Despite the rain and clouds, families, friends, and students packed the stands of Kessler Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 7 to watch the Hawks face No. 19 ranked Lafayette.
It was down to the very last seconds that Monmouth fought to capture the win, but two touchdowns from Lafayette in the final 17 seconds secured their victory.
Four minutes after the nation’s leading returning rusher Jamar Curtis put Lafayette on the board, Monmouth quarterback Derek Robertson found wide receiver Josh Derry on a 26-yard pass to tie the game 7-7 at the end of the first quarter. Lafayette took back their lead to start the second quarter and make it 14-7. The Hawks made sure to return the favor and with 6:34 left in the half converted a fourth-and-goal from the five-yard line from Robertson to wide receiver Maxwell James to make the game 14-14.
The back and forth continued into the second half as the Leopards covered 75 yards over the course of eight minutes which ended with Curtis’ second touchdown of the day. Lafayette was back in the lead, 21-14.
Ten seconds into the fourth quarter, Robertson found wide receiver Tra Neal for one of his five total grabs of the day to tie the game once again 21-21. Monmouth secured their lead when wide receiver T.J. Speight found his way down the sideline for 89 yards, outrunning Lafayette defenders to lift Monmouth ahead 28-21.
Monmouth took the lead once more when running back Sone Ntoh took the ball 17 yards to make the score 35-28. Lafayette then came within one after taking the ball 89 yards on four plays. The Leopards decided to go for two and take the lead, but defensive back Deuce Lee came between Dean Denobile’s pass at the goal line to swat the ball away and keep the Leopards from taking the lead.
With 53 seconds left on the clock, Lafayette needed an onside kick and were able to recover. Elijah Stweard for Lafayette secured their final touchdown with 36 seconds left. Monmouth had one last chance to take the lead when the ball was intercepted with 13 seconds left to play and the Leopards took home the victory.
Robertson finished with 355 yards passing, and four touchdowns while sophomore defensive back Emmanuel Lane held things down on the defensive end with a career high seven tackles.
The Hawks look to get their first win as they begin CAA play on Saturday Sept. 14 at Maine.
