Donnie Liotine is a non-scholarship tailback. He came here as a walk-on and he has worked his tail off.

~ Head Coach Chuck Priore

The Stony Brook University football team has been mired in a five-game losing streak, its longest winless stretch since 2008. This afternoon, Don Liotine ’13 single-handedly ended the skid, carrying the Seawolves to a 14-9 victory over Howard University with a seminal performance.

Howard grabbed a 3-0 lead with a field goal on the last play of the first quarter, but Stony Brook battled back on the ensuing drive. Liotine capped the drive with 14-yard touchdown run on fourth down, giving the Seawolves a 7-3 lead at the half.

Liotine pushed the lead to 14-3 in the third quarter with a five-yard scoring run, his second touchdown of the day and fourth on the season. The Bison would close to within 14-9, but a 45-yard gain from Liotine on third-and-seven with 2:22 remaining sealed the win for the Brook.

The former Bear tallied two touchdowns and 204 yards on 38 carries, all career highs for the redshirt freshman. Liotine turned in Stony Brook’s first 200-yard rushing performance of the season, and the most individual rushing yards in a game since Miguel Maysonet went for 212 on October 27, 2012 vs. Presbyterian. His 204 yards also eclipsed his cumulative total of 187 for the first seven games of the season. With the performance he is also Stony Brook’s leading rusher for the season.

The Seawolves will take the field again next Saturday at Rhode Island in their final road game of the season.

We went with the game plan of putting it up the middle and running hard. The game plan worked out. When they call my name I need to be ready to answer. Fatigue doesn’t really take in until after the game.

~ Don Liotine

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