We’ve seen the storyline before. Dalton Crossan versus Stacey Bedell at Stony Brook. Sachem versus Floyd. All these years after the two high school stars faced one another in Suffolk County Championship games at LaValle Stadium, they were back paying one another on opposite sides of the same field again on Saturday.
It took Bedell transferring from the University of Massachusetts to Stony Brook last season and the schedule to develop over the last two years to get to this point. There were hundreds of fans supporting both players hoping to see two of the top teams in the Colonial Athletic Association duke it out.
“It’s still special and awesome to play at Stony Brook,” said Crossan, “it’s where I’m comfortable and have played a bunch of times.”
Bedell and the Seawolves got the best of Crossan and his Wildcats in a 31-6 victory. New Hampshire, last year’s conference champion, is now 1-2 this season, while Stony Brook is 2-0.
“They have a very, very good defense,” Crossan said. “One of the best in the conference. They were flying around. We have to watch the tape, see what we can improve on and get better.”
Not that he was counting or cared about total yardage, but Crossan did compile 122 all purpose yards in the contest. He had 14 carries for 40 yards, 7 receptions for 34 yards and 3 kick returns for 48 yards. He has been a jack-of-all-trades offensive threat for New Hampshire since his redshirt freshman season in 2013.
Crossan has amassed 1,928 total yards in his career. This, all while playing in just parts of six games last season due to injuries.
He owns the best single-season kick return average in school history with a mark of 32.4 set last season, breaking the record of 30.7 set in 1978 by Dave Loehle, a former Sachem football coach and current physical education teacher at Sequoya Middle School. Lohele was in attendance on the New Hampshire sideline Saturday night.
This year he is the squad’s featured running back and leads the team with 44 carries, 184 rushing yards and two touchdowns through three games.
Bedell had a slower start to his college stardom, only playing in two games as a true freshman at UMass before missing the rest of the season due to injury. As a sophomore he played in parts of eight games and transferred to Stony Brook in 2014 for a fresh start and a chance to start.
Last season he rushed for 1,070 yards and he’s already off to an all-conference caliber 2015 season with 326 yards and four touchdowns in two games.
Against New Hampshire he led both teams with 21 carries and 202 rushing yards, including a 51-yard touchdown.
Even with all of the stat comparisons, the score yesterday and the hype leading up to the game, Bedell and Crossan remain friends off the field.
“We spoke throughout the week,” said Crossan. “I knew [the rivalry talk before the game] was a thing because of high school, but I just tried to focus on the game and our offense.”
They embraced one another after the game and shared a few words and smiles before departing for their respective locker rooms. It was the same look they shared when they split the Hansen Award as the best players in Suffolk County in 2011.
Another year, new uniforms, but it’s the same Crossan and Bedell.
-Words by Chris R. Vaccaro