WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J- Monmouth University's football team will look to break into the win column this weekend with a road night game against Coastal Carolina on Sept. 12.  The game will be broadcasted on the radio on The Shore Sports Network (shoresportsnetwork.com).

HERE IS A LOOK AT THIS WEEKEND'S MATCHUP ...
   Monmouth University's football team hits the road for the second straight week for a clash with Coastal Carolina from the Big South Conference on Saturday night. Three-time Northeast Conference Coach of the Year Kevin Callahan leads the Hawks into their second all-time game against the Chanticleers and MU's first trip to South Carolina.
   The Hawks fell at Colgate 35-23 last Saturday. The Hawks led 16-14 at halftime behind 199 total yards in the first half before the Raiders scored two touchdowns within a minute of each other in the third quarter to take command of the contest.  
   Fifth-year senior running back David Sinisi recorded his program-best 18th career 100-yard rushing game, going for 102 yards on 26 carries. He became the first Hawk in program history to throw a touchdown and score one each rushing and receiving in the same game against the 'gate. He added 56 yards on three catches.
   MU's defense was led by reigning NEC Defensive Rookie of the Year Jose Gumbs, who recorded a career-high 11 tackles, adding a fumble recovery. Linebacker Joe Cella tied a career-mark with 10 stops, adding a forced fumble, while Brian Brikowski and Dave Ogden each added nine stops.
   Coastal Carolina is coming off an 18-0 loss at FBS opponent Kent State last week. QB Zach MacDowall went 12-for-26 with 107 passing yards and an interception against the Golden Flashes. The Chants, who were picked to finish third in the league this season, went 6-6 last year.

THE COACHING MATCHUP ...
     Kevin Callahan is in his 17th season at Monmouth as the Hawks' head coach. Callahan owns an 96-67 career coaching record, all with Monmouth. The only coach in Monmouth history has led the Blue & White to five Northeast Conference championships, in 1996, 1998, 2003, 2004 and 2006. He earned NEC Coach of the Year accolades in 1998, 2003 and 2006. Prior to arriving in West Long Branch, Callahan served as defensive coordinator at Colgate for eight seasons and at Wagner for three years. He began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Albany (1977-79) and Syracuse (1980) before becoming a Seahawk assistant in 1981.
    Like Kevin Callahan, Coastal Carolina's David Bennett is the only coach that the Chanticleers have ever had. In the first seven years of the program Bennett owns a 45-24 record at Coastal Carolina, but a 108-41 record as a head coach. Under Bennett, the Chants have had only one losing season and have won at least a share of the Big South three times. Bennett led Coastal to the FCS Playoffs in 2006 while earning Sportexe National FCS Coach of the Year Honors. The 1984 Presbyterian grad served as the head coach of Catawba College for seven seasons before landing in Conway.

INSIDE THE MU-COASTAL SERIES ... 
    Today marks just the second time in history that the Hawks and Chanticleers have met on the gridiron. Monmouth fell to Coastal Carolina during the first matchup between the squads on September 13, 2008.
    The Chants came to Kessler Field last season at 0-2 after dropping their first two games of the season to Penn State and Colgate, respectively. CCU outgained MU 416-267 in the game as Chants QB Zach MacDowall went 17-for-26 with 233 yards passing and a touchdown. CCU also ran for 183 yards as a team in the game. MU gained 142 yards on the ground, led by Sinisi's 79 yards on 21 carries. The Hawks did hold the ball longer than CCU, sporting a 32:57-27:03 advantage in time of possession.The Hawks did do a good job of getting off the field last year on third downs against CCU, limiting them to 4-of-12 conversions, but did allow the Chants to score 5-of-7 red zone scoring chances.

 MONMOUTH AGAINST THE BIG SOUTH...
     Today marks just the second time in history that the Hawks and Chanticleers have met on the gridiron.  Monmouth fell to Coastal Carolina during the first matchup between the squads on September 13, 2008.
 The Chants came to Kessler Field last season at 0-2 after dropping their first two games of the season to Penn State and Colgate, respectively. CCU outgained MU 416-267 in the game as Chants QB Zach MacDowall went 17-for-26 with 233 yards passing and a touchdown. CCU also ran for 183 yards as a team in the game. MU gained 142 yards on the ground, led by Sinisi's 79 yards on 21 carries. The Hawks did hold the ball longer than CCU, sporting a 32:57-27:03 advantage in time of possession.
 The Hawks did do a good job of getting off the field last year on third downs against CCU, limiting them to 4-of-12 conversions, but did allow the Chants to score 5-of-7 red zone scoring chances.


DIRECTIONS TO BROOKS STADIUM
   Directions to Brooks Stadium Stadium can be found by clicking on the following link Coastal Carolina Directions

 
MORE WAYS THAN EVER TO FOLLOW MU FOOTBALL ... 
 2009 is an exciting time for fans of Monmouth as there are more ways than ever to keep up to snuff with all things Hawk football...

• SHORE SPORTS NETWORK: Monmouth University Athletics is proud to announce that all Monmouth football games will be broadcast on the Shore Sports Network, FOXSPORTS 1310 AM & WOBM 1160 AM.  The broadcast will also be streamed at http://shoresportsnetwork.com/. MU alums Matt Harmon (Play by Play) and Ed Occhipinti (Color) will handle the broadcasts.  Occhipinti will also give his insight twice a week on the MU football Blog at Monmouthfootball.blogspot.com. 
• HAWK VISION: This season marks the third year that fans will be able to watch all the Hawk home games on their computer live as it happens.  For 6.95/month or 59.99 a year, fans will be able to watch all the MU home games as well as be able to access exclusive content.
• www.GoMUHawks.com: The official MU website contains feature stories, up to date stats, rosters and news on the Hawks.
• THE HAWKS REPORT on WMCX: Every Monday during the year a different coach will be on to talk all things Monmouth athletics, including complete recaps of the week before's action on WMCX 88.9 FM, or www.wmcx.com.
• Tony Graham's APP Blog: The beat writer for Monmouth University previews every game along with feature stories on his blog that can be found by visiting the Asbury Park Press' website at www.app.com.