Monmouth University (1-3, 1-1 CAA) vs. Lehigh University (1-3, 0-0 Patriot League)
Saturday, September 30, 2023; 1:00 p.m.
Kessler Stadium (4,200), West Long Branch, NJ
 
Television/Streaming Video
NBC Sports Philadelphia+ / SNY / FloSports
Play-by-Play: Matt Harmon    
Analyst: Emory Hunt
 
HOMECOMING PROMOTIONS
Welcome back to all of our alumni and friends for our annual Homecoming game. Visit monmouth.edu/alumni/homecoming for additional information and weekend events

Ticket Information
For tickets click HERE for more information
 
Kessler Stadium Information
For information and directions click HERE
                           
BOUNCING BACK
Monmouth is looking to end a two-game losing skid after falling 28-20 at Lafayette on Saturday afternoon. On the other side, Lehigh owns an identical 1-3 record with consecutive losses to a pair of Ivy League opponents, Cornell and Dartmouth.
 
A WIN WOULD
A win would give the Hawks their second victory of the season and move the team to 2-3 overall. Monmouth is looking to move to 5-5 all-time against Lehigh and win its fifth straight in the series. A victory to close out non-conference play would bring Monmouth to .500 outside the CAA. Kevin Callahan would win his 180th career game.
 
PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
Monmouth is coming off a 5-6 season in 2022 and was picked to finish eighth in the CAA Preseason Poll. Lehigh was picked fifth in the Patriot League Preseason Poll after going 2-9 overall and 2-4 in league play.

THE COACHING MATCHUP
Kevin Callahan
31st Season / 179-138
 
Kevin Cahill
First Season / 1-3
 
ALL-TIME SERIES
Series Record 4-5
At Monmouth 1-2
At Lehigh 3-3
Most Monmouth points 46, 9/9/17
Most Lehigh points 56, 9/18/99
Most combined points 80, 9/3/05
Biggest Monmouth win 35-7, 10/1/22
Current streak Monmouth, W4
 
HOMECOMING NOTES
Monmouth owns a 14-15 record all-time in homecoming games following a run of recent success. The Hawks have won four out of their last five games, with the lone loss last season, a 48-46 seven overtime thriller against Rhode Island. Monmouth is looking to win its seventh homecoming game since 2013 and owns a 6-3 record since then. The Hawk's biggest win on homecoming was a 34-point victory over Gardner-Webb in 2021.
 
MILLER TIME
Dymere Miller was Monmouth's leading receiver last season with 55 grabs for 820 yards and seven touchdowns. Miller opened the 2023 season with a career-high 10 catches for 78 yards at FAU. He equaled his 10-catch effort on a 121 yard afternoon with two TDs at Lafayette, his second game over the century mark after a season-high 138 yards against Campbell. Miller is 10th in all three career receiving categories and has six career 100-yard games. Miller ranks third in the country in receptions per game (8.5) and third in receiving yards with 398.
 
DID YOU KNOW?
Monmouth is a perfect 12-for-12 in the red zone this season with six rushing touchdowns, four passing touchdowns and two field goals. The Hawks scored on 36-of-42 red zone trips during the 2022 season.

PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA HONORS
Jaden Shirden claimed five national preseason All-America honors from Phil Steele, Stats Perform, Hero Sports, Athlon Sports and The Bluebloods. Shirden completed his sophomore season as the nation's leading rusher and earned consensus All-America honors from six different major publications. Shirden led the entire country in rushing at the end of the regular season, including FBS running backs, with 1,722 yards. His 8.4 yards per carry and 156.5 rushing yards per game were both tops in the FCS, earning him CAA Offensive Player of the Year honors. Shirden averaged an impressive 52.8 yards on 13 touchdown runs, including eight 50+ yard touchdown runs.
 
SWEETNESS
Coming off a third-place finish in last year's voting, junior RB Jaden Shirden was named to the 2023 Stats Perform Walter Payton Award Preseason Watch List presented by FedEx Ground. The award is given annually to the top offensive player in the FCS following the regular season. Shirden's inclusion on the Payton Award Watch List is the second of his career and he is the sixth in program history to be named to the list, joining Monmouth greats David Sinisi (2008), Reggie White Jr. (2018), Pete Guerriero (2019), Kenji Bahar (2019) and Juwon Farri (2021 and 2022).
 
SHIRDEN AND THE CENTURY MARK
Jaden Shirden has rushed for over 100 yards 12 times in his career, and has accomplished the feat in 11 of his last 14 games. He is the fourth player in program history to have 12 career 100-yard performances. Along with Shirden on the list is Juwon Farri (12), Pete Guerriero (20) and the all-time leader David Sinisi (25).
 
DOUBLE THE FUN
Jaden Shirden has run for more than 200 yards four times, including a program-record 299-yard performance on 12 carries against Fordham in 2022. Shirden trails only Pete Guerriero (2017-19), who owns the Monmouth record with five-career 200-yard rushing games. Monmouth's all-time leading rusher David Sinisi (2006-09) also had four 200-yard games during his career, a mark Shirden reached during his electric sophomore season.
 
POUND THE ROCK
Sone Ntoh's 66-yard TD run at Towson is tied for the second longest in the league this year. Ntoh scored three rushing TDs against Towson, tied for the most in a single game in the CAA in 2023. Jaden Shirden's 33 attempts at Towson are tied for the most in a game for a CAA player this year. Shirden is second in the FCS in rushing attempts with 104 and is 11th in the FCS with 417 yards on the ground through four games. Ntoh leads the CAA and is tied for third in the FCS in rushing touchdowns with six.
 
MCCRAY NAMED STARTING QUARTERBACK
Sacred Heart graduate transfer Marquez McCray will lead Monmouth's offense in 2023. McCray played in 32 games across four seasons at Sacred Heart and helped the Pioneers win three Northeast Conference championships before joining the Hawks ahead of the Spring 2023 semester. McCray threw for 5,002 yards on 422-of-673 passing with 26 touchdowns and 15 interceptions and led the NEC in passing yards with 1,973 last season. McCray has at least 200 passing yards in four straight games to start his Monmouth tenure and has seven touchdowns compared to three interceptions.
 
TAMING THE TIGERS
Monmouth's defense held Towson to 75 yards rushing, the best total since it limited Georgetown to 61 yards on Sept. 17, 2022. Monmouth had its first four sack game of the season, a feat it accomplished twice last season against Rhode Island and Stony Brook. Monmouth held Towson to 2-of-10 on third down and 1-of-2 on fourth down in the victory. The last time Monmouth had four sacks and four turnovers in the same game was against Gardner-Webb in 2014.
 
MORAN IN THE MIDDLE
Graduate linebacker Ryan Moran racked up a career-high 13 tackles at FAU, including nine solo stops, to lead the c defense. Moran's 13 stops were the most since Da'Quan Grimes had 13 last season against Towson. Moran, a team captain, has started 21 consecutive games, the longest active starting streak on the team. Moran has led the Hawks in tackles in two games after racking up 12 against Campbell.

IMPACT TRANSFERS
Monmouth welcomed the addition of several impact players from the transfer portal ahead of the 2023 season. Graduate linebacker Jake Brown came to Monmouth from Harvard where he was a 2022 All-Ivy League Honorable Mention choice. The defensive line features two-time All-PSAC First Team selection Nick White (Gannon University - DII), Isaiah Oduro (Lackawanna College), Isaiah Rogers (Central Michigan) and Antonio Colclough (JMU). Offensively Harvard running back Sone Ntoh and reserve offensive lineman Matt Fries (Illinois) are the new faces to know. On special teams, Luke Schabel (Incarnate Word) has taken over as the team's primary punter.
 
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.
 
LEADERSHIP ROLES
Five Hawks, three on offense and two on defense, will lead the Monmouth program this year as team captains. OL Greg Anderson, OL Tyler Williams, WR Dymere Miller, DB/PR Eddie Morales III and LB Ryan Moran will serve in leadership roles. Anderson, an All-CAA selection a year ago, has started 20 games on the offensive line. Williams started every game at center a season ago, leading the way for the CAA's top scoring offense and the nation's leading rusher. Miller is one of the most explosive wide receivers in Division I football, finishing with 820 yards and seven touchdowns in nine games last season. Morales III, a two-time captain, is in his sixth season with the Hawks after suffering a season-ending injury in 2022.The versatile defensive back has 144 tackles and seven interceptions in 44 games. Moran has started every game the last two seasons and leads the Hawks in tackles this year.
 
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 new career 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 three touchdown catches this year. 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.
 
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 hauled in a 16-yard touchdown in the season opener at Towson and recovered a muffed punt on special teams against the Tigers.
 
CAA IN THE POLLS
Five CAA teams are ranked in the Stats Perform Poll and four are in the top 25 of the AFCA Coaches Poll. William & Mary moved up to #4 in the AFCA poll and stayed at #5 in the Stats poll after defeating Maine, 28-3. Delaware vaulted to #11 in the Stats rankings and #12 in the AFCA rankings after rallying past New Hampshire, 29-25. New Hampshire slipped to #14 in the Stats poll and #17 in the AFCA poll following the setback at Delaware. Villanova jumped to #16 in the Stats poll and entered the AFCA poll at #23 following a 35-9 triumph over Rhode Island Rhode Island (2-2) fell to #24 in the Stats poll and is receiving votes in the AFCA poll after the loss at Villanova. UAlbany was among other teams receiving votes in the Stats poll, while Hampton and Richmond received votes in the AFCA poll.
 
MONMOUTH AGAINST THE COASTAL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
Monmouth is one of 15 current members of the CAA in football, with the new additions of former Big South Conference opponents Campbell (3-1) and North Carolina A&T (1-0) in 2023. The Hawks are 24-33 all-time against current CAA opponents. Monmouth has never played three teams in the conference; Elon, Richmond and William & Mary. The Hawks' wins over Hampton (3-0) came as a member of the Big South Conference, while UAlbany (6-12) and Stony Brook (6-4) were foes at times during Monmouth's time as a member of the Northeast Conference. The Hawks improved to 2-8 all-time against Towson. Bryant will join CAA Football ahead of the 2024 season and increase the league's football membership to 16.
 
THE SPECIALISTS
Monmouth had three specialists make their debuts in the season opener at Florida Atlantic. Freshman placekicker Michael Calton Jr. is 10-for-12 on extra points, including a 6-for-6 showing at Towson, and has made three straight field goals, including a 47-yarder in rainy conditions at Lafayette. Sophomore Luke Schabel is averaging 43 yards per punt with a long boot of 69 yards and junior Justin Nyers is handling long snapping duties.
 
STARTING NODS
Marquez McCray started his first game for the Hawks at quarterback and was one of six Hawks to earn their first starts in a Monmouth uniform against FAU. TE Sean Fleming, LB Jake Brown, DT Bryce Rooks, DE Nick White and DB Jude Umunakwe each earned starting assignments against FAU. Dre Tucker earned his first-career start at wideout in the win at Towson. Adrian Hawkins made his first-career start at right tackle against Campbell. Against Lafayette, Justin Bennin and Kryik Mason earned their first career starting nods.
 
REID ALL ABOUT IT
Mike Reid, a senior defensive back from Owings Mills, MD, collected preseason all-conference honors from the CAA, Phil Steele and The Bluebloods. Reid ended his 2022 season with 12 passes defended, 52 tackles, two forced fumbles and an interception. Reid's 11 pass breakups were the fifth most in the NCAA and tied for sixth in a single season in Monmouth history. His 20 career pass breakups are tied for seventh in Monmouth history.
 
SHIRDEN RISING
Monmouth's junior running back Jaden Shirden is quickly ascending up the Monmouth all-time rushing record book. Shirden entered the 2023 season at seventh in team history with 2,219 career yards. He is currently third with 2,636 yards rushing after passing Lavon Cheney, Juwon Farri and Julian Hayes. He is also tied with Owen Wright for 10th in team history with 18 career rushing scores.
 
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.
 
TICKETS FOR MONMOUTH HOME GAMES ON SALE NOW!
Group tickets and individual single-game tickets are on sale now for Monmouth's home contests in 2023 Visit MonmouthHawks.com/Tickets for more information
 
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