WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ – Behind 608 total yards and multiple broken program records, the Monmouth University football team ran past Liberty to improve to 6-1 on Saturday afternoon, 56-39.

The Hawks are 3-0 at home this season, outscoring opponents 133-78 in that span. Sophomore running back Pete Guerriero (Lyndhurst, NJ/Lyndhurst) scored the longest kickoff return in Monmouth history in the first quarter, taking it back 95 yards to tie the game at 7-7. Guerriero added 162 rushing yards and was six yards shy of setting the program record for all-purpose yards in a single-game with 257.

Freshman running back Eric Zokouri (Silver Spring, MD/Montgomery Blair) rushed 18 times for 193 yards and two touchdowns, gaining the ninth-most ground yardage in Monmouth history for a single-game. Monmouth's 364 total rushing yards rank second in program history, behind only the 417 yards set against LaSalle in 1997. Junior wide receiver Reggie White Jr. (Randallstown, MD/Milford Mill) gained the fourth-most receiving yardage in a Monmouth single-game with 187. White Jr. caught 10 total passes in the contest, including a 61-yard touchdown and an 8-yard touchdown.

NOTES AND QUOTES

"We are extremely happy with the win to push our record to 6-1. We came into the week and into today focused on improving to 1-0 [in the Big South]. What you saw out there today was a great effort by our team, we showed for much of the game how explosive we can be. There were some times we hit a lull, lost our focus but we recentered ourselves in the fourth quarter and secured the win."   -Monmouth head coach Kevin Callahan

"We've been running the ball well most of the season, our objective is to stay balanced but we hit some gashes today.   We have four backs that we use on and off and they all bring a little bit something different to the table. We just try to rotate them in – they all have the ability to make plays for us." – Coach Callahan on the Monmouth rushing attack

"Eric [Zokouri] and I definitely talk about staying patient. The linebackers were flowing over the top so we able to set up the blocks and cut back up field and it was wide open from there." Guerriero on breaking off long runs

"My blockers set it up perfectly, I just hit the hole like I am taught, it opened up wide and I just took off from there." Guerriero on his record setting 95 yard kickoff return

-Liberty got on the board first with a 10-play, 75-yard opening drive that ended in a 5-yard touchdown run by Frankie Hickson.

-On the ensuing kickoff, Guerriero caught the kick at the five-yard line and ran it back 95 yards for the touchdown. It was Monmouth's first kick return touchdown since Bobby Giles (90 yards) in 2010.

-After a Liberty punt, a Kenji Bahar pass to White Jr. and a 15-yard pass to Vinny Grasso set Monmouth up on the Flames' 25-yard line. Freshman running back Eric Zokouri found a hole through the left side and scored on a 25-yard scamper to put the Hawks ahead 14-7.

-The Hawks kept the foot on the gas, taking the 21-7 lead on the next possession. Zokouri took the handoff and pitched it to Lonnie Moore, who took it 12 yards for the rushing touchdown.

-On the fifth play of the second quarter, Liberty's Stephen Calvert threw a 76-yard touchdown pass to B.J. Farrow. The Flames missed the extra point, making it a 21-13 game.

-Zokouri earned his third multiple-touchdown game of the season after a 35-yard dash to give Monmouth the 28-13 lead with 11:32 left in the second quarter.

-Guerriero scored on another explosive play with 2:01 left in the second quarter, this time on a 41-yard rushing touchdown to put the Hawks ahead 35-13.

-Liberty answered, as Calvert hit Farrow for a 42-yard pass to put them in Monmouth territory, and Cephas Riddick scored on a 23-yard touchdown catch with 1:10 left in the first half. The two-point conversion was no good, and the teams went into the locker room with Monmouth leading 35-19.

-Monmouth picked up where they left off in the second half, as Bahar found White Jr. for a 34-yard pass, then on an 8-yard touchdown pass.

-After the Hawks forced a Liberty punt, Monmouth marched down the field with a 99-yard touchdown drive that included an acrobatic White Jr. catch, a 50-yard Zokouri rush, and a 4-yard Devell Jones touchdown. After kicker Matt Mosquera drilled his sixth extra point, the Hawks led 49-19.

-Liberty rattled off 20 straight points in the last six minutes of the third quarter to make it 49-39, including two touchdowns to wide receiver Antonio Gandy-Golden.

-After three straight Liberty touchdowns, Bahar found White Jr. across the middle for a 61-yard touchdown to open the fourth quarter, making the score 56-39.

NUMBERS CRUNCH

-After one quarter, Monmouth led 21-7 on touchdowns from Guerriero, Zokouri, and Moore. The Hawks outgained the Flames 148-116, including an 88-67 advantage on the ground.

-The longest of the 14 scoring drives went 4:25, the quickest was 11 seconds (Bahar to White Jr.)

-Monmouth registered 226 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns in the first half, and ended with 364 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns. The team rushed 43 times with an 8.5 average.

-With 162 rushing yards and 95 kick return yards (247 apy), Guerriero came with six yards of eclipsing his own all-purpose yards record set this year against Lehigh (253). 

-Guerriero and Zokouri combined for 355 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

-Senior Mike Basile led the team with seven tackles, all of them solo.

-Senior Matt White booted a season-long 53-yard punt.

-Sophomore kicker Matt Mosquera was a perfect 8-8 for extra points, just one shy of the program record. Fred Weingart made all nine PAT attempts in 2005.

-Freshman Kurt Aumer picked up his first career sack

UP NEXT

The Hawks will go back on the road for the fifth time in six games when they take on Charleston Southern next Saturday at 6:00 PM.