newjerseynewsroom.com

BY JEREMY SCHILLING

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

It had all the hallmarks of a shootout.

955 combined total yards. 510 combined passing yards. 445 combined rushing yards. Only five combined punts. The combined time of possession was nearly even.

And yet it came down to two defensive plays.

However, Monmouth’s kick block team got great push and lineman Mike Upham made it through best, blocking the field goal that was eventually recovered by cornerback Jameson Zacharias.

But the Red Flash forced Monmouth to punt on the ensuing possession and got the ball back at their own 31 yard line with 2:07 left in the ballgame. But the Hawks defense stepped up again, and four plays later freshman defensive back Patrick Gray picked off St. Francis (2-8, 1-6) quarterback John Kelly, sealing a 48-45 victory for the Hawks (5-4, 4-2) at DeGol Field in Loretto, PA .

“It was an incredible effort by our offense, they just wouldn’t be denied,” said Monmouth head coach Kevin Callahan said after the final horn sounded. “They retook the lead every time we relinquished it.  It was an outstanding effort by Craig Peterson and our receivers did a nice job.  I really liked the way Julian Hayes carried the ball and how hard he ran.”

Monmouth remains unbeaten on the road, and thanks to Bryant, maintains an outside chance at winning the Northeast Conference and the automatic berth into the FCS playoffs that comes with it. The Bulldogs upset Albany, who was undefeated entering today, 31-17 today. The loss puts them at 5-1 inside the NEC. Monmouth plays Albany next week, and a win there along with some outside help could still give them a conference title.

From the moment this game got started, one could tell there would be little defense.

St. Francis got on the board first when running back Kyle Harbridge ran it in from five yards out for the first of his seemingly endless number of touchdowns to make it 7-0.

Monmouth responded right back with a 69 yard drive of their own. Aided by a 44-yard pass play to wide receiver Tristan Roberts, running back Julian Hayes scored the first of his seemingly never-ending touchdowns, this one a three yard scamper that had its extra point blocked. It was now 7-6 St. Francis.

Thiel added a 47 yard field goal that capped off the first quarter scoring, making it 10-6 St. Francis after one.

Monmouth absolutely dominated the second quarter. Their first possession of the period ended in a Hayes two yard touchdown run, their second ended in a 12-yard pass play from quarterback Craig Peterson to Roberts, and after defensive lineman Mike Pranulis recovered a Kelly fumble, their third ended in a Peterson throw to wideout Neal Sterling for a 58-yard touchdown catch and run that made it 27-10 Monmouth with 2:01 left in the third.

St. Francis would not let this game be a blowout however as they used their no huddle offense to quickly make it down the field right before the end of the half. Harbridge ran it in from two yards out with just seconds remaining to make it 27-17 Monmouth at the break.

The third quarter was equally as wild as the second.

Harbridge got the Red Flash on the board first with a 78-yard rushing touchdown, which Monmouth soon answered with a Mitchell Pollard 52-yard punt return to make it 34-24 Hawks. It was the first Monmouth punt return since 2002, when Kevin Falkner ran one back.

St. Francis immediately got it right back, with a 10-yard run for a touchdown by backup running back Keion Wade. Monmouth immediately responded with a Hayes 26-yard touchdown run, and on the final play of the third quarter, Kelly scored on a 16-yard touchdown to make it 41-38 Monmouth with 15 minutes remaining in the game.

The fourth started with a turnover. After Peterson threw an interception to the Red Flash’s Michael Dennis, St. Francis had the ball at the Monmouth 40-yard line. Four plays later they were in the end zone as A.J. Alexander got the 24-yard touchdown pass from Kelly, making it 45-41 St. Francis with 12:44 left in the game.

Monmouth got the lead right back. The key play on the drive was a beautiful 34-yard catch by Mike McLafferty on third and ten in which he came back to the ball after being interfered with. That reception took the ball to the St. Francis 34-yard line. Five plays later, Hayes rushed into the end zone from seven yards out for his fourth and final score of the day, making it 48-45 Monmouth with 7:26 left.

St. Francis was seemingly in business on the next drive, with Thiel back on the field to try and tie it up. But that is when everything went awry, and the momentum of the game shifted back to Monmouth for good.

In total, Peterson finished with a career high 20-for-29 passing for 316 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Hayes finished with 128 yards on 26 carries and four touchdowns. He now has ten scores over the last four games. The Hawks also had two receivers near 100 yards, with Sterling getting 87 yards with a touchdown and Roberts getting 82 along with a score. Pollard finished with 159 all-purpose yards and one score of his own.

For St. Francis, Kelly threw for 194 yards on 17-for-30 passing with one touchdown and one interception. Harbridge ran for 197 and three touchdowns on 29 carriers.

As mentioned above, Monmouth hosts Albany next Saturday in a huge Northeast Conference game. Kickoff is at Noon.