By Myron Hosea, CSN So South Columnist

Traveling doesn’t seem to bother Stony Brook’s football team anymore. It’s been around the Northeast, bused to Virginia and even flown to the Midwest. So going on the first of two Deep South visits Saturday served as another step forward in the Seawolves’ push for the 2009 Big South title.

Behind its defense and an offense that moved the ball just enough, Stony Brook rallied to defeat Gardner-Webb 24-14 Saturday and extend its lead in the Big South race. The Seawolves, winners of three straight, now stand 5-4 overall and 4-0 in the conference heading into an off week. They close with a trip to Charleston Southern and a home game with Liberty that might well be the showdown for the conference crown.

“I think we’ve learned who we are,” Stony Brook head coach Chuck Priore said. “We’re not a great football team, but we play pretty well together. We’ve got the ability to play for four quarters and understand that’s how long it takes. Every one of our wins has come down to that.”

Meanwhile, the loss hits the Runnin’ Bulldogs hard in their effort to win the conference. They fell back to 2-1 in the league with a road game at annual nemesis Coastal Carolina next week.

Besides the defense and rainy conditions, turnovers played into the outcome of this game. Gardner-Webb came in as one of the best in the conference and nation in terms of holding on to the ball. The Bulldogs had fumbled away only three times all year and had not had a multiple turnover game. Not so on this Saturday. They would give it up four times on fumbles, and two figured into critical situations.

Gardner-Webb built a 14-7 halftime advantage. In the first quarter, quarterback Stan Doolittle led the Bulldogs downfield for the game’s initial points. He hit James Perry III for 19 yards to spark the drive and a few plays later found Perry for 15 more on third-and-14. Doolittle got the points by keeping the ball on an option left and cutting back right for a 27-yard touchdown run. Gardner-Webb led 7-0 with 6:06 to go in the opening quarter.

Stony Brook could muster little on the offensive side for much of the opening half, gaining just two first downs on its first four possessions. The Seawolves finally broke out late in the half, though, when quarterback Michael Coulter found runningback Conte Cuttino wide open down the sideline for a 40-yard gain. Four plays later, Coulter connected with wide receiver Donald Porter for a 30-yard touchdown, tying the game at 7-7 with 4:52 remaining in the second quarter.

The Bulldogs bounced right back, moving 70 yards in 10 plays and 3:49 to recapture the lead. Doolittle completed seven of eight pass attempts on the drive. The last completion went to Marquis Sanders for 25 yards and a touchdown with 59 seconds to go in the half.

The two big fumbles came into play in the third period. Stony Brook started the half on offense but had to punt, dropping Gardner-Webb back to its 14. On second down, Patrick Hall lost the ball and defensive back Arin West scooped it up and raced 16 yards for a touchdown. Wes Skiffington’s extra point tied the game at 14-14 with 11:04 to go in the third.

“I was just coming up, and Stephen Schwicke had a great strip,” West said of the play. “The ball was just lying there, and there was nothing else to do but pick it up and run with it. … We just made big plays when we had to.”

The Bulldogs seemed ready to respond. Following a Seawolves’ penalty, Doolittle found Tyson Petty for 22 yards to the Stony Brook 43. He then went to Perry for eight and Hall for 11 and a first down at the Stony Brook 24. Hall carried on the next play, but West forced a fumble that Schwicke recovered at the Stony Brook 21. Gardner-Webb never really threatened the rest of the way.

Bulldogs’ head coach Steve Patton said the second of those two fumbles proved to be worse than the one returned for a touchdown. “That was big, but then I thought (our) team showed good poise. We marched right down the field and got it around the 25-yard line. At the worst, you think you’re going to go up three points. We had a first down on the run, but we turned it over. So on two consecutive drives we turn it over.”

After a Seawolves’ punt, Gardner-Webb took over at its 36. Tight end Josh Miller took a Doolittle pass for nine yards on first down. Three straight runs, however, could not pick up the one yard for a first down, and Stony Brook took over. The Seawolves drove 34 yards – 31 on a Coulter pass to Jordan Gush – to set up Skiffington for a 27-yard field goal. That gave Stony Brook the lead for good.

Stony Brook took over following a punt at its 23-yard line with 10:01 to go in the game. The Seawolves turned to their runningback duo of Cuttino and Eddie Gowins. They alternated every two or three carries, combining for 11 rushes for 51 yards. After a false start penalty, Gush made a diving catch in the end zone of a Coulter pass for a 21-yard touchdown that sealed the victory.

Priore said the late-season bye might work out after all. “We’ll come back Tuesday and Wednesday and get a chance to focus on what we need to do to keep the edge. Then we’ll have the extra preps to get ready for Charleston Southern because they’re a good football team. It gives us an advantage. We weren’t happy about when our bye week was when we were injured in the early part of the year. Now I really like where it is.”

SPOTLIGHT OF THE WEEK

The conference leaders take care of business. Appalachian State and Elon in the Southern Conference and Stony Brook and Liberty in the Big South continued to hold the lead in their leagues by winning on Saturday. The Mountaineers, the Phoenix and the Flames won handily while the Seawolves needed a second-half rally. All find themselves in good positions and could be headed toward showdowns for their conference championships.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Big South: Offense – Liberty quarterback Tommy Beecher; Defense – Stony Brook defensive back Arin West; Special Teams – Charleston Southern runningback Antwan Ivey; Freshman – Liberty runningback SirChauncey Holloway

Southern: Offense – Appalachian State quarterback Armanti Edwards; Defense – The Citadel defensive back Cortez Allen; Special Teams – Elon placekicker Adam Shreiner; Freshman – The Citadel quarterback Tommy Edwards

OCT. 31 IN REVIEW

Appalachian State 52, Furman 27
Armanti Edwards cut through Furman’s “White Out” with six touchdowns and 461 yards of total offense as the Mountaineers defeated the Paladins 52-27 in Greenville.

Edwards threw for 355 yards on 25 of 36 passing and in the process became the first Division I player to throw for more than 9,000 yards as well as run for 4,000 yards in a career.

Furman, wearing white uniforms at home for the first time, tried to stun Appalachian State early with an onside kick to start the game. The ploy failed, however, giving the Mountaineers a short field. It took five plays – four of them pass completions by Edwards – for them to score. Tight end Ben Jorden took a short pass from Edwards and punched it in for a 7-0 lead with 12:36 to go in the first quarter.

The Mountaineers scored on five of their first six possessions – they missed a field goal on the other – to ice the game in the first half. They would add two touchdowns and a field goal on their three possessions in the third quarter. Edwards scored on runs of three, four, and one yard in the first half and on a five-yard run in the third period. He also completed a 21-yard scoring pass to CoCo Hillary in the third quarter.

Furman began to fight back in second quarter. Tersoo Uhaa finished a 62-yard drive with a four-yard touchdown run. Later in the quarter, quarterback Jordan Sorrells threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Colin Anderson. Still, the Mountaineers led 35-13 at halftime after Devon Moore score on a four-yard run.

Appalachian State outgained Furman 554 to 350. Through the last four games, the Mountaineers have outscored opponents 50.7 to 24.5 and have outgained them 616 to 265.

Elon 34, Wofford 6
While wide receiver Terrell Hudgins continued to set receiving records, the Elon defense held Wofford to 170 yards and six points as the Phoenix cruised to a 34-6 triumph in Spartanburg.

Hudgins’ 24th 100-yard receiving day set a FCS career record. He snared 11 catches for 153 yards and three touchdowns. His first touchdown catch came on a 10-yard pass from quarterback Scott Riddle on the first play of the second quarter. That gave Elon a 10-0 lead. Hudgins also teamed with Riddle on a 32-yard touchdown pass late in the second quarter and on a 16-yard scoring toss late in the third quarter.

Wofford, meanwhile, managed just two field goals in the second quarter. The first came at the end of a 13-play drive. The Terriers produced just two other drives (nine and seven plays) longer than six plays. Wofford finished two of 14 on third downs and zero of four on fourth downs.

The Citadel 28, Samford 16
For the second straight week, The Citadel turned to a backup quarterback to lend a big hand in a key SoCon victory as the Bulldogs of Charleston, S.C., rallied to beat the Bulldogs of Birmingham, Ala., 28-16.

Walk-on quarterback Tommy Edwards replaced last week’s hero – Miguel Starks, who exited with an injury – and contributed heavily to The Citadel’s 28-point second half. He had help from defensive back Cortez Allen who returned one interception 30 yards to the Samford five to set up a touchdown and then returned another pick 82 yards for a touchdown.

Samford jumped to a 10-0 first-quarter lead behind a one-yard touchdown run by runningback Chris Evans and Cameron Yaw’s 24-yard field goal.

That lead held up until midway through the third quarter. Edwards teamed with runningback Van Dyke Jones on a 55-yard touchdown pass to get The Citadel on the board with 7:29 to go in the period.

In the final period, Andre Roberts returned a punt 41 yards to the Samford 41. The Citadel drove for the go-ahead score. Edwards threw for that one, too, hitting Alex Sellars for an 11-yard touchdown pass.

A couple of possessions later, Allen picked off a Dustin Taliaferro pass and returned it to the Samford five. Runningback Terrell Dallas took it in on the next play for a 21-10 lead with 4:38 remaining.

Allen then made his 82-yard interception return of Connor Lowery’s pass for a 28-10 advantage with 2:41 to go.

Samford, getting good field position because of a Citadel penalty assessed on the kickoff, got one more score. Connor Lowery threw 15 yards to Jonathan Lowery for the touchdown. The two-point try failed, as did the ensuing onside kick.

Edwards finished 10 for 20 passing for 141 yards and the two scores.

Charleston Southern 31, at VMI 21
Behind two fourth-quarter scores, Charleston Southern came away with a road conference triumph, knocking off VMI 31-21.

The Buccaneers picked up their first Big South victory of the season.

The Keydets took the early lead on their first possession. Their defense stopped Gerald Stevenson for no gain on a fourth-and-one at the VMI 33. Two plays later, quarterback Kyle Hughes ran 66 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead with 9:28 left in the opening quarter.

Charleston Southern responded immediately. A. J. Toscano hit Tim Jones for 22 yards to get the drive going. He later found Stevenson for 18 yards. Toscano got the points a couple of plays later on a six-yard touchdown run. That tied the game at 7-7.

Antwan Ivey put the Buccaneers ahead early in the second quarter with a 50-yard punt return. Howard Abegesah, VMI’s fullback, scored on a 46-yard run three minutes later to tie the game at 14-14. Just before halftime, Charleston Southern went back up by seven points when Ivey scored on a two-yard run.

Abegesah pulled VMI even in the third quarter on a six-yard touchdown run.

The fourth-quarter scores for Charleston Southern began with John Paglia’s 18-yard field goal with 6:10 to go. Andrew McKain got the ball back for the Buccaneers by intercepting Hughes and returning it six yards to the VMI 24. B. J. Hackworth then ripped off back-to-back 12-yard runs – the second for a touchdown – to seal the triumph for Charleston Southern.

Chattanooga 24, Western Carolina 20
Trailing by 11 points with 19 minutes left, Chattanooga rallied to edge Western Carolina 24-20. With the victory, the Mocs reached five overall victories and three SoCon triumphs for the first time since 2005.

Catamounts placekicker Blake Bostic staked them to an early lead with field goals of 37 and 39 yards in the first quarter. The first one followed Mitchell Bell’s interception of a B. J. Coleman pass. Western Carolina extended its lead to 13-0 with an eight-play, 64-yard drive in the second quarter.

Chattanooga got on the board almost five minutes later on Craig Camay’s 30-yard field goal, and Western Carolina led 13-3 at halftime. Camay booted two more field goals – from 27 and 37 yards – in the third quarter to trim Western Carolina’s lead to 13-9. The Catamounts came back with a touchdown, however, when quarterback Zack Jaynes teamed with Chris Everett on a 19-yard touchdown pass with four minutes to go in the third quarter.

The Mocs began their comeback with a quick drive. Coleman hit Blue Cooper for six yards and Justin Buckhalt for seven. He then found Chris Pitchford for 41 yards and a touchdown with 2:38 left in the third quarter. The Catamounts led 20-15.

Camay narrowed the deficit to two points with his fourth field goal, tying a career high.

The winning score came on a 77-yard, 16-play drive that took 7:24 off the clock. Coleman completed seven passes on the drive, and the Mocs converted on five third-down plays. Runningback Chris Awuah got the points on a six-yard run with 3:33 to go in the game.

Clemson 49, Coastal Carolina 3
Clemson ripped off 28 third-quarter points to pull away from Coastal Carolina en route to a 49-3 victory in the first meeting between these South Carolina schools.

The Chanticleers managed a lone field goal from Justin Durham, covering 31 yards with 4:02 to go.

Coastal Carolina produced 143 yards rushing but only 170 yards total offense. Clemson, meanwhile, generated an even 400 yards – 252 on the ground and 148 in the air.

It was not a great return to Death Valley for Coastal Carolina head coach David Bennett, who served as a graduate assistant coach at Clemson from 1985-86.

Liberty 55, Presbyterian College 19
Liberty got two scores each from runningbacks Aldreakis Allen and SirChauncey Holloway, and quarterback Tommy Beecher threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as the Flames rolled over Presbyterian College 55-19.

The victory marks Liberty’s 14th consecutive Big South victory and keeps the Flames unbeaten in conference play.

Allen’s first score, a three-yard run, ended Liberty’s opening offensive possession. The Flames got the ball back a few plays later when Ian Childress intercepted a Tim Webb pass at the PC nine. Beecher ran five yards for a touchdown, and Liberty led 14-0 eight minutes into the game.

Liberty scored touchdowns on each of its first four possessions and built a 28-5 halftime lead. Beecher’s two scoring passes (six yards in the second and eight yards in the third) went to Will Quarles. Holloway’s touchdown runs covered four and 14 yards while Allen’s second touchdown was a 14-yard run.

PC quarterback Brandon Miley threw a pair of touchdown passes in the fourth quarter. One was a 15-yard pass to Michael Ruff while the other went for 29 yards to Sean Adegbola.

Not playing this week: Georgia Southern (4-4, 3-2)

NUMBERS FROM OCT. 31

+ Stony Brook linebacker Tyler Santucci made 12 tackles, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble against Gardner-Webb while defensive back Arin West made 11 tackles, forced a fumble and returned a fumble for a touchdown.

+ In the loss to Stony Brook, Gardner-Webb quarterback Stan Doolittle completed 22 of 37 passes for 198 yards and a touchdown and led the Bulldogs in rushing with 63 yards and a score on 10 carries.

+ Appalachian State wide receiver Matt Cline had another big day, catching eight passes for 122 yards versus Furman.

+ Tersoo Uhaa proved to be an effective weapon for Furman against Appalachian State, rushing for 114 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries.

+ Elon’s Scott Riddle completed 31 of 44 passes for 323 yards, three touchdowns and an interception against Wofford.

+ Linebacker SeQuan Stanley made 11 tackles for Wofford – including nine solos and three for losses – in the game against Elon.

+ The Citadel’s Andre Roberts caught seven passes for 54 yards and returned seven punts for 102 yards against Samford.

+ Samford runningback Chris Evans ran for 52 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries versus The Citadel.

+ Besides rushing for two touchdowns each against PC, Liberty runningbacks SirChauncey Holloway and Aldreakis Allen ran for 99 and 92 yards, respectively.

+ Presbyterian College cornerback Justin Bethel made 11 tackles – nine solos – 1.5 tackles for loss, and half a sack against Liberty.

+ Quarterback Jamie Childers and runningback Tommy Fraser led Coastal Carolina’s running game against Clemson with 49 and 42 yards, respectively.

+ Charleston Southern quarterback A. J. Toscano completed 19 of 24 passes for 193 yards and no interceptions against VMI.

+ Fullback Howard Abegesah paced VMI’s rushing attack with 160 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries.

+ Chattanooga wide receiver Blue Cooper caught 16 passes for 143 yards against Western Carolina.

+ Michael Johnson led Western Carolina with 66 yards rushing and one touchdown on 20 carries versus Chattanooga.

COMING UP THIS WEEK
Saturday, Nov. 7

Gardner-Webb (5-3, 2-1) at Coastal Carolina (3-5, 1-2), 12:30 p.m.
Series Record: Coastal Carolina leads 5-1 (Last meeting: Coastal Carolina won at Gardner-Webb in 2008, 23-18)
The Chanticleers have owned this series by winning the last five games. The last two games have been battles with the margins being three and five points. Coastal Carolina can still be a factor in the race, and this is an even more critical game for Gardner-Webb following the loss to Stony Brook. A loss for either team puts them in a real bad spot in the league race.

Elon (7-1, 5-0) at Western Carolina (1-7, 1-5), 1 p.m.
Series Record: Elon leads 20-16-2 (Last meeting: Elon won a year ago, 33-14, at home)
The Phoenix took care of business at Wofford and now have to do the same on a visit to Cullowhee without looking ahead to the home game with Appalachian State. Elon will be heavy favorites in this battle of the SoCon’s best defense (Elon) and the league’s worst offense (Western Carolina). Stranger things have happened, but the Phoenix seems focused. The Catamounts’ last victory in the series came in 2005 in Cullowhee.

Charleston Southern (3-5, 1-2) at Presbyterian College (0-8, 0-3), 1:30 p.m.
Series Record: PC leads 12-4 (Last meeting: Charleston Southern defeated PC at home, 29-18, in 2008)
The Blue Hose dominated this series in the early years of Charleston Southern football. The Bucs won the first meeting in 1993 before PC won the next 12. Charleston Southern, though, has won the last three. It’s been a tough season in Clinton for the young Blue Hose, and they would love to get off the losing streak soon. Charleston Southern has played well the past few weeks, and its two Big South losses have been by seven points each.

Furman (4-4, 3-3) at Auburn (6-3), 1:30 p.m.
Series Record: Auburn leads 3-0 (Last meeting: Auburn won at home in 1956, 41-0)
This game marks a renewal in an old, brief series. The Tigers and the Paladins played in 1946, 1955 and 1956 – all at Auburn. The Tigers won all three by a combined 119-6 score. That, of course, means next to nothing in 2009. The Paladins have already played one set of FBS Tigers (Missouri) and did not fare well. They’ll find things tough down on the Plains as Auburn takes a late-season break from Southeastern Conference play.

Wofford (2-6, 1-4) at The Citadel (4-4, 2-3), 3 p.m.
Series Record: The Citadel leads 40-20-1 (Last meeting: Wofford held off The Citadel for a 33-28 home win a year ago)
I wonder why the three SoCon football programs in the state of South Carolina don’t have a little round-robin contest for some kind of trophy, sort of like the Commander in Chief Trophy that goes to the winner of the Air Force-Army-Navy series. They’ll play every year, all three series have long histories, and they behave like rivals. Oh, well, just a thought. The Bulldogs have an opportunity to sweep its current three-game home stand and pull even in conference play. The Terriers, meanwhile, would welcome a victory over its rival to get the season’s home stretch off to a good start.

Chattanooga (5-3, 3-3) at Appalachian State (6-2, 5-0), 3:30 p.m.
Series Record: Appalachian State leads 22-10 (Last meeting: Appalachian State won in Chattanooga in 2008 by a 49-7 score)
This isn’t the Chattanooga football team of the last few years. This also isn’t the Appalachian State team of the first third of the season either. The Mountaineers have gotten on one of their patented rolls, and they are difficult to stop in those times. The Mocs have improved a lot, but have they improved that much?

Georgia Southern (4-4, 3-2) at Samford (3-5, 1-3), 3:30 p.m.
Series Record: Georgia Southern leads 3-1 (Last meeting: Last year, Samford defeated Georgia Southern 27-17 in Statesboro)
Coming off an open date, the Eagles have an opportunity to stay in the upper tier of the SoCon standings. Going to Birmingham to face a Samford team on a three-game losing streak won’t be easy. The Bulldogs still play good defense, ranking second in the SoCon in scoring defense and total defense.

VMI (2-6, 1-4) at Liberty (6-2, 3-0), 7 p.m.
Series Record: Liberty leads 5-3 (Last meeting: Liberty beat VMI 38-26 last year in Lexington)
The So South’s lone night game this week happens in Lynchburg where the Flames will try to extend their winning streak in the series to four (Liberty has won five of the last six versus VMI). This contest could have an old-school feel to it. VMI and Liberty are the top two rushing teams in the Big South (255 and 173 per game, respectively). The Keydets and the Flames also are one and three in stopping the run. Should be an interesting battle.

Not playing this week: Stony Brook (5-4, 4-0)

NEWS AND NOTES

+ Gardner-Webb runningback David Montgomery made four receptions Saturday, giving him the career Big South mark for receptions by a runningback.

+ VMI fullback Howard Abegesah moved into fourth place in Big South career rushing.