WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - The Monmouth University football team rode an opportunistic defense and another 100-yard rushing performance from senior David Sinisi (Cedar Grove, N.J./Cedar Grove) for its first win of the season, 17-10 over Duquesne on Saturday.
"I was happy with the way our kids battled in this game'" said head coach Kevin Callahan. "I think in the first quarter we had a lot of opportunities that we didn't take advantage of. We had three red zone possessions and we weren't able to get any points out of it I think if we probably got some points at that time it might have been a different game."
The game marked the Hawks home and Northeast Conference opener, while it opened league play for the Dukes as well. MU improves to 1-2 overall and 1-0 in the league with the win, while Duquesne falls to 1-2 and 0-1.
The MU defense forced four turnovers with two fumble recoveries and two interceptions, including the game's decisive play, a 65-yard pick for a score from junior safety Kendall Haley (Olney, Md./Good Counsel) with 6:22 left in the game. Haley picked the Kevin Rombach pass off near the middle of the field, cut to right sideline and back across the field, breaking tackles in the process, for the winning score.
"Turnovers are one of those things that are so important to any game and I think we were a plus five on the day and you should win football game when you are plus-four," said Callahan.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Dukes took the game's first lead when kicker Eric Duale connected on a 37-yard field goal with 10:34 left in the first half to cap a 15-play, 69-yard drive. The Hawks responded with their own long scoring drive, marching 63 yards on 10 plays, capped by a Sinisi one-yard scoring plunge with 4:58 left before halftime to take a 7-3 lead. The Dukes were able to take a 10-7 lead going into halftime after fullback Marek Lupinski scored on an 11-yard pass from Rombach with 32 seconds left.
After Duquesne forced a Monmouth punt early in the third, the Hawks special teams were able to get the ball back. Running back Bobby Giles (Burlington, N.J. /Burlington Twp.) hit DU returner Dave Williams and forced and recovered a fumble at the DU 17-yard line. From there, kicker Eric McCutchen Edison, N.J. /J.P. Stevens) converted a 30-yard field goal to draw MU even at 10-10, setting up Haley's heroics.
Duquesne outgained Monmouth 387-278 in total yards, including holding a 135-110 advantage in rushing yards. The Hawks two quarterbacks combined for 168 yards, while DU had 252 yards through the air.
Sinisi led the way offensively for Monmouth with 122 yards rushing on a season-high 32 carries; the 19th time the senior has gone over the century mark in his career. He also surpassed Robert Morris' sam Dorsett as the NEC's second all-time leading rusher. Rodney Salomon hauled in a career-high tying five passes for a career-best 64 yards. Sinisi added a pair of receptions for 18 yards while a quartet of Hawks, Mike Roeder (Marlton, N.J. /Cherokee), Kevin Hahn (Dix Hills, N.Y. /Half Hollow Hills West), Alex Laipple (Moon Twp., Pa./Moon) and Mike D'Urso (Fairfield, N.J. /West Essex Regional) each logged their first catches of the year. Laipple and Roeder also each caught their first career passes in the contest as well.
Cleodis Williams led Duquesne with 109 yards rushing on 23 carries. Freshman Larry McCoy added 38 yards on 10 carries, while Rombach was 22-for-36 passing with 252 yards with one score and two picks. Dave Williams had a game-high nine catches for 92 yards while Mike Rasky had six catches for a game-high 106 yards. Jay Spinks added six catches for 43 yards as well.
Brian Brikowski (Freehold, N.J. /Freehold Township [Akron].) and Jon Stolarz (Andover. N.J./Hopatcong) each led the defense with eight tackles. Joe Valenti (Bayonne, N.J. /St. Peter's Prep), Kenny Amsel (Demarest, N.J./Northern Valley Regional) and Kendall Haley (Olney, Md. /Good Counsel) each added six tackles. Valenti and Amsel also added a tackle-for-loss, while Haley also contributed a forced fumble to go along with his game-turning interception. Mike Avent (Upper Marlboro, Md. /Eleanor Roosevelt) contributed five tackles, including one for loss and fumble recovery. David Kennedy (Fort Lee, N.J./Paterson Catholc) had five tackles, one sack and 1.5 tackles for loss.
Monmouth returns to action on Saturday when they visit Old Dominion for a 6:00 pm kick in Norfolk, Virginia.
