Moon Township, Pa. - Wagner made a 14-13 halftime lead stand up as the Robert Morris University football team recorded just one first down and 23 yards of total offense in the second half and the Seahawks downed the Colonials, 20-13, Saturday afternoon at Joe Walton Stadium. The defeat, the second straight for RMU, drops the Colonials to 3-3 overall on the 2007 campaign, including 2-1 in Northeast Conference play, while Wagner improved to 4-1 and 2-0 in league action.

Robert Morris, which had struggled in the first quarter of games this season, took the opening kickoff and marched 56 yards on 11 plays before junior kicker Michael Walser (Thornville, Ohio / Sheridan) connected on a career-long 42-yard field goal to give the Colonials an early 3-0 lead. On Wagner's first possession of the day, Seahawk quarterback Matt Abbey was sacked by junior defensive lineman Shannon Smoot (Columbus, Ohio / Bishop Hartley) on 3rd-and-9 and fumbled at the Wagner 15-yard line. Senior linebacker Chad Wengert (Kempton, Pa. / Kutztown) came up with the loose ball for RMU, and on the next play junior quarterback Erik Cwalinski (Jacobsburg, Ohio / Shadyside) found senior flanker Mario Hines (Ecorse, Mich. / Ecorse) open in the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown pass on a flea-flicker to increase the Colonial lead to 10-0.

Wagner responded on its next kickoff return, as Al Phillips found a seam down the visiting sideline and raced 95 yards to the end zone untouched to pull the Seahawks within three, 10-7, with 8:30 remaining in the first quarter. Despite the flurry of action in the first seven minutes of the contest, the score remained 10-7 in favor of Robert Morris until the 8:51 mark of the second quarter, when Walser connected on a 19-yard field goal to increase the Colonial lead to 13-7. The drive was set up by the RMU defense, as sophomore safety Michael Landers (Springdale, Pa. / Springdale), making his first career start, intercepted Abbey at the Wagner 30-yard line. Cwalinski hooked up with senior wide receiver Julian Ellison (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Carrick) for a 32-yard completion down to the Seahawk three-yard line on RMU's next drive, but Robert Morris was unable to score a touchdown and had to settle for Walser's trifecta.

The Seahawks were able to take their first lead of the game late in the first half, as Abbey engineered a seven-play, 58-yard drive that was capped by a four-yard touchdown pass to Rodney Davis. Two big plays in the drive came courtesy of Seahawk running back Jason Butler. He scampered for a 13-yard rush down to the RMU 33-yard line, and on 2nd-and-10 Abbey found him out of the backfield in the flat for a 29-yard completion down to the Colonial four-yard line. On the next play Abbey capped the drive with his touchdown pass to Davis.

In the second half the Robert Morris offense struggled, recording just one first down and going three-and-out on each of its final five drives of the afternoon. Cwalinski finished just 6-for-20 passing for 130 yards, a touchdown and an interception, while freshman halfback Myles Russ (Boca Raton, Fla. / West Boca) finished with 53 yards on 16 carries. The leading receiver for the Colonials was Hines, who caught two passes for 68 yards and a touchdown. Butler finished with 129 yards rushing on 32 attempts for Wagner, while Abbey finished 7-for-19 passing for 93 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

Defensively the Colonials were led by junior defensive lineman Mike Burkett (New Castle, Pa. / Laurel), who posted a career-high 11 tackles in his first career start. Senior linebacker Jordan Howard (Uniontown, Ohio / Lake) and junior linebacker Adam Lawrence (Big Run, Pa. / Dubois Area) each finished with 10 stops for RMU.

Robert Morris now takes to the road for three straight, traveling to New Britain, Conn., to open the road swing with a 1:00 p.m. tilt against Central Connecticut State at Arute Field Saturday, Oct. 13. The Colonials will also visit Duquesne (Oct. 20) and Albany (Nov. 3) during its road trip, with the contests against the Dukes and Great Danes sandwiching a bye week Oct. 27. RMU takes a seven-game road winning streak into its game next week against the Blue Devils.