Monmouth University (1-0, 1-0 Big South) at Gardner Webb University (2-0, 0-0 Big South)
Saturday, April 3, 2021; 12:00 p.m.
Spangler Stadium (9,000), Boiling Springs, NC

Television/Streaming Video: ESPN+
                                     Phillip Constantino (play by play), Al Wallace (analyst)

Monmouth Radio Coverage: MonmouthHawks.com
                               Matt Harmon (Play by Play); Emory Hunt (Color Analyst)

Ticket Info:
For tickets visit HERE for more information.

Directions to Spangler Stadium:
For directions visit HERE
                            
A LOOK AT THE GAME:
·       Today marks the first road game of the spring 2021 game for Monmouth and the first game since March 6 for Gardner-Webb. The Hawks first two games, one of which included GWU, were postponed over opponent's covid positives.
·       The Hawks are coming off a decisive 35-17 win over Charleston Southern last weekend. The Hawks racked up 470 yards of offensive led by three Juwon Farri touchdowns and 297 yards from true freshman QB Tony Muskett.
·       Gardner-Webb opened the season with an impressive 42-20 win over then No. 20 Elon, erasing a 17 point deficit and outscoring the Phoenix 42-3. The following week GWU came back and defeated former Big South foe Presbyterian in overtime. This will be the third straight home game for the Runnin' Bulldogs.
·       Monmouth opened the season ranked in the Top-25 for the first time in school history, checking in at 22^nd in the HeroSports Poll and 23^rd in the STATS Perform Top-25 poll. After sitting out two weeks they slid out of the polls but are on the cusp of re-entering, claiming the 26th spot in the coaches poll and 27th in STATS.
·       The game will air on ESPN+with Phil Constantino (pxp) and Al Wallace (analyst) on the call.
·       Fans can also listen on MonmouthHawks.com with Matt Harmon (pxp) and Emory Hunt (analyst) on the call.
 
THE COACHING MATCHUP:
Kevin Callahan, the 2019 Big South Coach of the Year, is in his 28th season at Monmouth as the Hawks' head coach. Callahan owns a 163-124 career coaching record, all with Monmouth. Coming into the season, Callahan's 163 victories ranks him 6th among active coaches in the Football Championship Subdivision. He is one of three FCS coaches with 150+ wins all at one institution and his 28 years as a head coach is the seventh most among active coaches. The only coach in Monmouth history, he has led the Blue & White to six conference championships, in 1996, 1998, 2003, 2004 and 2006 and its first at-large playoff berth in 2017. Callahan has earned conference coach of the year accolades in 1998, 2003, 2006 and 2019 and was named as an Eddie Robinson Award finalist in 2017, finishing 10^th in the voting. 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.
 
Tre Lamb is in his first season as the Head Coach of Gardner-Webb. He is the second youngest coach in the FCS ranks and has led Gardner-Webb to their first 2-0 season since 2010.  Lamb came to Boiling Springs after spending two seasons at Tennessee Tech as the offensive coordinator. Prior to returning to his alma mater, Lamb called the plays for Mercer in 2017 and spent four seasons as the quarterbacks coach for the Bears. He mentored John Russ to an outstanding career and helped freshman Kaelan Riley to a spot on the Jerry Rice Award Watch List and Southern Conference Freshman of the Year honors in 2017. Lamb served as the quarterbacks coach at Tennessee Tech in 2013. As a player, Lamb played quarterback at Tennessee Tech from 2009-2012, serving as team captain his final three seasons. He led the Golden Eagles to an OVC title in 2011, the program's first since 1975, and a spot in the NCAA Division I FCS Playoffs for the first time. Lamb comes from a family of coaches, including his Uncle Bobby, who has more than 100 FCS wins at the helm of Furman and Mercer.

INSIDE THE MU-GWU SERIES
Seventh Overall Meeting
Overall Record: MU 5-1
                  West Long Branch: MU 3-0
                  Boiling Springs, NC: MU 2-1
First Meeting: Nov. 22, 2014
Last Meeting: Oct. 18, 2019
Longest MU Win Streak: 3 gms
Longest GWU Win Streak: 1 gm
Largest MU W Margin: 27 pts
Largest GWU W Margin: 1 pt
Smallest MU W Margin: 14 pts
Smallest GWU W Margin: 1 pt
Shutouts: ---
Overtime Games: GWU 1-0


MONMOUTH AGAINST THE BIG SOUTH
·       Since starting up Big South league play in 2014, Monmouth owns an 19-14 conference record, however is 15-2 since 2017.
·       The Hawks own a 5-1 record against Gardner-Webb, 2-0 against Campbell, 4-1 against CSU and 1-4 vs Kennesaw State. The Hawks are also 1-0 against Hampton (3-0 overall) in conference competition. MU is 1-0 against North Alabama as well.
·       The Hawks won their first Big South Title in 2019 going undefeated for the first time since joining the league.
·       MU was 0-3 against members of the Big South prior to joining the league, including dropping a home and home series with Coastal Carolina and a non-conference tilt with the Flames. The Hawks were also 4-2 against PC.
·       With the win over Campbell in 2019, Monmouth won four consecutive Big South games to start Big South play for the first time in school history (2017).
 
INSIDE THE MONMOUTH-GARDNER-WEBB SERIES
·       Today's game marks the sixth time that the Hawks and Runnin' Bulldogs will meet, with Monmouth owning a 5-1 record. Monmouth is 3-0 at home and 2-1 on the road with the only loss coming in overtime by one in 2016.
·       The Hawks have put up an average of 38.8 points per game in the series and have scored 40 or more in the last three meetings. Farri ran for 121 yards on 14 carries with 23 yards recieving in his first game against the Bulldogs in 2018.
 
MUSKETT'S FIRST START BEST IN SCHOOL HISTORY
True freshman Tony Muskett became the 16th quarterback to start for the Hawks in the 28 years of the program. Muskett was the third true freshman to start a game at quarterback for Monmouth and the first since Doug Rossback in 1993 (the other was Rich Barglowski in 1993). He is just the sixth quarterback to throw at least one touchdown and no interceptions in his first career start with 297 yards the most in history for a first game starter. He is only one of five quarterbacks have won their debut for the Blue & White.
 
MONMOUTH QUARTERBACKS IN FIRST CAREER STARTS
Player                                         Year         Team/Result          COMP     ATT          Yards       TDs           INTs
Rich Barglowski                      1993        Stonehill (L)            5                12             51             0                1                                 
Doug Rossback                        1993        Sacred Heart (L)    18             33             152           0                1
Dan Sabella                               1994        Wagner (W)           17             30             263           2                0
John DiPasquale                      1998        Dayton (L)               13             34             134           0                3
Chris Wielgoz                           1999        Stony Brook (L)     10             21             90             0                1
Bill Rankin                                 2000        Robert Morris (L) 11             37             167           0                2
Brendan Kennedy                  2003        St. Peter's (W)       10             21             122           1                0               
Brian Boland                             2003        Georgetown (W)  23             39             204           1                2
Brett Burke                               2007        Maine (L)                 14             25             173           1                0
Andrew Mandeville               2009        Colgate (L)               7                9                97             1                0
Kyle Frazier                              2009        Wagner (L)              15             27             164           0                0
Craig Peterson                         2011        Sacred Heart (W) 14             20             192           1                1               
Brandon Hill                              2013        Montana St. (L)     18             31             240           2                2
Cody Williams                          2015        Holy Cross (L)         22             33             258           1                2
Kenji Bahar                               2016        Kennesaw St. (L)   14             28             188           1                0
Tony Muskett                          2021        CSU(W)                     18             26             297           2                0
 
DID YOU KNOW?
Monmouth true freshman quarterback Tony Muskett was named honorable mention STATS FCS Freshman of the Week after his first start led to last week's win over CSU. The Hawks were named as the STATS Perform national team of the week after rolling up 470 yards of offense and forcing three interceptions in the win.

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