Hempstead, NY -- Junior quarterback Bobby Seck (Westbury, NY) threw for 424 yards and four touchdowns, and added a fifth touchdown rushing, as the Hofstra Football team opened the 2004 season with a 45-0 win over Albany on Thursday evening before 6,245 fans at Shuart Stadium.

Seck, who played in just four games last season due to injury,  threw for 201 yards in the first quarter alone, helping the Pride break out to an early 14-0 lead. Hofstra tacked on 24 second quarter points to take a commanding 38-0 lead and cruised to the easy win. Seck finished the game with 26 completions in 38 attempts for a 196.88 pass efficiency rating.

Hofstra wasted little time getting started, as it marched 80 yards in seven plays on its first possession, culminating in a three-yard touchdown run from sophomore Terry Crenshaw (Sarasota, FL) with 9:53 left in the first quarter. After the defense held, Seck connected with junior receiver Devale Ellis (Brooklyn, NY) on a two-yard touchdown pass with 2:27 left in the first quarter to stretch the lead to 14-0.

Seck then plunged in for a one-yard touchdown run on a quarterback sneak on the first play of the second quarter to give the Pride a 21-0 advantage. A 58-yard strike from Seck to senior receiver Isaac Irby (Edgewater Park, NJ) with 12:53 left in the second stretched the lead to 28-0, and a 35-yard field goal by Chris Onorato (Holbrook, NY) made the score 31-0. Seck finished off a spectacular first half performance with a 38-yard touchdown to redshirt-freshman receiver Charles Sullivan (Nanuet, NY) to give the Pride a 38-0 lead at intermission.

Seck connected with Irby on a second touchdown pass, this time from 34 yards, with 2:01 left in the third quarter to close out the scoring.

Irby finished with eight catches for 168 yards and two touchdowns on the day. Sullivan added seven catches for 97 yards and Ellis chipped in with four catches for 91 yards. Crenshaw led the ground attack with 49 yards on 17 carries. The Pride accumulated 504 yards in offense whie holding the Great Danes to 264. The shutout was Hofstra's first since a 68-0 blanking of Delaware State on September 5, 1998.