BOILING SPRINGS, NC- Monmouth University's (2-0, 2-0 Big South) defense shut out Gardner-Webb (2-1, 0-1 Big South) in the second half while the Hawks piled up 28 points to break open a close game en route to a 48-19 win on Saturday.
 
The Hawks allowed just 52 yards in the second half while redshirt sophomore running back Juwon Farri ran for a career-high four touchdowns and 124 yards rushing to pace the Monmouth offense. Freshman Tony Muskett threw a pair of touchdown passes for the second consecutive week and reserve running back Romeo Holden averaged 10.2 yards per carry with his first 100-yard performance and first career touchdown.
 
Defensively, the Hawks forced a trio of turnovers for the second straight week including a pair of fumble recoveries and an Anthony Budd interception. Senior DaQuan Grimes' 12 tackles paced the defense, which held GWU to 1-of-7 on fourth down and 3-of-16 on third down. Budd finished with 11 tackles while the Monmouth defense had four sacks and eight tackles for a loss.  
 
Monmouth opened up a 20-3 lead after capitalizing on early miscues by Gardner-Webb. The Bulldogs rallied late in the first half, scoring 16 points in a 1:50 span, including a field goal as time expired to cut Monmouth's halftime lead to 20-19. The second half belonged to the Hawks, as Eddie Hahn made a pair of third-quarter fourth-down stops to give the MU offense a short field. Muskett hit Lonnie Moore in the corner of the endzone for the first score of the second half with Farri scoring twice and Holden rumbling in from 28 yards in the fourth.
 
NOTES & QUOTES
Monmouth Head Coach Kevin Callahan
"I thought it was a great example of a team responding to adversity. When we got to the point in the second quarter where we were in control of the game that kind of all went all away in the last two minutes. The team had to refocus ourselves and readjust our mindset at halftime and we did just that."
 
Callahan on the team's strong second half play
"We settled down in the locker room at halftime and came out in the second half and were really dominant. It started with the defense and all those fourth down stops, and then the offense was able to take possession and go in and score. I thought we played very good complimentary football and it was good to see us handle that adversity and overcome that."
 
Linebacker Da'Quan Grimes on the team's mindset at halftime
"Right before halftime we knew we were dominating them defensively and we knew we were hurting ourselves. We knew that if we stopped hurting ourselves we could come out and dominate in the second half."
 
Grimes on the importance of turnovers
"Our coaches always preach going for the ball. Turnovers are a huge part of the game, if we can force turnovers we can give our offense a short field."
 

• It was the first time since the 2018 meeting with Gardner-Webb that Monmouth had two backs over 100-yards, in that game Farri and Pete Guerriero eclipsed the 100-yard mark
• Farri's four rushing touchdowns were the most since Julian Hayes scored four times against Saint Francis (PA) on November 5, 2011
• Eddie Morales III recorded his first sack and forced fumble of his career in the first quarter when he blitzed off the edge and blindsided the GWU signal caller
• Monmouth's second touchdown was setup after a dropped snap by GWU's punter forced him to scramble but Alex Bryant hunted him down and tackled him on the four yard line
• Included in GWU's 16 points in 1:50 was a 92 yard punt return for a touchdown by Runnin' Bulldog Devron Harper
• For just the second time in the last 16 games Monmouth did not have an advantage in time of possession, with GWU earning a 30:12 to 29:48 advantage
• Senior Kahari Scarlett led the Hawks with 1.5 sacks and was credited with three QB hurries
• It was Farri's eighth 100-yard rushing game, and now has 15 career rushing touchdowns, which is 10^th all-time at Monmouth. He has appeared in 13 total games for the Blue & White
• Safety Jason Antwi had a career-high five tackles and a pass break

 
NUMBERS CRUNCH

• For the second straight game Monmouth held its opponent to under 100-yards rushing, this time GWU ending with 8 and an average of 2.3 yards per rush
• Monmouth had 407 yards of total offense compared to 228 for GWU
• The Hawks are now +5 in turnover margin this season and have recorded nine sacks in two games
• Monmouth was just 1-of-12 on third down but was 3-of-4 on fourth down with two touchdowns
• The MU offensive line allowed just one negative play on offense

 
 UP NEXT
Monmouth will host rival Kennesaw State at 1 PM on Saturday at Kessler Stadium. The game, which could decide who is in the running for the Big South Title and the autiobid to the NCAA playoffs, will air on ESPN+.