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Sports

Monmouth University Gets First Ever NCAA FCS Playoff Win

Hawks advance and will travel to face No. 2 ranked and second-seed James Madison on Saturday

Photos courtesy of Monmouth University

WEST LONG BRANCH – Monmouth University extended its historic season for at least one more game with a 44-27 win over Patriot League champion Holy Cross Saturday at a jammed-packed Kessler Stadium.

The victory represents Monmouth’s first playoff win in program history and second overall appearance in the NCAA FCS playoffs.

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Saturday, the Hawks pushed their single-season record for wins to 11 and extended their program-record winning streak to nine. It was the third meeting between the two schools with the Hawks taking a 3-1 lead in the series after Saturday’s win.

“We are obviously very excited for this win today,” said Monmouth head coach Kevin Callahan. “I couldn’t be happier and prouder for this group of guys. They approached each game this season with a sense of purpose and they’re very focused on the task at hand and that’s what you saw again today. It was a very good effort all the way around.”

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The Hawks (11-2), ranked No. 11 in the most recent FCS Coaches Top 25, are now 17-1 in the new Kessler Stadium dating back to its opening in 2017.

Monmouth will travel to second-ranked and No. 2 seed James Madison (11-1) next Saturday, December 7 for a 1:00 p.m. kickoff in an FCS pre-quarterfinal matchup. The battle-tested Dukes were the 2004 and 2016 FCS champions and the 2017 runners-up.

Two Evan Powell first-half interceptions led to 14 points and a third pick by senior defensive back Matt Castronuova late in the second quarter produced a field goal.

“Going into the game, we thought it was important that we generate turnovers on defense,” said Callahan. “And we did do that.”

A 6-yard sack by junior defensive tackle Kurt Aumer on a third-and-4 play forced a Holy Cross punt after the Crusaders had moved into Monmouth territory at the 25-yard line on their first possession of the game. That set the tone of the game for the defense which continues to play inspired football.

In the first half, Holy Cross had a short field on four possessions starting at the Monmouth 48, midfield, the Monmouth 40 and the Holy Cross 49-yard line and came up with zero points.

“What we have seen from this defense all season long is that it’s a very opportunistic unit,” said Callahan. They may give up some ground but they seem to make big plays at key points. Whether it’s generating a turnover, whether it’s getting a key third or fourth-down stop, a stop down in the redzone at the goal line or whatever it may be. They seem to come up with those plays when we needed to and our offense just takes over and goes from there.”

Aumer finished with three tackles, a sack and two tackles for loss and senior defensive end Kahari Scarlett added four tackles, including a tackle for loss to lead the Hawks defensive effort.

“I think that what is key is that everyone has a lot confidence in each other and we can rely one another,” said Powell when asked about the defense. “No matter who is in the game we have a bunch of different rotations coming in and I feel we don’t skip a heartbeat. Our cohesiveness and our confidence in each other really helps as a unit.”

Powell picked off Holy Cross starting quarterback Connor Degenhardt on the Crusaders second possession of the game handing the Hawks a first down at the Holy Cross 27-yard line.

Senior quarterback and Big South Offensive Player of the Year Kenji Bahar then picked up a big first down on third-and-1 at the 18. On the next play, junior wideout Lonnie Moore IV took a handoff from junior running back Pete Guerriero and raced around left end for a 17-yard touchdown.

Moore IV, a first team All-Big South selection, finished with a team-high seven receptions for 76 yards.

Senior Matt Mosquera’s extra-point kick gave the Hawks a 7-0 lead with 5:43 left in the first quarter. Mosquera then added a 30-yard field goal two possessions later to push the lead to 10-0 at the 12:18 mark of the second quarter.

Bahar appeared to pull up limping on a second-down scramble on the drive but still managed to finish the game completing 19-of-32 passes for 249 yards and a touchdown. In post-game interviews Bahar said he was just cramping up and was fine and it had no effect on his play.

Monmouth’s offense finished with 502 yards of total offense.

On the Crusaders ensuing possession, Powell grabbed his second pick of the half with an acrobatic leaping snag of a Degenhardt pass over the middle at the 27 and returned it to the 37.

Six plays and 63 yards later, Bahar found junior wide receiver Terrance Greene Jr. (3-51-1) alone in the endzone for a 20-yard scoring strike and a 17-0 lead following Mosquera’s extra-point kick.

On the Crusaders ensuing possession, Powell and senior linebacker Da’Quan Grimes stopped Holy Cross running back Domenic Cozier, the Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year, 6-yards short of a first down on a third-and-10 play leading to another three-and-out and punt.

Grimes had a team-leading eight tackles, including five unassisted tackles, and 1.5 tackles for loss.

Monmouth took over at their own 30 and two plays later Guerriero, the nations leading rusher, took a pitch from Bahar and sprinted down the right sidelines untouched for a 68-yard touchdown and a 23-0 lead with 7:18 left in the half.

Holy Cross answered with a 71 yard, seven play scoring drive to cut the lead to 23-7 at the 4:26 mark of the second quarter.

Junior Matt Considine replaced Degenhardt at quarterback and engineered the drive capping it off with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Derek Mountain.

Cody Wilkinson’s onside kick was recovered by Holy Cross and the Crusaders were back in business at the 49-yard line.

With the momentum now clearly in the Crusaders favor they got as far as 32 where they were facing a fourth-and-1. Sophomore 6-foot-0, 220 pound running back Pete Oliver tried to run it up the middle but was met by a host of Monmouth defenders led by Grimes and he was stopped short of the first down turning the ball over to the Hawks.

“That was definitely a big momentum swing in the game,” said Callahan on the fourth-down stop. “After the onside kick it looked like they were on the move again and that could’ve really changed the overall momentum of the game because we knew coming out in the second half they were going to get the first possession. So to get the stop there on fourth-and-1 I think kind of settled us down.”

A holding penalty stalled Monmouth’s possession and following a punt Holy Cross took over at the 38.

On first down, Castronuova intercepted a deflected pass at the Holy Cross 30-yard line giving the ball back to the Hawks with 50 seconds left in the half. But a third down sack of Bahar left the Hawks facing a fourth-and-10 and Mosquera came in to attempt a 47-yard field goal which he nailed with yardage to spare for a 26-7 halftime lead.

Holy Cross wasn’t about to roll over, however, and after receiving the second-half kickoff they drove 64 yards in nine plays to get within 26-13 and seize control of the momentum once again.

Monmouth and Guerriera had an answer though driving 72 yards in seven plays to break the Holy Cross back and take a commanding 34-13 lead with 7:26 left in the third quarter.

On the drive, Guerriero, who finished with 220 yards rushing on 31 carries and three touchdowns and set the Hawks single-season rushing record of 1,888 yards, converted a second-and-20 into a nifty 34-yard touchdown run that left two defenders dead in their tracks.

“We knew we had to come out and put points on the board,” said Guerriero. “We had to keep them from getting back in the game and that’s what we did.”

Mosquera added his third field goal of the game – a 44 yarder – to expand the lead to 37-13 with 3:18 left in the third quarter.

Considine scored on a 14 keeper to cap a 74 yard drive but the Hawks answered with an eight play, 53 yard drive with Guerriero finishing it off with 1-yard run off left tackle to give the Hawks a 44-19 advantage with less than six minutes remaining in the game.

Jon Jon Roberts caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from Considine in garbage time for the 44-27 final.

“Absolutely we’re excited,” said Callahan on moving on. “There’s 16 teams left in the nation of all the teams that play football and we’re fortunate to be one of those 16. And we’re fortunate to have the opportunity to go play another game in the 2019 season. Most teams are thinking about their off season and we’re excited that we get to go play again.”

“We play every game with a chip on our shoulders like we have something to prove,” said Guerriero. “We just got to keep it rolling no matter who we’re up against and we’re confident we can do that.”

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