Monmouth football legend cherishes program's rise, as his rushing records fall

WEST LONG BRANCH – David Sinisi isn’t simply the gold standard of Monmouth University running backs, he literally built the Pantheon in which the program’s greatest ground gainers reside.

He was the leading rusher as a freshman in 2006 for the team many felt was the Hawks’ greatest until the current edition, then shouldered the load as the program transitioned to scholarships, rushing for 5,049 yards and an eye-popping 65 TDs during his career.

So as Sinisi watches Pete Guerriero, he understands better than anyone how special the junior speedster is to the program, leading the nation in rushing as the 11th-ranked Hawks (11-2) head to Harrisonburg, Virginia for Saturday’s showdown with No. 2 James Madison (11-1) in the second round of the FCS Playoffs.

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"I’m so proud of the way he’s representing all the running backs that have gone through the program over the years," said Sinisi, a police officer in Mahwah who attended four Monmouth games this season. "He’s so explosive, and he’s a great kid. He’s legit."

Consider this. As the 2017 season approached, Guerriero, who had won the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference 100 and 200 meter sprint titles that spring, wasn’t even on the roster in the preseason media guide. Then he ran for 144 yards in his first college game.

Guerriero broke Sinisi’s single-season rushing record in Saturday's 44-27 win over Holy Cross in a first-round playoff game at Kessler Stadium, his third straight game over the 200-yard mark, amassing 697 yards and eight TDs over the past three weekends to push his total to 1,888 yards.

Now, with 3,867 career yards, he needs 1,183 more to top Sinisi’s career total, a mark that until recently looked untouchable, the program’s version of Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak.

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And Guerriero, 5-foot-10, 190 pounds, has done it with some dazzling bursts of speed, producing 10 touchdown runs of 30 yards or more.

"What he has that I never had was the breakaway speed," Sinisi said. "If he’s given a seam he’s is going to be gone. No one is catching him. I might get you 15 or 20 yards before I got caught or an angle caught up to me. But his explosiveness is definitely his greatest trait, and in the open field he makes you miss and you’re not catching him."

Becoming the first Monmouth back to top the 2,000-yard mark in a season will be no easy task against a James Madison defense that ranks No. 1 in FCS football at stopping the run, surrendering just 62.8 yards-per-game on the ground.

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In addition to his speed, Guerriero has shown the ability to pound away at a defense if needed, carrying the ball 31 times against Holy Cross, after lugging it 30 times in two other games this season.

"I think we knew a few years ago what Pete brings to the table and he has only become better at what he does," Monmouth head coach Kevin Callahan said. "He’s more patient now. He’s bigger, stronger and his endurance is better. It appears now that as the game goes on the stronger he gets. As you saw last week a lot of his big plays and long runs come in the second half."

While the Hawks face their toughest test of all, installed as 23-point underdogs against a James Madison team that played in the national championship game two seasons back, Sinisi takes pride in seeing just how far the Hawks have come in a relatively short period time.

"The program itself is so very young in my eyes," Sinisi said. "When I first got to Monmouth there were no scholarships and no chance of getting into the playoff. Then during my career you start getting some scholarship players and an outside chance of getting to the playoffs to now transitioning into something that Monmouth football needed to be. It’s what coach Callahan had always envisioned, striving to be one of those top tier programs, so it’s great to see what this team has been able to accomplish."

Stephen Edelson is a USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey sports columnist who has been covering athletics in the state and at the Jersey Shore for nearly 35 years. Contact him at: @SteveEdelsonAPP; sedelson@gannettnj.com.