Mission Accomplished: Monmouth U. Plays Kennesaw St. For Title

Photos above courtesy of Monmouth University: #9 Reggie White Jr. #8 Michael Jolly, #4 Devell Jones, #30 Mike Basile and #16 Kenji Bahar

WEST LONG BRANCH – Monmouth University dominated Gardner Webb from start-to-finish in Saturday’s 41-14 victory over the Running Bulldogs at an unseasonably cold Kessler Stadium.

The win kept the Hawks tied for first place in the Big South Conference raising their season record to 9-1 and 4-0 in the Big South. Monmouth went winless (0-5) in the conference last season and finished 4-7 overall making this year one of the finest one-season turnarounds in FCS history.

Almost unimaginable a few short months ago, Monmouth will now travel to Kennesaw State (9-1, 4-0) Saturday for a classic Big South showdown for the conference championship. The winner will receive an automatic bid to the FCS playoffs, which would be a first in program history for the Hawks.

“I’m very excited for this team, very happy for them to get to where we are today,” said Kevin Callahan, the only head coach Monmouth University football has ever known in their 25-year history. “The message that we’ve all talked about as a team was win each day, build upon the next and put a brick down each day. If you do that and not get to far ahead of yourself and don’t look behind from where you’ve come from, then when you get to the end of the season you’ll be where you want to be. And we’re 9-1 with one game remaining and we’re in the position we want to be in.

“It really speaks to how we’ve evolved in the four years that we’ve been in the Big South. When we first joined the Big South it was a significant step up in terms of the level of football that we had been playing. There were a number of things we needed to do to catch up and I think you’re seeing the results of what we did over the last four years coming together right now and that’s what we’re seeing.”

Two weeks ago Monmouth broke into the FCS Top 25 rankings for another program first at No. 24. They then moved up to No. 22 last week and should make another leap up the charts when the rankings are released on Monday. Kennesaw St. is right behind the Hawks at No. 23.

Monmouth went 5-0 this season at their spanking new $16 million Kessler Stadium, something that didn’t go unnoticed by Callahan.

“Our guys are very proud to play in this new facility, to play at Kessler Stadium and I think that shows. Our performances at home this year have been really outstanding; we’ve done a great job. They’ve gone out and taken care of business every week because they’re proud of their home and they want to make sure their performance is second to none when they play here.”

It was a total team effort Saturday as the defense - without question – played its best game of the season. They allowed Garner Webb just 223 yards of total offense with 73 of those yards coming in garbage time when the Bulldogs scored on their final possession of the game.

“They played well, they did a great job,” Callahan said of his defense’s performance. “As we’ve gone through the season on defense we’ve asked a lot of young guys to play along with some great seniors. I think seven freshmen have played significant time for us on the defensive side and that’s not counting sophomores. So to see them come together and do a great job today against a dual-threat QB who was voted preseason offensive POY and who we had a lot of concerns about; I’m very happy at what they did

Senior safety Mike Basile again led the Hawks with nine tackles including a 10-yard sack and senior Agbai Iroha added five tackles and a team-leading two TFL.

Basile – a preseason first-team All-American selection and four-year starter – most likely played his final game at home Saturday.

“It was an emotional game. You don’t ever go out there thinking of your last game but it was here today,” Basile said of his farewell game. “But we just wanted to get the win that was all that was on our minds and I think the seniors and all the guys on the field did a good job doing that.

“It’s been great to see how much the program has been improving from my time as a freshman from my time now. It was a lot of hard work from all of us and it feels great to be where we’re at now.”

The offense again racked up over 400 yards of total offense for the seventh time this season gaining 427 yards with 252 of those yards coming off a punishing ground game that averaged 5.7 yards per carry while scoring over 30 points for the eighth time this season.

Sophomore Pete Guerriero went over the century mark for the fifth time this season rushing for 108 yards on 18 carries. Senior Michael Jolly picked up 85 yards on 10 carries and a touchdown while junior Devell Jones rushed for 84 yards on nine carries including a 53-yard jaunt that set up Jolly’s six-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.

Guerriero leads the Hawks in rushing with 876 yards on 147 carries averaging six yards a carry and 97.3 yards per game – first in the Big South. Jones has rushed for 296 yards averaging 5.2 yards per attempt and his 11 rushing TD’s ties him for first in the Big South and second in the FCS. As a team the Hawks have rushed for 2173 yards averaging a whopping 5.7 yards per carry which ties them with Kennesaw State atop the Big South.

Garner Webb came into the game 1-9, 0-4 but is a much better team than their record indicated. They suffered some tough losses in the Big South which is rated the fourth best conference in the FCS and played tough in their loss to a FBS school.

“All you have to do is look at a couple of plays or series of Gardner Webb and that doesn’t spell 1-8,” Callahan said of his opponents misleading record. “They’ve played the fourth toughest schedule in the country this year in FCS football. They’ve played six ranked opponents and a FBS school from the Mountain West. It you’re in the Big South every single week is a very challenging, difficult game with great athletes that are well coached. ”

Monmouth took the opening kickoff and drove 76 yards in seven plays with Jones taking it in from a yard out for a quick 7-0 lead after Matt Mosquera’s PAT.

The Hawks defense then forced a three-and-out allowing Gardner Webb one yard on the series with junior cornerback Tymere Barry picking up a three-yard TFL.

Following a short punt that went out of bounds traveling just 15 yards Monmouth took advantage of excellent field position and put together a seven play, 36 yard drive. Sophomore quarterback Kenji Bahar connected with true freshman Joey Aldarelli for a 24-yard scoring play on third-and-9. Mosquera’s PAT failed leaving the score at 13-0 with 5:56 left in the first quarter.

Bahar more than atoned for last week’s three-interception game passing for four touchdowns Saturday giving 15 TD passes for the season.

“Last week was last week and I just had to look forward to the next game,” Bahar said of his performance. “The line did a great job protecting today. Run and pass they got the job done.”

True freshman safety Anthony Budd pick up his first interception of his career at Monmouth on Gardner Webbs next possession and the Hawks cashed in going 63 yards in six plays to take a 20-0 lead on a Bahar to tight end Jake Powell touchdown.

Basile then stopped Garner Webb duel-threat quarterback Tyrell Maxwell for no gain on third-and-three on the Bulldogs next possession forcing another punt as the third quarter ended with Monmouth up 20-0.

Monmouth added a touchdown to go up 27-0 late in the second quarter on a seven play, 66-yard drive that was culminated by a Bahar to junior wideout Reggie White Jr. 14-yard TD reception. On the play, White Jr. made a fantastic leaping catch over the defender deep in the end zone to come up with the ball.

Up to that point, with 4:54 remaining in the first half, the Hawks defense had not allowed a Gardner Webb first down while limiting to just four yards of total offense.

After going up 27-0 the defense might have relaxed just a little as the Running Bulldogs then went 77 yards on 11 plays to get on the board on a 24-yard TD pass from Maxwell to Jonathan Blackmon with 38 seconds left in the first half.

Gardner Webb took over at the Hawks 27 following the second-half kickoff down 27-7 and Monmouth’s defence forced its fourth three-and-out of the game.

The two teams then traded punts before the Hawks went on a 10 play, 69-yard drive to take a 34-7 lead eating up six minutes on the clock.

Bahar passed for his fourth touchdown of the game finding his favorite target on second-and-six from the eight yard line hitting White Jr. for the score. Jolly had a 34-yard burst up the middle that gave the Hawks a first down at the Gardner Webb 24.

A 44-yard kickoff return by Tysean Carter gave the Bulldogs a first down at their own 45 before they drove to the Hawks 10-yard line. But on fourth-and-3 from the 10 a pair of freshman, Dejaun Cooper and Kurt Aumer, sacked Maxwell for a one-yard loss handing the ball back to the Hawks.

Monmouth then put the icing on the cake going 88 yards in eight plays to take a 41-7 lead with Jolly finishing off the drive with a six-yard scoring run and Jones rushing for 56 yards in the sequence.

So now it’s on to Kennesaw State for the Hawks most important game in their 25 years of playing football where the Hawks hope to continue what has been a magical ride so far this season with a Big South championship.

“It’s a credit to these guys for us being in the position we’re in,” Callahan said of his team. “It’s a credit to their focus, their attention to detail and their work ethic; and I think they’ve had a lot of fun doing it. They bring a lot of energy to the field every single day and they are a very focused and determined group. I’m just very happy for their success.”

“It’s a crazy feeling knowing we’re playing for the championship next week,” Basile said of the upcoming game. “We had a bad year last year and have just overcome all that. To get over that adversity and to be able to be in the position we’re in now is a great accomplishment and I’m excited but we’re not done yet.”