Monmouth Football closed out their non-conference slate with a win over the Dartmouth Big Green on Saturday, Sept. 26.
In the waning seconds of the game, Dartmouth missed a potential game-tying field goal to secure a Monmouth victory.
Just like the week prior, Monmouth’s offense came out hot to start the game. Running the no-huddle offense the entire drive, the Hawks drove straight down the field and scored a game-opening touchdown within four minutes. Redshirt sophomore Elijah Jennings punched it in from one yard out after converting a fourth down earlier in the drive. Quarterback Frankie Weaver also completed all seven of his passes for 66 yards on the drive.
Dartmouth responded quickly to Monmouth’s score, as they went on a touchdown drive of their own, with quarterback Grayson Saunier throwing a 20-yard touchdown pass to Jake Elliott.
This tied the game at seven points.
After both offenses started off hot, the two teams exchanged punts on their next drives. Monmouth’s third drive of the game was a successful one, as Weaver once again drove the Hawks down the field and found junior wide receiver Christian Harrison for a 17-yard touchdown. That score was Harrison’s first as a Hawk, and it extended Monmouth’s lead to 14-7.
Dartmouth couldn’t respond like they did immediately after the Hawks first touchdown, as the Monmouth defense forced a three and out. The offense took advantage of the defense stepping up, as Weaver connected with wide receiver Tra Neal on a 23-yard catch to set up Monmouth in Dartmouth territory. Three plays later, Weaver found Neal on another 23-yard catch, and this one was for a touchdown. Halfway through the second quarter, Monmouth led 21-7.
This time, the Big Green responded almost immediately. It only took Dartmouth three plays to find the end zone, as they had plays of 29, 18, and 28 yards to score a touchdown and cut the lead to 21-14.
The Hawks offense once again went on an efficient drive, but it stalled just outside the Dartmouth red zone and a missed field goal kept the Monmouth lead at 21-14.
The Big Green took advantage of the missed field goal, and they drove down the field as the first half came to a close. After offsetting penalties wiped a Dartmouth touchdown off the board, they got a second chance and scored with nine seconds left, tying the game at 21 heading into halftime.
Dartmouth got the ball to start the second half, and they went on a methodical 15 play drive that ate up half of the time in the third quarter. They capped it off with a 3-yard touchdown run by Saunter, and for the first time in the game, Dartmouth had the lead thanks to 21 unanswered points.
That Dartmouth touchdown was the only new score in the third quarter. Monmouth had a chance to tie, but a fumble after a 35-yard catch put Monmouth with goal to go and ended that opportunity, and the Big Green punted on the ensuing drive.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Monmouth was working the ball down the field, and this time it ended positively as redshirt freshman Kenny Smith Jr. punched it in from four yards out to tie the game at 28.
The Big Green once again got into Monmouth territory to try and take the lead back, but on third down, redshirt sophomore Hunter Watson dropped Saunier for a sack, and he lost the football and it was recovered by senior JJ Lewis. This huge defensive play gave Monmouth the ball back in Dartmouth territory.
The Hawks got into the Big Green redzone, but stalled out and were faced with a 4th & 10 from Dartmouth’s 20-yard line. Due to poor weather conditions, the Hawks elected to go for it and Weaver found Neal, but he was a yard short of the line to gain, turning the ball over on downs and giving Dartmouth the ball back with eight minutes left to play.
Dartmouth got nothing going on their drive and were forced to punt, giving the Hawks five minutes to work with. The offense drove down the field and after a nine-yard rush from Smith Jr. put the Hawks in the redzone, Monmouth began to work the clock. They got the game time down to a little over a minute, and sent kicker Sky Sholder out to attempt a go-ahead 25 yard field goal. Sholder knocked it through, giving Monmouth the lead back for the first time since the second quarter. With a minute remaining, the score was 31-28.
With no timeouts, the Big Green ran the no huddle and got to Monmouth’s 42-yard line before the drive stalled. With seven seconds left and facing fourth down, Dartmouth elected to attempt a game-tying 59 yard field goal to send the game to overtime. The kick was on target, but it fell just short and Monmouth hung on to win the game 31-28.
Weaver had his best game of the season thus far, passing for 313 yards and throwing for two touchdowns. Smith Jr. had 23 carries, a season high, for 93 yards, also a season high. Harrison led the team in receiving, catching nine passes for 79 yards and his first Monmouth touchdown.
With the win, Monmouth closes out non-conference play with a 3-2 record overall. While not ranked in the top 25 like they were in the preseason, they are receiving votes in both the Stats Perform FCS Poll and the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll. The Hawks will return home for the first time in nearly a month Saturday for their homecoming game against the Towson Tigers, who have started the season 0-4.
Dartmouth fell to 0-2 with the loss, although both of their losses have come by one score to strong teams. In their season opener, the Big Green lost 24-20 to Lehigh, who is ranked No. 6 in the country. Dartmouth will open up conference play on Saturday against UPenn.
