The Hawks went on the road and picked up a win in a high scoring affair against Bryant, 4035. Monmouth improves to 33 on the season, and 21 in NEC play.
Monmouth is now tied for third in the NEC. Albany and Duquesne are currently ahead of the Hawks. Both of these teams have to come into West
Long Branch later in the season for games that could decide the winner of the conference. The Blue and White opened up a large lead in the second half, 3313 with three minutes remaining in the third quarter. The lead almost slipped away, but the Hawks made the plays they needed when the chips were down.
MU Head Coach Kevin Callahan said, “Early on we generated some positive momentum with the three turnovers and the safety.” He continued, “Unfortunately, late in the third quarter it began to slip away from us but the players responded. I was really happy with the way the players stayed with it, fought and played hard.”
For the Hawks on offense, Julian Hayes and Neal Sterling had huge games. Hayes carried the ball a whopping 32 times for 89 yards and three touchdowns. Sterling tallied 11 catches for 102 yards and a fourth quarter touchdown to put the Hawks up 12 with only seven minutes remaining in the game.
Kyle Frazier also had a good day running the ball. Having only three carries, Frazier was able to gain 67 yards and a touchdown. Most of the yards came on a 50yard run by the quarterback.
Frazier had to leave the game with a knee injury. Craig Peterson came in and didn’t miss a beat. Peterson completed 7 of 11 pass attempts for 70 yards and the game winning touchdown to Sterling.
Balial Sloan El saw an increased workload for the Hawks in this game. Sloan El was given the ball eight times and gained 29 yards on the ground.
The Hawks defense played a good game, despite giving up 35 points. They were able to force three interceptions and picked up a safety.
Jose Gumbs, Reggie Hildebrandt, and Colin Cooper each had interceptions. Andrew Sutton was able to make a tackle in the end zone early in the second half for a Monmouth safety.
The two points from the safety ended up being crucial. Without the two points, Bryant would have been able to tie the game at the end with a field goal and send the game into overtime.
Punters can often be overlooked, but Ryan Mohr played good for the Hawks in this one. Moore had five punts, and he was able to pin the opposition inside the 20yard line on three of them. He was able to do a great job at giving the Hawks an advantage in field position.
Bryant has one of the best running backs in the country, Jordan Brown. He did more than solidify that label in this contest. Brown put the team on his back in this one, carrying the ball 26 times. He picked up 160 yards and three touchdowns.
Brown was also effective on kick returns. He had three kickoff returns for 104 yards; including a 46yard return that game Bryant great field position.
Next, the Hawks have another road, NEC test. They travel to Sacred Heart for a battle with the Pioneers. Kickoff is set for Saturday at 1:00 pm.
