GREENSBORO, NC- Tony Muskett threw for two touchdowns and ran for another pair of scores as Monmouth (5-3, 4-0 Big South) defeated North Carolina A&T (3-5, 2-3) 35-16 to stay unbeaten in Big South action.
 
The defense did not allow a second half point as Monmouth pulled away, handing NC A&T its first homecoming loss since the 2010 season.
 
The win gives Monmouth its ninth consecutive road conference game which set a new Big South record. The Hawks also set a new Big South record by scoring 30+ points in 14 consecutive conference wins.
 
Joey Aldarelli scored his fifth touchdown of the season on a bubble screen to give the Hawks a 7-0 lead with 8:37 left in the first quarter. Muskett threw his second touchdown of the game when Lonnie Moore IV went up and hauled in a 29-yard one-handed pass to put Monmouth ahead 14-0 and cap an eight-play, 81-yard drive.  
 
The Aggies got on the board with a quick strike, going 75 yards on five plays sparked by a 27-yard Jah-Maine Martin run. Martin finished the drive himself with a three-yard run to cut the MU advantage to 14-7 with 14:54 left in the second quarter. Jaden Shirden scored on a three-yard scamper on Monmouth's longest drive of the first half to push the lead to 21-7. NC A&T scored nine straight points, first on a safety on an errant snap and then drove 56 yards on seven plays to find paydirt to reenergize the crowd and send the Hawks into the halftime leading 21-16.
 
Muskett engineered a 15-play, 87-yard drive in the third quarter that ended in a one-yard touchdown by the sophomore quarterback to put the Hawks up 28-16. With A&T driving late in the third quarter senior Justin Terry came up with his second interception in as many weeks setting up the Hawks at their own 19. Muskett finished the scoring on another long drive by the Hawks and Monmouth walked away winning 35-16.
 
NOTES & QUOTES
"I thought we came down here and we were ready to play coming off the bye week. This was an outstanding atmosphere to play a football game in. The crowd was really into it and all the events around homecoming made it a really excited environment. We started fast and then in the second quarter we started letting things get away from us a little bit. In the second half our players really focused up at halftime and played an outstanding final half of football. It's a credit to the guys on our team being able to face adversity, understanding what they had to do to be successful and then to do that against a pretty talented football team." Head Coach Kevin Callahan
 
"Going into halftime Coach Callahan set us straight and told us to play our game. Coach fired us up, we were ready to listen and we came out an executed. We just need to keep playing and keep going." Safety Tyrese Wright
 
"This was a really important game for us. We knew this was going to be a ridiculous environment and we knew it was another step towards winning the Big South." Lonnie Moore on the importance of the game
 
"I just ran a Go route and the corner held my left arm and I was able to secure the ball with the right hand and took a couple steps." Moore on his one-handed touchdown
 

• Monmouth surrendered a season-high eight sacks in the contest
• Muskett's 16 passing touchdowns ties Kenji Bahar for ninth most in a single season
• Lonnie Moore recorded a 100-yard day for the second consecutive week
• It was the first time in his 12-game career Muskett scored two rushing touchdowns
• Monmouth's defense, which leads the Big South in sacks, finished with three from four different players
• The Monmouth offense had scoring drives of 81 yards, 75 yards, 87 yards and 75 yards
• Terrance Greene Jr. finished with four catches for 79 yards, including a 55 yarder in the fourth quarter

 
NUMBERS CRUNCH

• Monmouth was 8-of-17 on third down and 3-of-4 on fourth down
• The Aggies were 3-of-12 on third down and 1-of-4 on fourth down
• NC A&T had 332 yards to Monmouth's 323
• The Hawks edged NC A&T in time of possession 30:03 to 29:57
• Muskett finished 19-of-28 for 246 yards and two touchdowns
• The Hawks were led by Tyrese Wright and Ryan Moran whom each had nine tackles in the win
• Freshman Jaden Shirden had eight carries for 52 yards and a touchdown while Owen Wright had 54 yards on 18 carries

 
UP NEXT
Monmouth will host North Alabama next Saturday at 1 PM.