Monmouth University, Bahar Overcome Slow Starts To Get By Lafayette 31-12

Photo above: Freshman running back sensation Pete Guerriero scoring first TD in new Kessler Stadium

WEST LONG BRANCH – It definitely wasn’t the kind of start to the season Monmouth University envisioned Saturday.

Following a pregame ribbon cutting ceremony that officially opened the new 4,200 seat Kessler Stadium and coinsided with a celebraton of 25 years of Monmouth football, the Hawks stumbled out of the gate.

However, after a scoreless first quarter that saw Monmouth gain one net-yard of total offense without the benefit of a first down, the Hawks eventually figured out new Lafayette head coach John Garett’s – brother of Dallas Cowboy head coach Jason Garrett – game plan and went on to christen their new stadium with an impressive 31-12 thrashing of Lafayette.

“We were playing an opponent we knew nothing about with a whole new coaching staff,” Monmouth head coach Kevin Callahan said of his teams sluggish start. “They had new systems on both sides of the ball and a significant portion of our preparation was speculation thinking what they might do or how they would attack us. So we knew there was going to be an adjustment period and we told our players to just be patient. I think when we got in at halftime we had a pretty good handle on what we needed to do both from a defensive and offensive standpoint.”

Sophomore quarterback Kenji Bahar rebounded nicely from a case of opening-game jitters to pass for 243 yards and a touchdown completing 22-of-30 passes after going 1-for-3 with three yards passing and an interception in the first quarter.

“We got the run going and that helped a lot, once you get the run going you can put it in the air,” Bahar said of his team’s first half offensive struggles. “In the first half everybody started slow and we were a little rusty. In the second half I just knew I had to come out and bring my team up. I got in a rhythm with short easy throws then took it deep and we had Pete (Guerriero) on the ground.”

Bahar and the rest of Monmouth’s offense eventually got untracked late in the second quarter.

With the game still scoreless, Bahar led the Hawks on a 10 play, 64 yard drive that freshman running back Pete Guerriero finished off with a nifty 16-yard run up the guts of the Lafayette defense for the first score of the game. Matt White kicked the extra point for a 7-0 lead with 34 seconds left in the first half.

“We were waiting for that moment on offense that would get the flow going,” Guerriero said of his TD run. “Especially scoring that first touchdown in the new stadium after 25 years. It definitely took a lot of weight off our shoulders and we were able to keep it rolling from there.”

Guerriero – the MAAC champion in the 100 and 200 meters last spring – sort of just fell into Monmouth head coach Kevin Callahan’s lap this fall when he decided he wanted to play football again. The 5-foot-10, 190 pound speedster was an All-Bergen County selection in football and track at Lyndhurst High School and rushed for 3,813 yards on 349 carries (10.9 avg.) and 36 touchdowns in his career. However, he decided he wanted to concentrate on track at Monmouth but luckily for the Hawks he changed his mind and it appears the Hawks have found a diamond in the rough.

“Coming out of high school and not playing football I rediscovered my love for the game watching these guys last year.” Guerriero said in reference to his return to the game. “I really wanted to get back out there and I was really itching to play.”

“Pete came to me back in May and said while he enjoyed track he really had a love and passion for football.” Callahan said of the circumstances surrounding Guerriero’s return to football. “He wanted to get back on the football field and asked if we would give him the opportunity to play.”

Guerriero has the speed to outrun defenders and the power to run between tackles. He showed his power on his 16-yard run up the middle and his breakaway speed on a 47-yard scamper down the left sidelines that gave the Hawks a 31-6 lead with 2:45 left in the game. With a least two defenders closing in on him on the play, Guerriero put on the after burners and left them in the dust. In his Monmouth University debut he finished with 139 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries.

Conversely, Monmouth’s defense was outstanding in the first half holding the Leopards scoreless and limiting them to just 71 total yards including just nine yards on the ground on 16 rushing attempts. Senior cornerback Kamau Dumas also blocked a 30-yard field goal attempt on the first play of the second quarter after the Hawks held Lafayette on 3-and-9 from the 17-yard line.

Senior linebacker Agbai Iroha led the defensive charge in the first half with five tackles, a sack and three TFL before leaving the game with what appeared to be a shoulder injury late in the half and did not return.

“I’ll probably get an update on his injury later this evening,” Callahan said of Iroha. “He was having a terrific game. He was off to a fast start making some impact tackles so hopefully he’s okay moving forward.”

Senior safety Mike Basile added 4.5 tackles, an interception and 1.5 TFL in the half, while sophomore defensive end Kahari Scarlett made his presence felt with two tackles, a sack and a TFL.

In the second half the offense got untracked scoring on four of its five possessions.

Monmouth received the second half kickoff and went 75 yards in 10 plays to take a 14-0 lead after White’s extra point. Junior Devell Jones capped the drive with a six-yard burst up the middle with the veteran offensive line opening a huge hole for Jones. Guerriero rushed for 22 yards and Bahar had completions of 18 and 17 to junior wide receiver Reggie White Jr. on the drive.

Lafayette closed the gap going 73 yards on nine plays to make it 14-6 on a Sean O’Malley to Matt Mrazek 17-yard touchdown strike on third-and-7 from the 17. Jacob Bissell’s extra-point kick failed and the Hawks lead was down to eight.

However, Monmouth answered with a nine play, 73-yard drive to extend the lead to 21-6.

Lonnie Moore returned the ensuing kickoff 28 yards to the Monmouth 33 before Bahar got things rolling again. He hit White Jr. for a 14-yard gain to the 42 before two completions of 10 and 30 yards to junior tight end Jake Powell - the latter coming off the tail end of a flea-flicker - set up a first-and-goal at the nine-yard line.

After Jones was stopped for no gain on first down, Bahar found White Jr. inside the five-yard line and the 6-foot-3, 210 pound wideout dove into the end zone to put the Hawks up by 15 points.

Following the kickoff the Leopards took over at their own 31. On third-and-1 from the 40 freshman linebacker DeJaun Cooper and sophomore linebacker Diego Zubieta combined to sack O’Malley for a seven-yard loss forcing a punt.

Dumas retuned the punt 20 yards to the Monmouth 40 but the Hawks went nowhere and brought on White to punt on fourth fourth-and-10 from the 40.

White shanked the punt giving Lafayette good field positon at their own 43. But after giving up a first down the Monmouth defense tightened and with Lafayette facing a fourth-and-10 at the Monmouth 43 the Leopards elected to punt.

On second-and-10 from their own 29 on the Hawks ensuing possession Bahar found White Jr. – who finished with eight receptions for 120 yards and a TD - in the left flats around the 28-yard line and he weaved his way through a host of tacklers before being run out of bounds 50 yards later at the Lafayette 21-yard line.

A delay of game penalty turned a third-and-goal from the three into a third-and –goal from the eight. After a six-yard completion to Jones brought up a fourth-and-2, the Hawks elected to go for a field goal and White nailed the 19 yarder for a 24-6 lead with 5:43 left in the game.

Guerriero’s 47-yard scoring jaunt iced the game before Lafayette added a meaningless touchdown for the 31-12 final.

Monmouth outgained Lafayette 418 yards to 216 with 115 of Lafayette’s total yardage coming in garbage time in the fourth quarter. The Hawks defense held the Leopards to minus one-yard rushing on 24 attempts proving that this unit has the potential to be something special.

The defensive line including Scarlett, junior Gerron Pendarvis (3 tackles, .5 sack), seniors Devon Thomas and Manny Maragoto and sophomore Adam Kakar did an excellent job sealing off the run and at times looked impenetrable and along with linebackers Zubieta, Evan Powell, Cooper, Tre Nelson and Iroha the front seven really got after the quarterback O’Malley all day long.

A key ingredient to the front sevens dominance is having a secondary as superior as the one the Hawks boast that allows them to play with abandon knowing their backs are covered on run support.

“I thought we did a really good job on defense and that starts with the front seven,” Callahan said. “The D line and the linebackers, but you also have to look at the way the guys in the secondary were able to support the run particularly the wide run game. We really came up big and that incorporates all 11 guys on defense.

“As the game wore on they (Lafayette) got themselves into a situation where they had to throw the ball a little bit more. So we could really turn it loose and that resulted in some big plays; tackles for losses as well.”

Basile finished with a game-high nine tackles including eight solo stops while Teddy Martinez added seven tackles and interception and two pass breakups and Zubieta ended up with five tackles and a half a sack.

On-and-off the field it was a great day for Monmouth University football and Monmouth University as a whole. The future is now for the Hawks football program.

“It felt great, we’ve been waiting for this for a while, we saw this being built from the bottom up,” Basile said when asked what it felt like to play in the new stadium. “We were excited to play; we had a lot of people out there supporting us. It was an exciting moment for us especially representing 25 years of Monmouth football – it was just a great time being out there.”

After 25 years as the only head coach Monmouth football has ever known, it’s been an exciting couple of days for Callahan.

“I don’t know if I was emotional, I was just very happy and very proud.” Callahan said when asked how he felt after the win. “I think it started last night when probably more than 100 players and their families were back here to not only take part in the opening of the new stadium but celebrate 25 years of Monmouth football. It was their investment of time and effort that made this day possible. You really saw them come together as one big family and I was very happy to see that.”