BRONX, N.Y.- A 20 point first quarter propelled the Monmouth University football team to a 30-6 opening day win in the driving rain over Fordham at Coffey Field in the Bronx on Saturday night.
“I thought our guys played well given the weather conditions,” said head coach Kevin Callahan. “I was happy with the way our defense played for most of the game. Offensively, I think we did a good job of getting on top of them early on, with the plays made by Boland, San Miguel and Sinisi.”
On the first play from scrimmage, Fordham quarterback Derric Daniels dropped back and threw up a pass that hung up in the wind allowing MU's Ayo Falae (Newark, N.J/Barringer) to knock the ball right into the hands of Hawk safety Matt Hill (Hopatcong, N.J./Hopatcong) who returned the interception 38 yards to the Ram 30 yard line. After an incomplete pass from MU senior Brian Boland (Brick, N.J./Brick Memorial), he answered right back with a toss to a wide open Adam San Miguel (North Bergen, N.J./St. Peter's Prep) [picture right] in middle of the field for TD, to put the Hawks up 7-0 just 47 seconds into the game.
The Monmouth defense did not let up, as the next Fordham drive started with seven yard loss when Jonte Coven was dropped by linebacker Mike Castellano (Freehold, N.J./Freehold). Monmouth held, forcing a punt that had the Blue & White starting from their own 16.
The Hawk offense chipped their way to a first down at their own 28 before redshirt freshman David Sinisi (Ceder Grove, N.J/Ceder Grove) grabbed a screen pass and caught a couple of good downfield blocks, springing him for a 72 yard touchdown. On the PAT, junior Fred Weingart (New Egypt, N.J./New Egypt) missed his first extra point in 31 attempts, dating back to the beginning of last season.
The Hawks offensive attack didn't slow down from there. After the MU defense yielded another stop, Boland launched his second touchdown pass to San Miguel, this time a 71 yard bomb and before long, the Hawks were up 20-0 and San Miguel had 114 yards receiving, just nine minutes into the game.
Monmouth's first rushing attempt of the game came with just under four minutes to go in the first quarter. On this drive, the Hawks mixed up the run and the pass, working their way down to the Fordham 31 on a seven-yard Leonard Brice (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg) run. With Monmouth facing a third and long, Brice caught a screen pass and plowed up the left sideline, getting tackled at the three yard line for a first and goal. On third down, with one-on-one coverage, Boland tossed up a fade to junior Chris Kiley (Pt. Pleasant, N.J./Point Pleasant) but Ram defensive back Sam Orah broke the pass up. Weingart made it 23-0 with a 23 yard field goal into the wind with 9:15 to play in the first half.
On its next possession, Fordham advanced into Monmouth territory for the first time all game with a reverse that went for 17 yards. The Hawk defense tightened up even more though, giving up five yards on first down, then taking three of them back on the next play. On third and seven, MU's Marcus Shell (West Hampton, N.Y./Rancocas Valley) broke up a pass to force the Rams into punting for the fourth time in the first frame.
The Hawks punted for the first time all game after a Ram defensive stop, but two plays later a Fordham fumble was recovered by senior Brian Sweeney (Marlton, N.J./Cherokee) to give the Blue & White the ball on the Ram 46. On third and 10, Boland completed his 12th pass of the half to tightend John Nalbone, (Lawrenceville, N.J./Lawrence) who got nine yards to force a fourth and one. A hard count on the next play by Boland got the defense to jump, continuing the MU drive. The Hawk drive stalled and Weingart could not get the leg for a 35 yard field goal attempt into a stiff wind.
With less than a minute to play, the Rams completed a 34? to get midfield, but the Hawk defense buckled down, holding the home team scoreless in the first half.
The second half began with the Hawks deferring possession to get the wind at their backs. Like they had on every possession up to this point, the MU defense held the Rams and before long Monmouth had a first down around midfield. This time it was the Fordham defense that stifled the Hawks, forcing an Andrew Mandeville (Hazlet, N.J./Hazlet) punt.
On fourth and one, deep in their own territory, Ram quarterback Daniels fumbled the exchange and the Hawk defense was all over him giving MU the ball. Sinisi then ripped off a 16 yard run to put the ball at the Fordham 18. Working down to the 11 yardline, the Hawks elected to go for it on fourth and one but Sinisi was tripped up on a dive just short of the first down marker.
On the following drive, Fordham's James Prydatko blasted up the middle, out-running the entire Monmouth defense for an 89 yard touchdown run for the Ram's first points of the game. Fordham's two-point conversion failed and the score rested at 23-6 with 5:07 left to go in the third quarter.
The momentum seemed to pick up for the Rams, who registered two straight sacks on Boland before San Miguel laid out to grab a diving first-down catch that slipped through his hands. Castellano picked off a fluttering Daniels pass on the next Fordham possession giving Monmouth the ball around midfield.
The wind and rain continued to be a bother to both quarterbacks, as Boland attempted a pass to San Miguel on the far right side that was intercepted by Fordham's Bruce Lee. Playing with the same tenacity as at the first snap, the Hawk defense forced a turnover when Daniels scrambled up the middle only to have Sweeney strip the ball away with Monmouth recovering. Sinisi gave the Rams the ball back a few plays later and Fordham took over from their own 34 yard line with 10:20 to play in regulation.
After a MU drive stalled deep in their own territory, Daniels hit his receiver over the middle to get Fordham to the Monmouth 27 yard line with under five minutes to go. Two straight incompletions and a big stop by the Hawk defense led to a 48-yard field goal attempt by Fordham. With the wind at his back, Fordham's Micah Clukey drilled the three-pointer to make the score 23-9 with 4:05 on the clock.
After Monmouth recovered Fordham's onside kick attempt, the Hawks had a 47-yard Rob Lutz (New Cumberland, Pa./Trinity) touchdown run called back on a holding call. Monmouth ran the clock down to 3:02, forcing the Hawks to punt. Mandeville saved his best for last, pinning the Rams on their own seven yard line.
The Hawk defense was near flawless once again, giving the offense the ball back after turning away Fordham's fourth down attempt. Boland ran out the clock to seal the MU win.
Boland finished throwing 13-for-24 with three touchdowns and one interception. The fifth year senior hit six different receivers, including San Miguel who had seven grabs for 115 yards. Sinisi carried the load on the ground for the Hawks, tallying 67 yards on 20 carries, both of which were career highs. Brice finished with 13 carries for 21 yards.
The MU defense was impressive all game long, forcing four turnovers and holding the Rams to 221 total yards, 89 of which came on the Prydatko touchdown run. The unit gave up just 64 yards through the air, with Daniels going 6-for-20 with two interceptions. Castellano led the way with six tackles, while senior David Jiles (Paulsboro, N.J./Paulsboro) registered five and a half.
Monmouth, now 1-0 on the season, will host Morgan State next Saturday at Kessler Field. The Bears and Hawks are set to kickoff at 1 p.m.
