Tag: Long Island

Aug 30, 2025; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators running back Jadan Baugh (13) and Florida Gators wide receiver J. Michael Sturdivant (9) gesture after a run against the Long Island Sharks during the first half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

No. 15 Florida blanks Long Island as DJ Lagway throws 3 TDs

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Quarterback DJ Lagway fired three touchdowns in Florida’s 38-point first half as the No. 15 Gators opened the season by pummeling the Sharks 55-0 Saturday night in Gainesville, Fla.

The sophomore signal caller from Texas finished his season debut by going 15 of 18 for 120 yards and completing his final six passes in his half of action for the Gators.

Backup Tramell Jones Jr. was 12 of 18 for 131 yards with two TDs while Jadan Baugh rushed for 104 yards and a score on nine carries. Defensive back Bryce Thornton scored on one of his two fumble recoveries.

Division I FCS Long Island (0-1) mustered only two first downs to Florida’s 28 and was outgained 451-86. Sharks quarterbacks Luca Stanzani, Ethan Greenwood and Chris Howell combined to go 4 of 11 for 49 yards.

Florida’s defense put up the season’s first points on the second play from scrimmage as Thornton scooped up a Howell fumble and dashed 37 yards to paydirt.

Baugh added on with a 4-yard run on Florida’s first possession for a 14-0 lead at the 9:34 mark. Kicker Trey Smack III nailed a career-long 56-yard field goal early in the second quarter after missing earlier from 40.

Florida settled for field-goal attempts on three consecutive drives — Smack missed a second kick from 39 — before Thornton’s second recovery set up Lagway’s first TD pass, a 4-yard toss to Eugene Wilson III for a 24-0 lead at 7:04.

On the Gators’ next possession, Lagway rolled right and completed a six-play, 88-yard drive late in the second quarter with another four-yard strike, finding Hayden Hansen for a 31-0 advantage.

Lagway wasn’t done. Vernell Brown III’s spectacular one-handed 41-yard reception while falling backward set up J. Michael Sturdivant’s 8-yard scoring catch with 10 seconds left in the half and a 38-0 edge — the largest halftime lead in fourth-year coach Billy Napier’s tenure.

In the second half, Jones set up Smack’s 41-yard boot and connected on a 4-yard strike to Tony Livingston and an 11-yarder to Taylor Spierto for the final margin.

–Field Level Media

Florida Gators quarterback DJ Lagway (2) throws the ball during fall football practice at Sanders Indoor Practice Facility at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL on Thursday, August 14, 2025. [Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun]

No. 15 Florida begins tough 2025 slate vs. Long Island

Posted on | by Field Level Media

With a daunting Southeastern Conference road to travel awaiting him, Florida Gators coach Billy Napier knows his team’s success this season in the powerhouse conference hinges on the development of quarterback DJ Lagway.

Napier will lead the No. 15 Gators into their season opener Saturday night, beginning a schedule lined with major hurdles with a home game against FCS foe Long Island.

Napier was under fire last year after his squad dropped five of its first nine games, including the embarrassment of being routed at home against Miami and manhandled in the Swamp by Texas A&M within its first three contests.

However, the Gators ended the campaign with four straight wins, which included big ones at home over No. 21 LSU and a week later against No. 9 Ole Miss.

Lagway holds the keys that drive Florida’s offense, and Napier had good news to announce earlier this week. Battling shoulder issues in the spring and a calf sprain in the fall, the 6-foot-3-, 247-pound Lagway is good to start on Saturday.

“A lot of times things happen to you that you can’t control, so there’s opportunities to get better as a result of what he’s going through,” Napier said. “He’s learned a lot about himself. This won’t be the first time he’s gone through something like this.

“You play the game, you’re going to get injured, so how you manage that not only physically but mentally. … For him that’s been a bit of a challenge, but I think it’s been healthy for him.”

As a freshman, Lagway won six out of seven starts, passing for 1,915 yards, 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions, along with 101 yards rushing.

Following home games against LIU and South Florida, the Gators hit the road against No. 9 LSU and No. 10 Miami, face No. 1 Texas at home and go to No. 19 Texas A&M in a span of four consecutive games over five weeks.

LIU starting quarterback Ethan Greenwood is not shying away from the giant task ahead of him and his teammates.

“You definitely have to go into this game with a chip on your shoulder,” said Greenwood, a local Long Island product who transferred from The Citadel, according to the New York Post.. “We need a lot of grit, a lot of heart. Everyone needs to be on the same page and executing their plays and assignments.”

Although it’s hard to imagine much of a football connection between a school like Long Island and the SEC, it exists.

Sharks head coach Ron Cooper was a former analyst for Alabama’s Nick Saban and coached secondaries for Texas A&M and LSU.

He has spent the contest’s lead-up time by thundering crowd noise into the LIU gym at 6:30 AM, trying to imitate the Swamp.

The Sharks are receiving $525,000 to make the trip south for the muggy matchup, and Cooper understands the reality of it.

“What’s crazy is (the Gators) probably have one kid on (NIL worth) more than our entire budget,” said Cooper, according to the New York Post.

–Field Level Media

Sep 16, 2023; Waco, Texas, USA; Baylor Bears running back Dawson Pendergrass (35) scores on a touchdown run against the Long Island Sharks during the first half at McLane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Chris Jones-USA TODAY Sports

Baylor grinds out 30-7 win over Long Island

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Freshman Dawson Pendergrass ran for 111 yards and a touchdown, and Richard Reese added two scores as Baylor trounced visiting Long Island University 30-7 on Saturday afternoon in Waco, Texas, to capture its first win of the season.

The Bears (1-2) amassed 251 rushing yards on 46 carries, racking up more plays on the ground than Long Island, an FCS school, had in total (43). Baylor quarterback Sawyer Robertson, making his second career start, passed for 113 yards and a touchdown for Baylor, which snapped a six-game losing streak over the past two seasons.

The Bears ruled the initial 29 minutes of the first half, using a pair of lengthy drives and a stout defense to carry a 16-7 lead to halftime.

Baylor got on the board via a 13-yard scoring run by Reese at the 3:44 mark of the opening quarter that capped off a 92-yard, 13-play march.

The Bears added to the lead with an even more impressive possession, using 16 snaps and 8:32 of the clock — bridging the first and second quarters — to score on a 1-yard TD run by Dawson with 8:27 before the break. Baylor had 12 rushes on the drive.

The lead expanded to 16-0 when a punt snap soared over the head of Long Island punter Will Lynch and out of the end zone for a safety.

The Sharks (0-3) finally found a little footing late in the half, moving 59 yards in four plays and scoring on a 10-yard TD run by Chris Howell with 40 seconds to play. Howell’s 35-yard pass to Aviyon Smith-Mack set the table for the touchdown.

Baylor outgained Long Island 222-75 in the half while running 44 plays to just 17 by the Sharks.

As soon as the teams left the field for intermission, the game began a weather delay that lasted almost two hours.

Reese ripped off his second TD run, this time from 13 yards away, on Baylor’s first possession of the third quarter to push the Bears’ lead to 23-7. Robertson capped the scoring with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Drake Dabney with 5:45 to play.

–Field Level Media

Sep 11, 2021; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers running back Leddie Brown (4) is tackled by Long Island Sharks safety Jerome Brooks III (6) during the second quarter at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports

Mountaineers rebound with 66-0 win over LIU

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Jarret Doege threw three touchdown passes and Leddie Brown rushed for two scores as host West Virginia cruised to a 66-0 rout over Long Island University on Saturday.

The Mountaineers (1-1) rebounded from their disappointing season-opening loss at Maryland by dominating all facets and taking the lead 11 seconds in on Winston Wright Jr.’s 90-yard kickoff return. WVU easily improved to 22-0 against FCS opponents.

West Virginia scored the most points in any of its games against FCS foes, exceeding the 59 it hung on Delaware State in 2017.

Brown, who had three TDs last week, scored a pair of short TDs in the final six-plus minutes of the first quarter. Garrett Greene had a three-yard TD run early in the second before the Mountaineers scored the next three TDs via their passing game.

Doege completed 14-of-22 passes for 259 yards as the Mountaineers totaled 542 yards. Greene followed by completing 4-of-7 passes for 57 yards and Will Crowder finished up.

Greene also gained 98 yards on the ground to lead all rushers as West Virginia finished with 198 yards on the ground. WVU converted 9 of 15 third downs and scored 49 points in the red zone.

The Sharks (0-2), who were picked sixth in the Northeast Conference’s preseason poll, played the second of three straight games against FBS opponents and absorbed their second straight blowout loss.

LIU quarterback Camden Orth was 11 of 20 for 60 yards, and the Sharks totaled just 95 yards and converted 2 of 13 third downs.

Wright gave the Mountaineers a 7-0 lead with a dynamic kickoff return to start the game.

Brown’s two short runs in the first made it 21-0. West Virginia opened a 28-0 lead on a 3-yard run by Greene with 8:58 left and pushed the lead to 38-0 on an 18-yard TD catch by Sam James and Casey Legg’s 44-yard field goal as time expired.

Sean Ryan’s 39-yard TD made it 45-0 less than three minutes into the third and Doege connected with James for a second time to make it 52-0 with 11:16 remaining.

The lead reached 59-0 on Greene’s 13-yard TD run with 5:59 left in the third and Sparrow’s 1-yard run made it 66-0 with 5:25 remaining in the fourth.

–Field Level Media