Sports
Monmouth's Defense Comes Up Big As Hawks Hold Off Presbyterian
Fitting ending, as defense records back-to-back sacks to close out stellar effort.

Photo above: Junior wide receiver Darren Ambush celebrates after scoring on a13-yard double reverse in the third quarter to put the Hawks ahead for good.
WEST LONG BRANCH – Monmouth University held a 21-10 lead over Presbyterian and was in complete control of the game with less than eight minutes remaining in Saturday’s 21-16 win, before a fumble on a punt return by the Hawks gave the Blue Hose a heartbeat and a first down at the Monmouth 28-yard line.
After converting a fourth-and-1 from the 19-yard line that appeared to be short, Presbyterian redshirt freshman quarterback Ben Cheek connected with freshman wide receiver DaShawn Davis for an 18-yard score on third-and-10 to pull the Blue Hose to within 21-16 with 5:20 remaining.
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The score remained that way after Cheek’s pass fell incomplete on the two-point conversion attempt with Presbyterian now needing a touchdown for the win.
Kamau Dumas returned the ensuing kickoff 14 yards with Monmouth taking over at their own 17-yard line. Six plays and 20 yards ran 3:20 off the clock before Monmouth was forced to punt after an incompletion on third-and-4 from the 37.
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A 48-yard Matt White punt and 21 yard return by Davis gave Presbyterian a first down at their own 36 with 1:54 showing on the clock.
After a four-yard gain on the ground, senior Malcom Powers and junior Teddy Martinez flushed Cheek out of the pocket on a blitz with Martinez getting a hand up to bat the ball away as Cheek attempted to throw. Then on third down, senior defensive tackle Andrew Jurczynski chased down Cheek for his second sack of the day before Tre Nelson and Eli Brown sacked Cheek to essentially put an end to the game with 1:07 remaining.
It was a fitting ending for a defense that allowed only five first downs and 63 yards in the second half and 10 first downs and 185-total yards for the game along with five sacks for 36 yards. Monmouth (4-6, 2-3) outgained the Blue Hose 352-185.
“The defense made their mind up when we had to go back out there that we were going to win the game right there.” Monmouth head coach Kevin Callahan said. “We knew it was a situation where Presbyterian was going to have to throw the ball, so that allowed us to really turn the guys up front loose, and the backend did a good job in coverage. Anytime you can win a game with your defense, I think it says a lot about the character of those guys.”
“I got the sack, but we’d been playing good defense all day,” Jurczynski said. “It was a straight rush and coach just let us go and I was able to get him down. Just to finish it off strong like that was an amazing way to get the win.”
Presbyterian took a 10-7 lead right before the half putting together their only real drive of the day going 65 yards in 10 plays with Cheek just breaking the plane on a fourth-and-goal keeper from the one with 19 seconds remaining before halftime.
Monmouth had just taken a 7-3 lead after a time consuming 13 play, 86-yard drive ended with Monmouth quarterback Cody Williams finding freshman Ugo Ezemma for a five-yard scoring strike. A 32-yard run by Zach Welch and a Williams 26-yard completion to Reggie White Jr. set up the score.
Freshman Tymere Berry’s diving interception off a tipped pass by junior linebacker Payton Minnich on Presbyterian’s first possession of the second half set the Hawks up with excellent field position at the Blue Hose 40-yard line. Eight plays later Darren Ambush scored untouched on a double reverse after taking a handoff from Welsh and scooting around left end for the touchdown and a 14-10 lead.
“We only got the ball for one drive in the second quarter,” Williams said. “So we knew coming out for the third quarter we needed to get it together, run our offense and make sure we’re getting plays in a positive direction.”
Presbyterian punted on their next possession after a Diego Zubieta sack for a one-yard loss left the Blue Hose with a fourth-and-11 from the Hawks 42-yard line.
Following a touchback on the punt, the Hawks wasted no time marching 80 yards in 11 plays to take a 21-10 lead with 1:04 left in the third. Reggie Williams made a juggling one-foot in catch for a touchdown that was originally ruled out of bounds but overturned after replay officials reviewed the play.
Williams had a solid day in spite of some blustery northwest winds that swirled about, finishing 15-of-25 for 144 yards with two passing touchdowns and one interception.
Welch rushed for a game-high 82 yards on 10 carries before leaving with an injury late in the third quarter while White Jr. led the team with four receptions for 44 yards and a touchdown.
Sophomore safety Mike Basile again finished with double-digit tackles finishing with 12 total tackles including six unassisted and one tackle for a loss. Zubieta finished with 1.5 sacks while linebackers Anthony McDonnaugh and Payton Minnich recorded seven and six tackles respectively. Powers and Martinez each broke up two passes with Powers getting credit for two quarterback hits while Martinez also recovered a fumble that senior corner back Joe Johnson forced.
“They’re (Powers and Martinez) real good out there,” Basile said. “Malcolm is always out there making plays, he doesn’t get credit enough, but he’s a senior now and he’s always out there making plays in the nickel either getting a sack, a tackle for a loss or making a play on the ball and Martinez has also been great for us.”
Monmouth ends its season on the road next week at Gardner-Webb in Boiling Springs, North Carolina with an opportunity to finish the season at .500 (3-3) in Big South play and a chance to pick up their first-ever conference road win in this, their second year as a member of the rugged Big South Conference.
“It would be a big step for the program,” Callahan said. “In our second year in the Big South to get to .500 record shows not only improvement from last year but that we’re closing the gap on some of the other teams. When we left the Northeast Conference and came into the Big South we knew we were going to have some work to do in terms of increasing to the level of scholarships everyone else had, and we’re slowly closing that gap. It will take another cycle or two before we do, but we’re showing we can play with anybody in this league and we can beat some of these teams in this league. So I’m happy with the progress we’re making in that regard, but we got to make sure we close it out with a win next week.”