Freshman quarterback Frankie Weaver threw for 428 yards and six touchdowns as Monmouth dominated North Carolina A&T to claim their ninth win of the season.
The win comes a week removed from Monmouth’s first loss in CAA play to the New Hampshire Wildcats. It also marked the Hawks’ fourth straight road win.
Monmouth received the ball to start the game, and relied heavily on the run game to drive down the field. Sophomore running back Rodney Nelson rushed for 29 yards on seven carries, including a six-yard touchdown run to give the Hawks a 7-0 lead a little under five minutes into the game.
North Carolina A&T went three and out on their first drive, and Monmouth got the ball back in excellent field position. After a 29-yard run from Nelson on the first play of the drive, Weaver found junior wide receiver Josh Derry for an 11-yard touchdown pass on the second play. With still nine minutes remaining in the first quarter, Monmouth already had a 14-0 lead.
The Aggies got the offense going on their second drive, as they drove into the Monmouth red zone before stalling out and settling for a field goal. The Hawks lead was cut to 14-3.
Monmouth’s offense struck on their third drive. On the third play, the Hawks ran a drop pass play to senior wide receiver TJ Speight, who bursted through the Aggie defense and found a hole for a 62-yard catch and run touchdown. Monmouth re-extended its lead to 21-3 with that touchdown.
After forcing a second Aggie punt, the Hawks got the ball back looking to make it four for four on touchdown drives. A three and out from the offense ended that opportunity, as the Aggie defense got their first stop of the game. The Aggie offense backed it up by getting more points on the board, as senior kicker Andrew Brown booted his second field goal of the game to make the score 21-6.
After the three and out on drive number four, the Hawks offense got back on track. Weaver found graduate tight end Jack Neri wide open for a 26-yard touchdown as Monmouth took a 28-6 lead. The Aggies quickly responded with their first touchdown of the game, as sophomore quarterback Kevin White took it in on his own from three yards out.
Monmouth’s offense continued to roll after they got the ball back, as two big catches by junior wide receiver Gavin Nelson and sophomore wide receiver Tra Neal culminated in Rodney Nelson rushing for his second touchdown of the game.
That score put Monmouth up 35-13, and added one more touchdown before the end of the first half as Weaver found senior wide receiver Maxwell James open down the sideline after he beat his man. James scored a 71-yard touchdown, and Monmouth went into the locker room up 42-13.
North Carolina A&T punted on their first possession of the second half, and when Monmouth got the ball back, their offensive momentum continued. Another drop pass to Speight around midfield led to another long touchdown for the Hawks. The score was Speight’s second of the game, and it put Monmouth up 49-13.
The Hawks added two more scores in the third quarter. Derry caught his second touchdown of the game, and Nelson rushed for his third touchdown of the game. At the end of the third quarter, the score was 63-16.
The Aggies added one more field goal in the fourth quarter, but Monmouth ran the clock out and finished off a dominant 63-19 win.
Weaver’s six touchdown throws tied a program record for the Hawks. He was also named CAA Offensive Player of the Week, and Stats Perform FCS National Freshman of the Week. Nelson had an excellent game on the ground, rushing for 163 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries after failing to eclipse the 100-yard mark against New Hampshire. Speight led the team in receiving with 162 yards and two touchdowns on five catches. James also had a 100-yard game for the first time in his career, as he had 102 yards on three catches along with a touchdown.
As for Monmouth’s offense as a whole, they scored nine touchdowns on ten drives in the first three quarters. The 63 points was the most in a game for Monmouth since last season against Fordham. Through 11 games, Monmouth is averaging 41.5 points per game, by far the most in the CAA. Rhode Island, who has the second highest points per game in the CAA, is only averaging 31.5 points per game.
With one game remaining in the season, Monmouth sits at 9-2 overall and 6-1 in the CAA. If they win next week and Rhode Island loses, Monmouth will be declared a co-champion of the CAA and will go into a three-way tiebreaker to determine the automatic bid for the CAA in the FCS Playoffs with the aforementioned Rams and Villanova. If Rhode Island wins next week, they will claim sole possession of the CAA Championship and clinch the automatic bid for the CAA in the FCS Playoffs. Rhode Island hosts Hampton, who is 2-9 overall and winless in CAA play.
As for Monmouth, they travel back home to Kessler Stadium on Saturday Nov. 22 to host UAlbany on senior day. The Great Danes are 1-10 overall, and are also winless in CAA play. If Monmouth is able to win that game, they will be in a good position to get an at-large bid into the FCS Playoffs, even if they don’t get the automatic bid from the CAA. Monmouth is currently ranked No. 11 in the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll and No. 12 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25.
