Football improved to 2-0 in conference play as they defeated the Presbyterian Blue Hose 24-14 on Saturday afternoon as Head Coach Kevin Callahan earned his 150th career victory.
“Really happy to come down here and get the win, this is our first win at Presbyterian, a place that has been historically difficult for us to win at,” Callahan said. “I have to give our kids a lot of credit for battling and coming up with some key plays, especially late. There were some times early on where we struggled to find a rhythm offensively but fortunately our defense was playing very well and kept us in the game right until the very end.”
On Monmouth’s opening drive, the Hawks went 28 yards on eight plays to get it to the Presbyterian 32.
Junior kicker Matt Mosquera nailed the 49-yard field goal to make it 3-0 early in the first. The field goal was a career-long for Mosquera, who was named Big South Special Teams Player of the Week on Monday.
The defense for both sides forced both teams to go scoreless for the rest of the first half with the halftime score being 3-0 in favor of the Hawks.
In the second half, Presbyterian took the lead on the first touchdown of the game, a 41-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown to make it 7-3 Blue Hose early in the third quarter.
On the ensuing drive, the Hawks threatened. Junior quarterback Kenji Bahar threw a strike to sophomore wide receiver Lonnie Moore that went 62 yards to the Blue Hose red zone. The drive stalled though after a pass breakup on fourth down.
After three straight punts, the Hawks retook the lead on a Bahar to senior wide receiver Reggie White Jr. 40-yard touchdown pass, making it 10-7 late in the third.
After three more punts, the Hawks scored in similar fashion; this time it being a 37-yard Bahar to White Jr. touchdown catch, making it 17-7 with nine minutes left in the fourth.
Midway through the final quarter, Presbyterian shortened Monmouth’s lead to just three with an 11-yard touchdown pass.
The Hawks made some big defensive stops thereafter. Senior wide receiver Vinny Grasso put on the finishing touch with a 27-yard touchdown run with only seconds left, making it the final score of Hawks 24, Blue Hose 14.
“We’ve gotten a couple of guys back, guys that missed early in the season,” Callahan said. “They are playing with more confidence and they know that on third down they are able to get off the field. We are using a lot of different players and personnel groups and I think that is paying off for us.”
For the Hawks, Bahar threw for 268 yards and two touchdown passes. Freshman running back Juwon Farri ran for 84 yards on only 16 attempts.
White Jr. and Moore both eclipsed the century mark, receiving for 117 and 107 yards, respectively.
Junior defensive back Tymere Berry lead the team with eight total tackles and an interception. Sophomore linebacker Erik Massey had five solo tackles and a sack in the contest.
Monmouth (6-2, 2-0 Big South) will next welcome Charleston Southern to West Long Branch on Saturday, Nov. 3. Kickoff is at 1:00 p.m. and the game will be streamed online via ESPN3.
PHOTO COURTESY of Willis Glasgow
