Coaches Nickname: Seahawks Tony Brinson Asst. Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator Colors: Green (PMS 3308) & White Darrell Wilson Asst. Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator/DBs Affiliation: NCAA Division I (FCS) Rob Calabrese Offensive Coordinator Conference: Northeast Conference (NEC) Stefon Wheeler Offensive LineDL Co-Recruiting Coordinator Stadium: Hameline Field (3,300) Terrance Knighton Defensive Line/Co-Recruiting Coordinator Surface: Field Turf Jim Munson Defensive Assistant President: Dr. Richard Guarasci (Fordham, 1967) Walter Kusmirek Tight Ends./Co-Recruiting Coordinator Athletic Director: Walt Hameline (Brockport St., 1975) Junior Taylor Wide Receivers Athletic Dep. Phone: (718) 390-3433 David Fredrickson Running Backs Ticket Office Phone: (718) 420-4039 Louis DiRienzo Outside Linebackers Daniel White Inside Linebackers Football History Andrew Kolb Video Coordinator/Program Analyst First Year of Football: 1927 Joe Varga Assistant AD for Athlete Performance Overall all-time record: 402-347-19 (.535) Ryan Monaghan Director of Football Operations Undefeated Seasons: 1960, 1964, 1967 Tom Walsh Football Equipment Manager Div. III National Champions: 1987 Football Office Phone: 718-420-4511 Became FCS Program 1992 Became NEC Program 1996 Did You Know??? All-time NEC Record: 71-76 (.483) Senior running back Ryan Fulse needs just Team Information 168 yards rushing to enter the Wagner All- 2017 Overall Record: 4-7 Time Top-10 career rushing list. In just 14 2017 NEC Record/Finish: 2-4/T-5 career games and with just 11 career starts, Starters Returning/Lost: 17/5 after gaining his firsdt start in week 4 last Offense: 7/4 season, Fulse has accumulated 1,805 yards.