FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 21, 2000

MERKLINGER, DEFENSE LED MONMOUTH TO HOMECOMING VICTORY

WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – Monmouth running back Matt Merklinger tallied four touchdowns and the Hawks’ defense recorded six sacks as Monmouth posted a 34-7 Homecoming victory over Stony Brook in Northeast Conference football action at Kessler Field on Saturday.

Merklinger recorded his second consecutive 100-yard rushing performance with 116 yards on 22 carries and became the fifth Monmouth (3-4, 3-3 NEC) player to go over the 1,000-yard rushing plateau for his career in leading the Hawks’ offensive arsenal.

“The offensive line had its best game of the season,” Monmouth offensive coordinator Rich Skrosky said. “They were more physical today than they have been in the past and Matt (Merklinger) rewarded them by running physical behind them. We were getting a good push off the ball today.”

Merklinger keyed Monmouth’s first drive of the game as the Hawks ran a double pass and the junior tailback lofted a 35-yard pass to Bill Lynn who was knocked out of bounds one yard from the end-zone. Three players later, Merklinger dove in for his first of a career-high four touchdowns to give the Hawks a 7-0 edge with 10:33 left in the opening stanza.

“It was good start to the game,” Skrosky said. “Just like last week, we set the tone of the game on our first drive. Taking the opening kickoff to midfield is always helpful and the trick play was executed the way you want it to be executed. They game plan went just like we wanted it to on that first drive.”

The Hawks defense, which ranks fourth in the country in total defense, set up the next score as Markice Stephens forced a Stony Brook (2-5, 1-5 NEC) fumble and carried the ball down to the Seawolves’ 1-yard line. On the next play, Merklinger waltzed in to extend the Hawks’ advantage to 14-0. Chris Mandell hit a 38-yard field goal with 3:28 left in the first half to give the Hawks a 17-0 lead at the intermission.

Monmouth quickly gained the second-half momentum as Joe Sentipal recorded a drive-stopping sack and Stony Brook’s punter shanked a 20-yarder off the side of his foot give the Hawks the ball at the Seawolves 48-yard line. The Hawks capitalized with a 39-yard field goal by Mandell to extend the lead to 20-0 with 7:23 left in the third quarter.

Merklinger added a 14-yard TD run with 3:48 left in the third quarter and a 4-yard scoring rush with 13:02 remaining in the contest to give the Hawks a 34-0 edge.

For the second consecutive week, Monmouth’s opponent added a late touchdown to snuff out the shutout bid. This time Dave Rodriguez scored on a 1-yard run with 4:33 left in the game to cap off a nine-play, 47-yard drive.

“It was disappointing to give up that late touchdown,” Skrosky said. “But you can’t fault the defense’s effort today. Those guys have been doing it all year. We came in concerned about the athleticism of Stony Brook’s quarterbacks, but our guys kept them contained and didn’t allow them to make any big plays.”

Sentipal, Mike DeBella and John Schultzel all had 10 tackles for the Hawks. Cornell Key registered 2.5 sacks.

The Hawks continue their slate next Saturday as they host Towson. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m.