ALBANY, N.Y. (AP)—David McCarty ran for 106 yards and a pivotal touchdown as Albany beat Wagner 30-11 to win the Northeast Conference championship on Saturday.
The win gave the Great Danes back-to-back NEC championships.
Quarterback Vinny Esposito threw for 197 yards and connected with receiver Tim Bush on a pair of touchdowns one from 35 yards, the other from 27 for Albany (8-3, 7-0 NEC), which will face the Pioneer League champ in the Gridiron Classic on Dec. 6.
Bush had 10 catches and 141 yards total for the Great Danes.
Down 9-3, the Seahawks (3-8, 1-6) caught a break on a wacky play early in the second. After Albany scored the game’s first touchdown, Wagner blocked the PAT. Joseph Jerel picked the ball up on the 18 and brought it all the way to the endzone for two points, making it 9-5 Albany.
But Wagner didn’t score again until the final three minutes, on a 2-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Newberry to Morgan Mizell.
Albany defenders picked off three Wagner passes, including a 56-yard touchdown return by Daniel Avery, which gave the Great Danes a 23-5 lead midway through the third quarter.
McCarty set Albany’s career and single-season rushing records on a 91-yard drive capped by an 11-yard touchdown with 1:16 left in the second quarter to put Albany ahead 16-5 at halftime.