The run game has always been a strength for Monmouth football, and it was on display on Saturday when the Hawks rushed for 319 yards and had two 100 yard rushers in a commanding victory over the Bryant Bulldogs on Saturday.
The win was the Hawks’ sixth in a row after they lost two of their first three games.
Bryant won the coin toss and deferred to Monmouth, which gave the Hawk offense an opportunity to start off hot. On a drive that was headlined by a 29-yard Frankie Weaver pass to Tra Neal, Monmouth opened the scoring from the wildcat formation as running back Elijah Jennings took the snap, found a hole, and punched it in from 18 yards out to give the Hawks a quick 7-0 lead early in the game.
Monmouth’s defense also got off to a quick start, as they only allowed one first down on Bryant’s opening drive before forcing the Bulldogs to punt.
Monmouth’s second drive was one of their longest of the season. It lasted 18 plays, and Monmouth got deep into the Bryant redzone. However, after getting stuffed on a first down run, back-to-back Weaver incompletions forced Monmouth to settle for a field goal, something they rarely do. Despite this, Monmouth opened up its lead to two scores.
A three and out gave Monmouth the ball back almost immediately, and they put the run game to work as Jennings ran for 60 yards on this drive alone. The highlight was a 37-yard touchdown run on third down that gave Monmouth a 17-0 lead.
The offense quickly went back to work after another three-and-out, and this time when faced with fourth down, the Hawks decided to go for it despite being in their own territory. The gamble ended up working better than anyone would have expected, as running back Kenny Smith Jr. found a hole and broke free for a 55-yard touchdown run on 4th & 1. This opened the Monmouth lead up to 24-0.
After struggling all game, Bryant’s offense finally got going on their last drive of the first half. They were able to get just their second first down of the game after three plays, and they slowly moved the ball down the field and eventually scored a touchdown on a 1-yard run with less than a minute left in the first half to cut the Hawk lead to 24-7 heading into halftime.
Bryant got the football to open up the second half, and on the first play from scrimmage, cornerback Omar Ibrahim picked off the Bulldog quarterback to set up the Hawks in excellent field position. The interception was the first of Ibrahim’s career as a Hawk.
Although Monmouth was set up in the Bryant red zone, they didn’t get anything going and were forced to again settle for a field goal, extending the lead to 20 points.
The Bulldogs got into Monmouth territory on their next drive looking to get back into the game. They were put into a fourth down situation and down 20 points, they were forced to go for it. On the play, Ryan Russo got to the Bryant quarterback after he attempted to scramble and sacked him to turn the ball over on downs and give it back to Monmouth.
The Hawks put the game away after Smith Jr. scored his second touchdown of the game on an eight-yard run. It extended the lead to a game-high 27 points for the Hawks.
Bryant scored two touchdowns late in the game to make the final score a much more respectable 34-21.
Weaver only passed for 81 yards as a result of only completing 10 passes. The leading receiver was Neal, who only had 36 yards receiving.
The reason Monmouth won this game was because of their ground game. Jennings rushed for 175 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries, and Smith Jr. rushed for 157 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries. Jennings was named CAA Offensive Player of the Week for his performance.
Both Jennings and Smith Jr. are having incredible seasons for the Hawks. Smith Jr. ranks first in the CAA in rushing yards and Jennings ranks third.
Defensively, Russo had two sacks and was second on the team in tackles behind Charlie Sasso, who had eight. Jaedan Jones and Donovan Fey had six tackles each.
Monmouth is now 7-2 overall and remains undefeated in CAA play. They are now the only remaining team that is undefeated in conference play in the CAA. Campbell, the other team that was undefeated in the conference heading into this weekend, was upset by UAlbany. The Hawks beat UAlbany 28-20 earlier in the season.
The Hawks will return to play on Saturday against North Carolina A&T at Kessler Stadium as they look to continue their playoff push. It will be the second of three straight home games for Monmouth.
As for Bryant, they fell to 5-4 with the loss and have lost two games in a row. They will get a crack at UAlbany at home on Saturday.
