WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J.- Monmouth University's football team held a 19-0 lead going into the fourth quarter against Central Connecticut State but the Blue Devils scored 20 unanswered points to snatch away not only the victory, but also the Hawks chances of a NEC Championship on Saturday.
The loss dropped Monmouth to 5-5 overall and 4-3 in Northeast Conference play, while Central Connecticut State moved to the top of the NEC with an 8-2 (6-1) record.
After dominating the first three quarters of play in the driving wind and rain to build a 19-0 lead, the final quarter belonged to the home Blue Devils, who rattled off 20 straight points for the win. David Sinisi (Cedar Grove, N.J./Cedar Grove) had another outstanding game against the Blue Devils, finishing with 201 yards and three touchdowns on 36 carries.
Clinging to a six point lead with 3:08 to play, Monmouth's offense ran the ball three straight times, picking up only six yards but forcing CCSU to burn all three of their timeouts. Punting into a stiff wind, Monmouth's Jack Daniels (Franklin Lakes, N.J./Don Bosco) booted a 38 yarder that rolled out of bounds at the Central 30 yard line.
One play later, junior wideout Josue Paul caught a first down pass and broke a tackle to spring free for a 69 yard touchdown, putting his squad up 20-19 with just over two minutes to play.
Monmouth was able to get into Central territory but turned the ball over on downs and Central was able to run the clock out.
The MU offense got a slow start to the day, with Kyle Frazier (Gaithersburg, Md./Damascus) tossing his first interception of the season on the Hawks' opening possession, with Central's Marcus Dorsey taking the ball down to the MU 21.
With their backs to the wall, the MU defense held, highlighted by Haley breaking up a third down TD pass with a hit on CCSU tight end Tyler Rossnagle. Blue Devil Joe Izzo's ensuing 32 yard field goal attempt sailed right, the first miss of the year for the junior kicker.
The Hawk defense kept the momentum up on the next Blue Devil possession, with Dave Ogden (Wayne, N.J./Wayne HIlls) coming up with a huge sack on first down, dropping Norris for a 14 yard loss. Sinisi and the offensive line took over on the following MU drive, with reigning NEC Offensive Player of the Year tearing off a 25 yard run to set the Hawks up with a fresh set of downs on the CCSU 31. After a bad snap forced a third and long, Sinisi ran off the right guard and not only picked up the first down but went for 34 yards down to the Blue Devil three. The fifth year senior finished the drive on the next play, giving the Hawks a 6-0 lead after a high snap on the PAT caused the kick to be blocked.
Monmouth's offense didn't slow with Sinisi getting a break, as junior Bobby Giles (Burlington, N.J./Burlington) ran the ball five times for 31 yards getting the Hawks down to the three yard line. Sinisi finished the drive from two yards out on third down, putting MU ahead 13-0 with 5:29 to play in the first half.
Central Connecticut's offense was able to get a drive going, starting with a good kick return that set the offense up at the MU 48 yardline. A couple of first downs set the Blue Devils inside the Monmouth 20, but the Hawk defense rose to the occasion again, stopping Mallory on fourth down to keep CCSU off the scoreboard and preserve a 13 point halftime lead.
Trailing by 13 at the start of the third quarter, Central's offense moved the ball into Monmouth territory once again, but the Hawk defenders forced a turnover on downs for the third time in the afternoon. Defensively, the drive was highlighted by Ogden tossing CCSU back James Mallory for a four yard loss on a third and three from the MU23.
A two play drive, consisting of Sinisi runs of 27 and 17 yards, gave the Hawks a 19-0 lead with 3:30 to play in the third quarter. The 17 yard scoring run gave the fifth-year senior three for the day and 13 on the season.
Central went into a hurry up offense on their ensuing possession, putting together its best drive of the afternoon mainly on the legs of quarterback Aubrey Norris and Mallory. On third and two, Blue Devil reserve tailback Brian Fowler gashed the Hawk defense for 15 yards and a CCSU first down at the MU 14. Two plays later fullback Eric Richardson put the Blue Devils on the board on a six yard run, cutting the MU lead to 19-7 with 13:36 to play in the game.
After stopping the Hawks, CCSU went back to work on offense, with Norris doing most of the damage through the air, connecting on a number of key first downs with junior Josue Paul. With time ticking away, Central elected to run three straight times inside the five yard line, the third time resulting in an Norris touchdown run. The kick was blocked and Monmouth held on to a 19-13 lead with 3:12 to play.
Frazier was nine-of-17 for 80 yards and one interception, while Norris finished with 158 yards on 10-of-19 passing. Paul led all receivers with six catches for 131 yards, 114 of those came in the fourth quarter. Mallory was held to 98 yards on 22 carries with no touchdowns.
Jose Gumbs (Queens, N.Y./Hebron Academy) led the Hawks with 13 tackles while Nick Bonturi (Clarksburg, Md./Damascus) finished with 10 of his own. Ogden finished with seven tackles, including a sack while registering a pass breakup.
Monmouth will wrap the regular season with a home game against Robert Morris on Kessler Field.
