Dalton Crossan has nothing but sour memories of Stony Brook’s LaValle Stadium. Twice he helped Sachem football get to a Suffolk County Division I championship against William Floyd and twice the Flaming Arrows took depressing bus rides back south down Nichols Road with defeats in hand.
The story was different for Crossan on Saturday. Now bigger, stronger and faster as a redshirt freshman at the University of New Hampshire, Crossan and the Wildcats left Stony Brook all smiles with a 31-13 victory.
“I got a cool feeling once we walked in the stadium, remembering high school,” he said. “It’s nice to see everybody. It’s good, I definitely like winning here better then losing.”
Crossan, a sophomore in the classroom but freshman on the football field, is seeing smattered playing time, but has made the most of every opportunity on the field, including against the Seawolves when he had 1 carry for 22 yards, 1 reception for 4 yards, 2 kick returns for 36 yards and one tackle on special teams. Seemingly every time Crossan was on the field, he played a significant role in the called plays.
“My playing time is sporadic,” he said. “I’m in the game plan for most weeks, sometimes we use it, sometimes we don’t. I’m doing whatever I can when I get in. It’s much tougher. I’m the kind of player who likes to get on a roll and keep it going.”
Crossan earned Colonial Athletic Association Rookie of the Week honors last week and has put up very strong numbers with the work he has seen this year, including a rushing average of 12.7 yards per carry, a receiving average of 10 yards per catch, and an 18.7 yards per return average on special teams.
The beauty of being a redshirt freshman is that Crossan has three full seasons yet ahead of him; plenty of time to shine and leave his mark on another program.
“I’m slowly working into it with every touch that I get,” he said. “They know I’m a weapon and they want to get me the ball as many times as they can. We have a lot of playmakers on the team. I want to do as much as I can with the opportunities that I have.”
PHOTOS: See images of Crossan and UNH at Stony Brook
-Words/Photos by Chris R. Vaccaro