Monmouth University Ambushes 19th Ranked Lehigh 46-27

Photo above: Members of the Hawks offensive line taking a well deserved break

WEST LONG BRANCH – Monmouth University racked up 555-total yards including 351 yards on the ground behind a dominant effort by its offensive line and the Hawks shocked 19th ranked Lehigh 46-27 on a picture-perfect day for football Saturday at Kessler Field.

After rushing for 145 yards and two touchdowns in his first career game for Monmouth last week, freshman sensation Pete Guerriero took aim at the record books carrying the ball 25 times for 189 yards including touchdown runs of 71 and four yards. In his first two games as Monmouth’s starting running back he’s rushed for 338 yards and four touchdowns on 44 attempts for a whopping 7.6 yards per carry average.

“I didn’t think it would be like this,” the soft spoken running back said. “This is unreal for me. It’s unbelievable the things I’ve been able to do out there but all the yards that we’ve had and all the touchdowns we’ve had is all on the front five. They're such an experienced group of guys that are opening holes for us and creating opportunities to get into the end zone. That’s something that’s going to help us moving forward in coming weeks.”

Guerriero, who has blazing speed combined with tremendous vision and an uncanny ability to make tacklers miss, is a threat to go the distance every time he touches the ball. On his first ever kickoff return for the Hawks he took the opening kickoff 70 yards before being run out of bounds at the Lehigh 26. That set up Monmouth’s first score of the game on its opening possession – a six-yard run by 6-foot-0, 235 pound junior running back Devell Jones.

That was the first of three touchdown runs by Jones, who also had scoring runs of eight and four yards while picking up 28 yards on five carries. The hulking Jones is the go-to guy when tough yardage is needed close to goal line.

“I felt good. All week in practice we went over the stuff we ran today,” Jones said when asked about scoring three touchdowns. “The coaches put me in the right position and with the offensive line we got it just makes my job a lot easier. A lot of credit goes to the offensive line; anyone could do what I did with those guys.”

The third member of the Hawks three-prong rushing attack, senior Michael Jolly, rushed for 73 yards on just five carries including a 31-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter that gave the Hawks a 39-27 cushion with 11:23 left in the game.

“We’re very fortunate that it’s a position that has some depth to it,” said Monmouth head coach Kevin Callahan when asked about his stable of running backs. “We have several guys who are talented and have the ability to make plays for us. We use them all in slightly different types of situations but they all have roles and contribute to what we’re doing on offense.”

The Hawks veteran offensive line featuring seniors Matt Stoneberg, Ryan Wetzel, Alex Thompson and Peter Righi and sophomore Russ Clayton overpowered the outmatched Lehigh defensive front seven opening gaping holes all afternoon for Monmouth’s trio of running backs.

“Our offensive line is probably the most experienced position group on our team,” Callahan said while praising the units performance. “It’s a group we knew we could rely on this year and as we got into the second half today that’s exactly what we did.

“When you combine that with our ability to run the ball and the explosive plays we had in both the passing game and the running game it was just an outstanding performance. I’m very happy about the way our team responded and very happy with their mental toughness throughout the entire game.”

Sophomore quarterback Kenji Bahar had his second solid start in a row to open the season completing 15-of-21 passes for 204 yards without a pick. He also rushed for 72 yards on six carried counting his third quarter 61-yard scamper that set up Jones’ eight yard score that evened the game at 27-27 with 7:46 remaining in the third quarter.

Bahar is benefiting from having three quality backs to hand the ball off to. “It just makes the passing game a whole lot easier. Everybody is coming down to play the run and that’s when I get the over the top throws to Reggie. It just makes it a whole lot easier.”

Junior wide receiver Reggie White Jr. caught six balls for 66 yards but it was his 35-yard fully extended diving catch to the Lehigh 16-yard line that had the stadium buzzing. His highlight-reel catch set up Jones’ third touchdown run of the afternoon and put the game on ice for the Hawks extending the lead to 46-27 with 5:02 left in the contest.

Fellow wideout, sophomore Lonnie Moore, got into the act with four receptions for 80 yards including a team-high 50-yard grab that set up Matt White’s 31-yard field goal and pulled the Hawks to within one, 21-20, with under a minute to go in the first half.

Lehigh received the second-half kickoff and on their second play of the half quarterback Brad Mayes shoveled a pass to Luke Christiano for a 54-yard scoring play that gave the Mountain Hawks a 27-20 lead after kicker Ed Mish’s extra point kick sailed wide.

After the two teams traded punts the Hawks answered with a five play, 68-yard drive that knotted the game 27-27 on Jones’ eight-yard score.

From there, the Hawks defense took matters into their own hands. Lehigh’s final four possessions of the game ended with two punts, a forced fumble and an interception with under three minutes remaining in the game that allowed the Hawks to run out the clock.

“We did a couple of different things from a scheme standpoint that we talked about at halftime,” Callahan said when asked about the defenses tremendous effort in the second half. “We were able to get a little more pressure on the quarterback and make him throw the ball a little bit quicker. The guys just kept playing hard and didn’t let up at all.”

Sophomore linebacker Trey Nelson forced a Mayes fumble with a strip sack and sophomore middle linebacker Jake Powell recovered the ball at the 43-yard line after Lehigh had advanced to the Hawks 44 and were looking at a second-and-4 with the game still on the line, 39-27.

Monmouth then went 57 yards in eight plays to put the game out of reach with Jones’ scoring his final touchdown of the day taking it in from four-yards out for a 46-27 led.

Junior defensive back Tymere Berry then ended Lehigh’s last gasp threat with his first interception of the season and his second of his career picking off Mayes in the end zone and giving the ball back to Monmouth with 2:50 left in the game.

Preseason All-American safety Mike Basile and junior linebacker Diego Zubieta each had a game-high 10 tackles, Lowell Kelly-Gamble added a sack and senior Teddy Martinez recorded seven tackles and a TFL. The Hawks defense also shut down the Lehigh running attack holding them to 108 rushing yards on 30 carries.

Monmouth’s win over No. 19 Lehigh was the highest ranked opponent the Hawks have defeated since beating No. 22 Liberty in 2015 for its first win ever over a ranked opponent. It was also the Hawks second straight victory over a Patriot League opponent after defeating Lafayette last week. Lehigh was the 2016 Patriot League champion and are favored to repeat as champions this season.

“I think for the entire team today was a great confidence booster,” Callahan said. “This team understands that we can be pretty good as long as we take care of business one game at a time. And that’s all we focus on and all we’ve focused on since January. Today that’s exactly what you saw this team do. We weren’t deterred when Lehigh came out in the second half and got a touchdown on its first drive. We answered back on offense and scored ourselves and then put the hammer down from there.”

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