Monmouth (4-5, 3-3 CAA) vs. New Hampshire (4-5, 2-4 CAA)
Saturday, November 11, 2023; 12:00 p.m.
Kessler Stadium (4,200), West Long Branch, NJ
 
Television/Streaming Video
FloSports
NBC Sports Philadelphia
SNY
Play-by-Play: Matt Harmon
Analyst: Emory Hunt
 
Ticket Information
For tickets click HERE for more information
 
Kessler Stadium Information
For information and directions click HERE
                           
GAMEDAY PROMOTIONS
Celebrate Heroes Day and honor the Monmouth Football Senior Class during Saturday's game. The Hawks will recognize their seniors and families prior to the game.

OPENING KICKOFF
Monmouth is looking to close out the home portion of its 2023 schedule with a fourth straight victory at Kessler Stadium. The Hawks will celebrate Senior Day and welcome in New Hampshire who has dropped two straight CAA games.
 
HOME, SWEET HOME
Monmouth has found its footing in all three phases at Kessler Stadium recently where it has won three straight games. The Hawks have outscored their opponents 166-34 during the winning streak. Monmouth has not had a losing season since Kessler Stadium's renovation ahead of the 2017 season, going 28-7 at home during that time.
 
A WIN WOULD
A win would give the Hawks their fifth win of the season and move the team to 5-5 overall. Monmouth is looking to win its first game against New Hampshire. The Hawks are in pursuit of their fourth CAA victory of the year. A victory would improve Monmouth to 4-1 at home this season and be its fourth straight win at Kessler Stadium.
 
THE COACHING MATCHUP
Kevin Callahan
31st Season / 182-140
 
Rick Santos
3rd Season / 19-14
 
ALL-TIME SERIES
Series Record 0-1
At Monmouth 0-0
At New Hampshire 0-1
Most Monmouth points 21, 9/1/22
Most UNH points 31, 9/1/22
Most combined points 52, 9/1/22
Biggest Monmouth win N/A
Current streak New Hampshire, W1
 
SHIRDEN RISING
Monmouth's junior running back Jaden Shirden is quickly ascending up the Hawks' all-time rushing record book. Shirden entered the 2023 season at seventh in team history with 2,219 career yards. He is currently third, 411 yards behind Pete Guerriero, with 3,563 yards rushing after passing Lavon Cheney, Juwon Farri and Julian Hayes. He is also eighth in team history with 26 career rushing scores following his two TD performance last week.
 
DOUBLE THE FUN
Jaden Shirden has run for more than 200 yards six times, including the top three performances in school history. Last season he ran for 299 yards against Fordham, he had 276 yards and four touchdowns in the win over Hampton and had a 251-yard game at William & Mary. Pete Guerriero (2017-19) previously held the record with five-career 200-yard rushing games. The FCS record for 200-yard games is 13, held by Sacramento State's Charles Roberts (1997-2000).
 
JOINING ROBERTS?
Speaking of the Sacramento State back, Charles Roberts, Jaden Shirden is looking to become the first player to lead the country in rushing in consecutive seasons since Roberts did it during the 1998 and 1999 seasons. Prior to Roberts, Siena's Reggie Greene was the FCS rushing champion in three straight years (1995-97), while Frank Hawkins of Nevada was the leader in 1978, 1979 and 1980.
 
THE ART OF THE RUNNING BACK
In three of the last four seasons, Monmouth has had a rusher rank first or second in the FCS in rushing yards per game. Pete Guerriero averaged 142.5 yards per game with 1,995 yards in 14 games in 2019. Juwon Farri ran for 520 yards in four games in the Spring 2021 season (130 per game). Last year Jaden Shirden averaged 156.5 yards per game with a total of 1,722 in 11 contests. Shirden is leading the FCS in rushing yards per game with 149.3.
 
LONG RUNS RETURN
Jaden Shirden's signature breakaway speed and resulting long touchdown runs put him on the radar as a freshman in 2021 with a pair of 75-yard runs for scores. As a sophomore last year, Shirden had eight touchdown runs of 50+ yards. Entering Saturday's game, Shirden has 14 career touchdown runs of 50+ yards, including four across the last four games for Monmouth. He had a season-long 81-yard TD run against Stony Brook last week.
 
POUND THE ROCK
Sone Ntoh's 92-yard TD run against Lehigh is the second longest in the conference this year. Jaden Shirden's 276 yards against Hampton were the third-most in a single-game in the FCS this year and he is the only player with two 250+ yard performances. His four touchdowns against the Pirates are tied for the CAA lead in 2023 and his 33 attempts at Towson are tied for the most in a game for a CAA player this year. Shirden (119) and Ntoh (110) each went over the century mark in the win over Lehigh, marking the first time this season the duo accomplished that feat as Ntoh set a new career high in the process.
 
MILLER TIME
Dymere Miller is having a historic 2023 season with 74 receptions for 910 yards and seven touchdowns. His 74 catches are tied for Monmouth's single-season record with Reggie White Jr. and Lonnie Moore IV. Miller leads the CAA and is third in the FCS in receptions per game (8.2), while his 100.9 yards per game lead the CAA and are second in the FCS this season. Miller has four double-digit reception games, and had career-highs of 11 catches and 150 yards against Stony Brook. Miller is fifth in career receptions (152) after passing Miles Austin, seventh in touchdowns (15) and is eighth in yards (2,004) and is the fifth Hawk with nine career 100-yard games.
 
SHORT AND LONG YARDAGE BACK
Sone Ntoh is second in the CAA and is tied for fourth in the FCS in rushing touchdowns with 13 on the season. Known for punching in touchdowns near the goal line, Ntoh ran away from the Lehigh defense on a 92-yard touchdown run, the longest run of the season for Monmouth. Ntoh also had a 66-yard score at Towson and has 380 yards on 47 carries this season, good for 8.1 yards per carry.
 
SHUTTING DOWN THE SEAWOLVES
The Hawks scored touchdowns on five of their six first-half drives to build a 35-3 lead at intermission in an eventual 56-17 rout of Stony Brook. Quarterback Marquez McCray finished his day with 323 yards on 22-of-27 and tied his career high with four touchdowns. Dymere Miller racked up a career-high 150 yards through the air with 11 receptions and a touchdown. Assanti Kearney also set a new career-high with 124 yards receiving and a touchdown, while Jack Neri and Dre Tucker each also scored touchdowns. Jaden Shirden had his fifth straight 100-yard performance with 171 yards.
 
SCORING MARGIN
Monmouth's scoring margin in 2023 is shaping up to be one of the program's best in its 31-year history. The Hawks are +11.33 points per game better than their opponents this season, the best mark since the 2006 squad averaged 11.16 more points per game than their adversaries. The program's high-water mark during a full season was in 2003 when the Blue and White outscored their opponents 247-101 for an average of 12.1 points per game. During the four-game spring 2021 campaign, Monmouth was 16.5 points per game better than their foes.
 
WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?
Harvard graduate transfer linebacker Jake Brown was named the CAA Defensive Player of the Week following his performance in the Hawks' win over Towson. Brown led Monmouth's defensive efforts with a team-high seven tackles, a pair of sacks and forced a critical fumble in the 42-23 victory. Holding on to a 28-23 lead with less than six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Brown jarred the football loose from Towson quarterback Nathan Kent. The fumble was recovered by Miles Mitchell inside Towson territory and Monmouth scored two plays later to regain a two-possession lead. Brown led the Hawks with 12 tackles at William & Mary and had a team-best 10 against Stony Brook. He leads the team this year with 54 stops, despite missing two games with an injury.
 
MORAN IN THE MIDDLE
Graduate linebacker Ryan Moran racked up a career-high 13 tackles at FAU, including nine solo stops, to lead the Monmouth defense. Moran's 13 stops are the most in a game this season. Moran, a team captain, has started 26 consecutive games, the longest active starting streak on the team and is second on the Hawks in tackles this season with 53.
 
AK MAKES PLAYS
Wide receiver Assanti Kearney became a major weapon for Monmouth's offense last season and he was second on the team in catches (37), yards (638) and touchdowns (4). He set season highs in catches (6) at Maine, yards vs. Fordham (121) and touchdowns (2) in the win over Villanova. Kearney was named to Phil Steele's CAA Preseason All-CAA Fourth Team and has four touchdown catches in 2023. Kearney delivered a 27-yard touchdown reception on fourth down in the season opener at FAU before hauling in TD receptions of 36 and 16 yards in the victory at Towson. AK set a new career-high with 124 yards and a touchdown last week against Stony Brook.
 
MORE WEAPONS EMERGE
In addition to Dymere Miller and Assanti Kearney, Marquez McCray has a number of options to spread the ball around. TJ Speight had career-highs of six receptions for 72 yards and a 15-yard rush in the season opener and followed that effort up with another six-catch night for 30 yards in the win over Towson. Dre Tucker has three touchdown receptions this season and also recovered a muffed punt on special teams against the Tigers. Gavin Nelson, Ashanti Caviness Jr. and Josh Derry each hauled in their first-career touchdowns against Lehigh, Hampton and Elon, respectively. Last week, Jack Neri scored his first touchdown of the season from his tight end position.
 
CAA IN THE POLLS
Three CAA Football teams are ranked and three others are receiving votes in the latest FCS Top 25 polls. Delaware dropped to #8 in the Stats poll and #8 in the AFCA poll after its loss to Elon, 33-27. Villanova is #13 in the Stats poll and #18 in the AFCA poll following a win over New Hampshire, 45-33. UAlbany is ranked #18 in the Stats poll and sits at #25 in the AFCA poll after knocking off William & Mary. The Tribe dropped out of the rankings, but are earning votes in both polls. Richmond (Stats) and Elon (Stats) are the two other teams receiving votes.
 
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