Staten Island, N.Y. - The La Salle Football team opened its 2005 season with a 41-27 loss to Wagner at Wagner College Stadium.

 

The Explorers struck early, when Lou Russo's (Marlton, N.J./Cherokee) touchdown run capped off a six-play, 80-yard drive with 13:10 to play in the first quarter. The drive was set off by a 45-yard reception by John Zabel (Ellicot City, Md./Mt. Hebron) on the second play from scrimmage.

 

Wagner answered back scoring on each of its first two possessions to make the score 14-7. The Seahawks were knocking on the door again as the first quarter was coming to a close. With Wagner setting up in the red zone, La Salle sophomore Dwayne Lodge (Neptune, N.J./Neptune) came up big with an interception in the end zone.

 

Wagner got on the board again when the Seahawks ran back a Kevin Sullivan (Nanuet, N.Y./St. Joe's-Montvale) fumble for a touchdown with 4:44 to go in the second half. After Wagner's Piotr Czech missed an extra point, the score was 20-7.

 

Shaun Grover added a touchdown reception in the third quarter for Wagner, which would be enough to hold off the Explorers despite late touchdowns by Sullivan, Zabel and Bernie Cevis (Port Deposit, Md./Hartford Tech). Cevis' 21-yard touchdown catch was the first of his career.

 

La Salle quarterback Michael Jump (Toms River, N.J./Toms River South) threw for 382 yards on the day. Zabel led the receiving corps with 3 catches for 112 yards, including one touchdown. Sullivan was the Explorers leading rusher with 54 yards on 10 carries.

 

La Salle returns home to host Monmouth on Saturday, Sept. 10 at 1:00 p.m. in the Explorers home opener. Live play-by-play coverage will begin at 12:30 PM with the Red Zone pre-game show and can be heard on Red Zone Media through GoExplorers.com.