newjerseynewsroom.com

BY JEREMY SCHILLING

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Coming off last week’s team effort in defeating Villanova, Monmouth University football felt like they had gained a lot of momentum and confidence. They showed it today.

Using a fast 17-0 start, the Monmouth Hawks (2-1, 1-0) got a big road win against Central Connecticut State University today (2-2, 1-1), beating the Blue Devils 24-12.

The win snapped the longest winning streak in I-AA at 15 games and in the process gave the Hawks a high quality road win, against the team many predicted to win the Northeast Conference. Needless to say, head coach Kevin Callahan was a happy man afterwards.

“I think it was a great win for us” said Head Coach Kevin Callahan.  “It certainly was a first step for us, getting our initial win in NEC play. This conference always comes down to the wire because there is so much parity.  To get a win in our first league game will give us confidence going forward.  CCSU is an excellent team they played hard right until the very end.  I was very happy with the way our guys stayed after it and kept playing to put the game away in the fourth quarter.”

Monmouth got right to work quickly, exposing a young Central Connecticut secondary that features two sophomores and one freshman. Monmouth quarterback Kyle Frazier led the Hawks right down the field in six plays and 69 yards, eventually hitting Neal Sterling for a 32 yard touchdown to get out to a quick 7-0 lead with just under three minutes gone by.

Following a Central Connecticut punt, Frazier led the Hawks again into Central Connecticut territory in 13 plays and 57 yards and ended with a 41 yard Eric Spillane field goal to make it 10-0 Monmouth with 2:54 left in the first quarter.

On the ensuing Central possession, Monmouth star safety Jose Gumbs forced a fumble from Central quarterback Gunnar Jesperson, which was recovered by the Hawks at the CCSU 45-yard line.

Frazier then took it right to the Blue Devils defense once again, leading Monmouth to the end zone in the process. Running back Julian Hayes scored on a six yard rush, capping off a seven play, 44-yard drive to make it 17-0 Monmouth with 12:59 left in second quarter.

The momentum of the second quarter quickly changed, however, with a Monmouth turnover. Spearheaded by a 43 yard Balial Sloan El run, Frazier led the down to the Central 10 yard line and Monmouth was seemingly about to score points again – that was until Sloan-El fumbled it.

Jesperson then led the Blue Devils on a 14 play, 84-yard drive that took over seven minutes in time and ended with a Brian Fowler nine-yard touchdown run to make it 17-7 Monmouth with 1:18 left in the half. 17-7 would also be the halftime score.

Central took that momentum into the first drive of the second half as well, taking the opening possession right down the field and going 60 yards in 13 plays, leading to a 26-yard field goal from Juan Duque to make it 17-10 with 9:37 left in the 3rd quarter.

But that is as close as they would come, as the Monmouth defense became stronger and the pass rush became fiercer as the game wore on, forcing Jesperson to rush many of his throws and prohibiting the Blue Devils from establishing any kind of an offensive rhythm.

After exchanging punts towards the end of the third quarter, Monmouth scored on their first full possession of the fourth. Frazier led the Hawks on a seven play, 49-yard drive that led to an eight-yard touchdown scamper by the quarterback himself to make it 24-10 Hawks with 9:42 left in the game. It was his first rushing touchdown of the year. He finished 21-27 passing for 195 yards and one touchdown.

After a CCSU punt backed Monmouth up against their own end zone, Callahan decided to do what he did last week against Villanova – take the safety on fourth down instead of risk anything going wrong with a punt and leading to a Central touchdown. So punter Ryan Mohr did exactly that, taking the safety to make it 24-12 Hawks with 5:02 left.

Any chance of the Blue Devils capitalizing off the free possession quickly evaporated, however, when Gumbs forced his second fumble of the day, this time on running back Xavier Gaddy, with under five minutes remaining.

Monmouth was forced to punt but the possession took away valuable time. Central’s last chance to do anything with just over two minutes to go was quickly ended when Patrick Gray intercepted Jesperson, clinching the victory for the Hawks. Jesperson finished with 15-32 passing for 148 yards and one interception. He was held to only 36 yards rushing, which is unusually low for the option-leading quarterback.

Looking ahead, the schedule does not get any easier for Monmouth, as they welcome in NEC-powerhouse Robert Morris for a Noon home game next Saturday.