The Monmouth Hawks (4-6) lost their third consecutive game as the New
Hampshire Wildcats (6-4) defeated them 33-20 in Wildcat Stadium on Saturday.
New Hampshire took a quick lead in the first quarter and never looked back, as
they would not trail for the entirety of the game. Monmouth’s once FCS-leading
offense struggled to get going once again, as the Hawks were held under 30 points for the third consecutive game.
After Monmouth’s first drive of the game got them into New Hampshire territory, the offense elected to stay on the field for a 4th & 7, which was stopped by the Wildcats. Building off momentum from the stop, New Hampshire went on a
10-play, 57-yard drive that resulted in a touchdown pass from quarterback Seth Morgan to tight end Colby Ramshaw.
Monmouth would go three and out on its next drive, and New Hampshire would
respond by getting into Monmouth territory once again. However, on 4th & 1,
the Hawks defense stuffed the Wildcats, forcing a turn over on downs. Monmouth
would then take the ball 69 yards downfield, capped off by a 36-yard touchdown
pass from quarterback Derek Robertson to wide receiver TJ Speight.
New Hampshire would go three and out on their next drive, but the punt would be
muffed by Monmouth and New Hampshire would recover inside the Monmouth
five yard line. The Wildcats would waste no time taking advantage of the mistake, as two plays later, Morgan would throw his second touchdown pass to wide receiver Logan Tomlinson.
After another three and out from Monmouth, New Hampshire would have a muffed punt of their own, giving the Hawks excellent field position, which they would quickly capitalize on. Running back Sone Ntoh would rush for his 21st
touchdown of the season and even the game at 14 apiece.
New Hampshire would quickly take the lead back after settling for a field goal on a five minute drive. On Monmouth’s ensuing drive, running back Rodney Nelson would fumble on the first play, leading to the game’s third turnover. After the teams exchanged punts, New Hampshire would end the half with a field goal to go
into the locker room up 20-14.
New Hampshire would open the second half with a long drive that would take up half of the time in the third quarter. The 13 play drive would result in another Wildcat field goal, which would put them up by two scores. After the two teams once again exchanged punts, a second Monmouth fumble would set New Hampshire up in excellent field position. The Wildcats would only take five plays to punch it in and go up 30-14.
Monmouth would kick off the fourth quarter on a high note, taking a little under three minutes to drive 70 yards and score a touchdown, courtesy of a Robertson throw to wide receiver Tra Neal. The Hawks would go for two points to attempt to make it a one-score game, but Robertson’s pass would be incomplete and New Hampshire would hold a 30-20 lead.
For the second time in the half, New Hampshire’s next drive would critically take half of the time off the clock in the quarter, and the drive would end in a fourth New Hampshire field goal. Needing a quick touchdown, Monmouth was able to drive into New Hampshire’s red zone in efficient time, but the drive would stall and the Hawks would turn the ball over on downs, ending the game and giving the Wildcats a 33-20 victory.
Robertson threw for 198 yards passing and two touchdowns, surpassing 3,000
total passing yards on the season. Ntoh led the team in rushing with 54 yards and a touchdown on only five carries. Speight led the team in receiving with 60 yards and a touchdown on three receptions.
Monmouth (4-6) returns home to Kessler Stadium this Saturday to face No. 9
Villanova (8-2), while New Hampshire (6-4) welcomes No. 16 Stony Brook (8-2) to
Wildcat Stadium looking to extend their winning streak to three.
