A sold-out crowd witnessed a historic win by the Rams against Stony Brook Saturday afternoon. PHOTO CREDIT: Drew Adames
This past weekend, Rhode Island football fans got to see another record feat––a 4-0 start from it’s football team.
The Rams escaped Saturday with a narrow 27-20 overtime victory against Stony Brook University, securing the team’s first win in program history against the Seawolves and it’s best start since 2001, when the team opened the season 7-0.
The win came on fourth down of the extra period when linebackers Jarrett Martin and James Makszin combined to tackle Stony Brook’s Ty Son Lawton behind the line of scrimmage, sending the Rhody sideline and crowd into a frenzy.
“It’s been seven years that these guys have gotten us,” Fleming said after the win. “It was the best game that we played against them. I thought we were holding onto their pride and their life. We still have plenty of things to improve on, but that’s a good locker room, and that’s an incredible group of young men.”
In front of a sold-out Homecoming crowd, the game got off to a slow start with both teams failing to get anything going until the tail end of the first quarter when Lawton ran from 30 yards out to give Stony Brook the early 7-0 lead.
The Rams immediately countered on Stony Brook’s next possession when cornerback Jordan Jones picked off quarterback Tyquell Fields at Rhode Island’s 11-yard line for his third interception of the season. From there, the offense quickly took the ball down the field and scored courtesy of a 10-yard run from running back Justice Antrum with 4:53 to play in the first half.
Following a quick three-and-out on Stony Brook’s next possession, the Rams marched down the field and tacked on a field goal after C.J. Carrick converted from 42 yards out. The kick moved him into second place on the program’s all-time scoring list, passing former Rams receiver Dameon Reilly who had 228 points during his career.
Exiting the locker room, Stony Brook came out swinging, sticking to the running game with chunk plays from Fields and Lawton. The drive culminated with a nine-yard run from Fields to help Stony Brook regain the lead. They missed the extra point, making the score 13-10.
After Carrick knocked in a 38-yard field goal with 4:59 left in the third quarter, the Rams took their first lead of the afternoon at the beginning of the fourth quarter when reigning Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Offensive Player of the Week and quarterback Kasim Hill called his own number and slipped into the end zone for the score.
Just when it seemed like the momentum shifted in the Rams’ favor, Stony Brook tied the game on the ensuing possession when Fields scored on his second quarterback run of the day with 7:50 left to play.
The Rams had a few opportunities to get the go-ahead score in the fourth quarter, but they would get it in the extra period when Hill found tight end Caleb Warren on a play that they call “Showtime” across the middle of the field for a 25-yard touchdown.
“We ran it six or seven times during the game and not that it wasn’t there, it wasn’t being completed,” Warren said. “Thankfully, Kasim [Hill] kept trusting me and I kept trusting him that I was going to be there, and it was there.”
Despite the record-setting win, Makszin emphasized the importance of the team staying hungry and keeping a one-game-at-a-time mentality.
“[Assistant Coach Donnie Smith] has been putting it on the board ‘don’t eat the cheese, don’t believe the hype,” Makszin said. “It’s good that we won, but we are on to Delaware.”
On to Delaware, indeed.
Perhaps the biggest game in recent history, the Rams welcome their first ranked opponent of the season when ninth-ranked Delaware visits Meade Stadium on Saturday. Rhody was 2-1 in such games last year, including a 35-21 loss to the Blue Hens on March 27. Kick off is scheduled for 1 p.m. The game can be watched on Yurview Cox Channel 4 and streamed on FloFootball.