Stony Brook’s Ed Gowins loses his helmet with a hit from Brown’s Joseph McPhee yesterday.

The Providence Journal / John Freidah

PROVIDENCE — On third-and-goal at the Brown two-yard line with 26 seconds remaining in the second quarter, Stony Brook quarterback Dan Sweeney rolled right and, without a receiver in sight, opted to leap over linebacker Andrew Serrano.

Sweeney didn’t have a chance. Serrano, 5-foot-11 and 225 pounds, spun Sweeney upside down, causing Sweeney to fumble. But linebacker Kelly Cox recovered.

That play was typical of Brown’s defense in the Bears’ 17-7 season-opening triumph on a perfect afternoon in front of 3,652 spectators at Brown Stadium.

Brown (1-0) held Stony Brook’s offense to 147 yards, didn’t allow a first down until 3:25 was left in the second quarter, and kept the Seawolves out of the end zone. Stony Brook’s offense went three-and-out on its first six possessions, its fifth ending with Luke Gaddis’ 38-yard field-goal attempt hitting the left upright.

Stony Brook (1-3) scored on Cory Giddings’ 19-yard interception return in the fourth quarter.

“I said at the Ivy media day that people are going to talk about our offense,” said coach Phil Estes, “but I’m going to tell you that our defense is going to be what we’re going to talk about because we have some people that play hard on every snap, and that we’re stronger and faster, and today was an example of that.

“That was by far, since I’ve been here, probably one of the best defensive efforts against a team that was big and physical and had some great running backs and a big offensive line, and we physically dominated the line of scrimmage,” he added.

Estes won his 60th game, tying him with John Anderson for third on Brown’s career list.

Defensive end James Develin, who paints his face with eye black before every game, was a one-man wrecking crew. He made nine tackles, 3 1/2 for losses of 18 yards, and two for sacks of 16 yards. He also forced a fumble.

“Coach put all the confidence in us, and we had to come out and prove that we were capable of doing that,” Develin, a junior, said. “We were just fired up — a defense should always be fired up — and we just came out and had one heck of a game.”

And the eye black?

“It’s a ritual. I paint my face with eye black. I’ve done it since high school. It’s just something that gets me mentally into the game. I’ll never stop,” he said.

Linebacker Steve Ziogas had eight tackles, broke up a pass and hurried the quarterback twice, all without a hint of eye black.

“That’s kind of Jim’s thing,” he said. “Our defensive line played a heck of a game. We all came out and we knew we were going to have to run our scheme, and that they were going to try to push us around. We pushed back and basically took them out of their game, and they had to end up throwing it, which is something they don’t necessarily like doing.”

The Seawolves passed for 111 yards and rushed for 36.

Brown’s offense was nearly perfect in the first quarter. The Bears ran 22 plays, and 20 gained yardage. The other two were incomplete passes. Running back Jonathan Edwards capped a 67-yard drive with a 19-yard touchdown run, and flanker Buddy Farnham scored on a two-yard run.

Robert Ranney added two PATs and on the second play of the second quarter a 25-yard field goal. He also averaged 42 yards on five punts and boomed one 54 yards. He kicked the opening kickoff into the end zone and put two others inside the 10-yard line.

Quarterback Michael Dougherty completed 25 of 36 passes for 175 yards but was erratic after the first quarter and threw two interceptions.

Farnham caught 14 passes for 11 yards. Bobby Sewall of Portsmouth caught six for 55 yards. Edwards and Dereck Knight of Pawtucket (Shea) each ran for 49 yards. Knight converted a fourth-and-1 to sustain Brown’s second scoring drive.

Brown’s offense generated 157 yards in the first quarter,and 102 the rest of the game. The Bears fumbled four times but didn’t lose any.

Back to the goal-line stand at the end of the half. Develin and linebacker Miles Craigwell stopped Conte Cuttino on first down at the one-yard line, and Develin and Serrano pushed Ed Gowins back a yard on second down. Then Serrano forced Sweeney’s fumble, and Cox recovered, igniting a sideline celebration.

“That goal-line stand was a thing of beauty,” Estes said. “They played with pride, with great leadership by our seniors on defense.”

mszostak@projo.com