On this day 19 years ago, Derek Kenney had an afternoon for the ages.
The sophomore quarterback broke school records in passing yards and touchdown passes in a single game as the Bears defeated Mercy, 25-12, to improve to 2-0. Kenney torched the Monarchs for 320 yards and four touchdowns, topping his own records of 277 yards and three touchdowns set in a performance the prior year.
Spencer Niebuhr was Kenney’s primary target, reeling in seven catches for 149 yards. Marc Vega chipped in with eight catches for 133 yards. Jae Yul Lee and Jake Kenney were the defensive catalysts, accumulating nine tackles each.
Kenney would obliterate his passing record a little over a month later, amassing 466 yards vs. Bayport-Blue Point, a mark that still stands as the fifth-most in Long Island history. Newsday recapped the win.
New coach. New philosophy. New Stony Brook football program.
First-year coach Barry Giller has brought a version of the run-and-shoot to the Stony Brook offense and opened it up. The result has been successful.
Stony Brook, which finished 1-5-2 last season, has won its first two games this season, including yesterday’s 25-12 win over Mercy in a Division IV game.
“We have a lot of open field-type players,” Giller said. “We just try to get them the ball in the secondary and let them run with it.
“On Long Island we’ve noticed most teams aren’t very prepared to defend against the pass. Our quarterback has really stepped it up and done the job. He’s a tremendous athlete.”
That would be sophomore Derek Kenney, who broke school records for passing in a game and touchdowns thrown yesterday. Kenney was 18-for-32 passing for 320 yards and four touchdowns. He broke his own record of three touchdown passes in a game and the mark of 277 yards, according to Giller.
Kenney’s 54-yard touchdown pass to Spencer Niebuhr gave Stony Brook a 12-0 second-quarter lead. Chris Clark converted the extra-point kick for a 13-0 lead.
Jaeyul Lee and Jake Kenney each had nine tackles to lead the Bears’ defense. Mercy is 0-2.
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