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Dudash Throws Five TD Passes To Lead Football To Thrilling 38-37 Comeback Win Over Robert Morris
Oct. 29, 2005 Moon Township, Pa. - Josh Dudash hit Joe Tarasiewicz on a 12-yard fade pass in the corner of the end zone with 6:02 remaining to lift Stony Brook to a thrilling 38-37 win over Robert Morris in a wild, high-scoring affair on a sunny afternoon in Western, Pa. Dudash threw for a career-high 411 yards and redshirt sophomore Lynell Suggs caught four touchdown passes to help Stony Brook improve to 4-4 overall, 3-2 in Northeast Conference play. Trailing 31-20 at the break, Dudash began Stony Brook's comeback on SB's second drive of the third quarter. Dudash dropped back and lofted a ball into the end zone that Suggs pulled down for his fourth touchdown of the game over to cut the RMU lead to 31-26. In the final quarter, Luke Gaddis connected on a pair of field goals, the second was from 35 yards out to give the visitors a 32-31 lead with 7:35 remaining. Stony Brook's lead did not last long. After the kickoff, Drew Geyer hit Devin Wilson on a screen pass that Wilson took 75 yards down the far sideline to give the Colonials a 37-32 lead after the two-point conversion failed. Dudash and the Seawolves would not be denied, however, and on the first play of the next drive, Dudash found Josh Anderson alone on a deep comeback route that the wideout turned into a 38-yard gain down to the RMU 17-yard line. Two plays later, Dudash found Tarasiewicz in the end zone for the winning score. The defense had to come up big twice in the waning minutes. After stopping the Colonials on fourth down in their own end, Stony Brook had the chance to run out the clock on a third-and-2 from its own 33. RMU dropped Rod Williams for a four-yard loss and the Seawolves were forced to punt. Geyer then directed the Colonials into Seawolves territory to the Stony Brook 44. On third-and-10, Geyer hit Jarvis Powers on a five-yard out and and the Colonials rushed to the line for a fourth down play as time was winding down. Geyer dropped back and Chris Merkle batted down the pass to seal the win with 18 seconds remaining in the game.
After Stony Brook jumped out to a 14-0 lead, Robert Morris (2-6, 1-4) roared back to score 31 unanswered points in the second frame. Geyer, who came off the bench to relieve Erik Cwalinski who went out with a leg injury in the first quarter, found Tyjuan Massey for a 37-yard scoring strike at 13:33 of the second quarter. A Nate DiLorenzo 37-yard field goal cut the lead to 14-10, but then the Colonials erupted for 21 points after three consecutive Stony Brook turnovers. Josh Dudash was intercepted by Ray Gensler deep in Stony Brook territory to set up a Geyer touchdown pass to Massey from nine yards out. After James Kazil picked off a Dudash pass on the next drive, Geyer again found Massey from 33 yards out to put RMU up 24-14. On the ensuing kickoff, Saladin Davis fumbled at the SB 30-yard line. Three plays later Geyer found Massey on a 30-yard strike for his fourth touchdown catch of the game with 1:16 to go before the half. Down 31-14, the Seawolves responded before the end of the half. Dudash completed two passes to Suggs along the sideline before finding Josh Anderson on a 27-yard completion down to the RMU 34-yard line with 22 seconds remaining in the half. After a Stony Brook timeout, Dudash lofted a pass into the end zone where Suggs leaped over Toheeb Akinola for his third touchdown grab of the half, capping one of the best first-half performances in Stony Brook history. The game began well for Stony Brook. On its first play from scrimmage, Dudash hit Suggs on a fly pattern down the sideline that went the distance for a 90-yard touchdown, the first of Suggs' career. Later in the quarter, Suggs capped a scoring drive with a six-yard touchdown catch that gave the Seawolves a 14-0 lead. Suggs totaled seven catches for 175 yards and three touchdowns in the first half. Dudash went 23 of 34 for 411 yards and five touchdown passes, equalling a school record for touchdown passes in a single game. Suggs also turned in a record-setting performance, becoming the first receiver in school history to catch four touchdown passes in a single game. He finished with 210 yards receiving, the second-best single-game effort in program history, surpassed only by Londre Blocker's 216-yard effort versus Wagner in 2001. Stony Brook is back in action next Saturday when it hosts Wagner. Kick-off is 1 p.m. |
