By By Nick Pipitone
There were a few lightning strikes early in the Pride’s easy victory over Long Island rival Stony Brook University on Saturday night. A couple of bolts created delays of 49 and 50 minutes in the first quarter. The other resulted in a quick seven points for the Pride, a 69-yard bomb from Anton Clarkson to Devale Ellis that came on the Pride’s first drive.
The pass, coming on the Pride’s first play from scrimmage, was a well-thrown strike to senior captain Ellis along the opposing sideline. The speedster blew by the Stony Brook secondary and dashed into the end zone for the 7-0 lead.
“I saw the safety low so I figured I could pump-fake it,” Clarkson said. “Not many players can stick with Devale, so I figured I’d give him a chance. I threw it up there and he never lets you down.”
The Pride decimated Stony Brook, 55-0, in the Blue & Gold’s home opener at Shuart Stadium. The game was so one-sided that, with the Pride up 38-0, both the coaches and referees decided to shorten the third and fourth quarters to ten minutes against the regulation 15. Still, the game ended at 11:05 p.m., over four hours after its 7 p.m. start.
The Pride racked up 581 total yards of offense and, despite the two delays, scored on its first six possessions. The defense held the Seawolves to a mere 152 total yards and caused two turnovers. In the end, it was another easy victory for the Pride, enabling the team to achieve its first 2-0 start since 2000.
After senior WR Marques Colston and junior RB Terry Crenshaw showcased their talents in last week’s 36-7 blowout over Albany, it was Ellis’ and backup RB Kareem Huggins’ turn. Ellis had seven receptions for 133 yards and a touchdown while Huggins piled up 106 total yards of offense, including a 39-yard touchdown reception on a screen pass midway through the second quarter. The two were the Pride’s biggest contributors in a game where it was able to flaunt its offensive prowess.
“In this type of offense, it can be any players’ day at any time,” Ellis said. “It doesn’t matter what game it is, it could be anybody.”
And, as Ellis so aptly put, it turns out it was his day in the Pride’s spread attack offense. After last week, when the 5-foot-9, 170-pound speedster only put up 30 yards, he posted his best numbers since last season’s finale, when he caught a team single-season record 16 receptions for 226 yards.
The Pride passing game was firing on all cylinders, facing a Stony Brook secondary that didn’t put up much resistance. Clarkson was 18-for-26 with 336 yards passing and three touchdowns. In two games, the junior QB has racked up 627 yards passing to go along with five touchdown passes and a 70 percent completion rate (42-for-60) and only one interception.
The rushing game wasn’t too shabby either. Sophomore third-stringer Onyi Momah led the Pride with 55 yards rushing and two touchdowns, while Crenshaw picked up 54 yards on seven carries. However, it was clearly Huggins’ night.
The ultra-quick sophomore, who also returns kicks and punts for the Pride, has worked his way into the offense this season. After getting only 27 carries and six receptions as a freshman, he has become one of the Pride’s most explosive players.
“Experience is the big difference this season,” Huggins said. “I know a lot more about the offense and I worked hard in the off-season.”
But as fast as the Pride offense looked, the defense was not far behind. Led by strong efforts in the secondary, the Pride put a clamp down on the Seawolves spread attack. Senior free safety, Sherief Little had his first career interception late in the first quarter after a ten-play Stony Brook drive and returned it 75 yards for the score. At the half, Stony Brook had only 84 total yards.
Unfortunately for the Pride, there is not much time to celebrate the victory. The team is set to begin a three-week grind against three very formidable opponents-at Furman, at home against James Madison, and at Delaware-all of whom are ranked at No. 9, No. 7 and No. 6, respectively. After a couple of easy victories, the challenges are set to begin.
“We looked pretty sharp tonight in all areas,” Pride head coach Joe Gardi said. “But we’ll find out how good we are the next three weeks.”
In addition, with Ellis and Huggins, along with the rest of the Pride offense, the team looks primed to enter the teeth of its season.
QUICK NOTES
The support of the student body should also guide the Blue & Gold throughout the rest of the year. The new student section was introduced this past Saturday, located on the home sideline in the far right corner. In an effort headed by the Student Government Association (SGA), free gold tee-shirts were given out to strengthen student support.
Sophomore running back Kareem Huggins (holding ball) had 106 yards of total offense as the Pride went on to a 55-0 slaugher in the team´s home opener against local rival Stony Brook. (Staff Photo/The Chronicle)