WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - The Monmouth University football team fell behind early to Wagner and could not complete its second half comeback attempt, falling 27-24 to Wagner in Northeast Conference play on Saturday afternoon at Kessler Field.
The Hawks, trailing by three to the Seahawks, missed a game-tying field goal attempt as time expired when Eric McCutchen's (Edison, N.J./J.P. Stevens) 37-yarder fell short. MU had trailed Wagner 27-17 entering the final period, cutting the lead to three when David Sinisi (Cedar Grove, N.J./Cedar Grove) scored from eight yards out to cut the visitor's advantage to three.
MU drops to 2-3 overall with the loss and 1-1 in league play, while Wagner improves to 3-3 and 2-1 in the conference.
The game opened with three straight three and outs, including two by the Hawks. The Seahawks struck first in the game when they scored on a trick play as wideout Lon Woods completed a 40-yard touchdown to David Crawford off a double reverse pass for the 7-0 lead with 7:27 left in the first quarter.
The Hawks got back in the game when, after back-to-back runs from Wagner quarterback Nick Doscher, safety Jose Gumbs (Queens, N.Y. /Hebron Academy) picked off his intended pass on third down and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown to tie game with 2:48 left in the opening quarter. WC got a 30-yard kickoff return from Frantz Placide on the ensuing possession out to the MU 37-yard line. From there, Doscher hit Wagner's second big play, a 37-yard scoring strike to Woods to put the Seahawks up 14-7 with 2:26 left in the first stanza.
Monmouth was able to respond when QB Kyle Frazier (Damascus, Md./Damascus) drove the team down to the Wagner 18-yard line on its next possession. McCuthcen connected on a 35-yard field goal to cut the lead to 14-10 with 12:59 left before halftime. The game appeared poised to head into the half with that the score, but Wagner struck for its third long touchdown of the half as Doscher hit a streaking Woods for a 43-yard score 18 seconds shy of the half. Wagner's extra point was blocked, so they took a 20-10 lead into the half.
MU hit for a big play of its own when Bobby Giles (Burlington, N.J./Burlington) scooted 60 yards for a score early in the third quarter, a career-long rush for the senior, cutting the lead to 20-17 with 12:18 on the clock. The Seahawks responded with a long, 14-play drive that consumed seven and a half minutes of the third quarter, culminating in a 14-yard TD run from Doscher.
Sinisi's touchdown capped a 9-play, 67-yard drive for Monmouth, setting up the Hawks late drive that ended in the missed field goal.
Wagner outgained Monmouth 424-366 in total offense in the contest. WC led in time of possession 36:21-23:39 and converted 7-of-14 first downs, compared to only 4-of-12 for Monmouth.
Doscher completed 14-for-27 passes for 260 yards and two scores for Wagner, while Woods caught six balls for 117 yards and two scores. Dominique Williams led the visitor's ground game with 72 yards on 18 carries while Doscher added 55 rushing yards. CO prime led the Seahawks with 12 tackles on defense.
Sinisi led MU with 124 rushing yards on 27 carries. Giles added 66 yards on just two carries and a score. Frazier completed 15-of-27 passes for 164 yards in the game, with Ron Lauch (Wall, N.J./Wall) having a career day with seven catches for 70 yards. Tyler George (Berkley Heights, N.J./Governor Livingston) caught four passes for 53 yards while Ryan Folsom (Somerdale, N.J. /Triton Regional) hauled in a 20-yarder and freshman Matt Plautz (Harmony, Pa. /Seneca) made his first career catch, a 17-yarder.
Gumbs led the MU defense with 10 tackles, including two for loss, with a sack, forced fumble and the interception. Fellow safety Kendall Haley (Olney, Md. /Good Counsel) was second on the team on Saturday with eight stops.
The Hawks will return to the gridiron on Saturday, October 17th when they travel to Fairfield, Conn. for a conference matchup against Sacred Heart at 1:00 p.m.
