Final Score
Monmouth 40 (5-6, 3-4 CAA)
#8/9 Villanova 33 (8-3, 5-2 CAA)

WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. — Monmouth capped off its home schedule with a thrilling 40-33 victory over No. 8/9 Villanova in a Coastal Athletic Association clash at Kessler Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The Hawks, improving to 5-6 overall and 3-4 in conference play, showcased an explosive offense and a resilient defense to hold off the Wildcats, who fell to 8-3 (5-2 CAA).

Derek Robertson was near-flawless under center for Monmouth, completing 22 of 23 passes for 358 yards and three touchdowns. His poise and accuracy were on display early when he connected with Sone Ntoh for a 6-yard touchdown pass on the opening drive, putting Monmouth ahead 6-0. Villanova quickly answered with a 2-yard touchdown run by quarterback Connor Watkins, giving the Wildcats a 7-6 edge by the end of the first quarter.

The Hawks responded in the second with back-to-back touchdown passes from Robertson. First, he found Josh Derry on a 32-yard trick play, and shortly after, he connected with Maxwell James for a 19-yard score to extend Monmouth's lead to 19-7. Villanova cut into the margin before halftime with a 25-yard touchdown run by David Avit, making it 19-14.

Monmouth seized momentum early in the second half with a two-play, 85-yard drive, capped by Rodney Nelson's 26-yard touchdown run. Ntoh added a 7-yard rushing touchdown later in the quarter, extending the Hawks' lead to 33-17.

Villanova mounted a comeback attempt in the fourth quarter, as Watkins scored on a 6-yard run and added a two-point conversion to narrow the gap to 33-25. However, Monmouth's offense delivered a crucial, 10-play, 75-yard scoring drive. Ntoh finished it with a single-season record-setting 1-yard touchdown plunge, his 23rd rushing score of the season, to push the lead to 40-25. Villanova added a late touchdown on a 17-yard pass from Watkins to Devin Smith, but Monmouth's offense ran out the clock in a six-minute drive to seal the victory. 

T.J. Speight led all receivers with 120 yards on seven catches, while 10 different Hawks had at least one reception. Nelson led the way on the ground with 83 rushing yards and a touchdown as Monmouth compiled 502 yards of total offense.

Defensively, the Hawks limited Villanova to just 93 rushing yards on 32 attempts and 328 total yards. Israel Clark-White led the defense with seven tackles in the win.  The Hawks' balanced offensive attack and defensive resilience proved pivotal in one of their most complete performances of the year.

Notes and Quotes
"We knew it was going to take every minute and every second of that game playing as hard as we could to pull it out, and I can't give our guys enough credit because that is exactly what they did. They played extremely hard, they didn't let any of the success Villanova had get in their heads, they were completely focused on what they had to do. That's a really good football team out there, you have to give Villanova a lot of credit, they are well coached and they do a great job. To come from where we have been, losing three tight games in a row and come back and beat the number eight team in the country, I think it says a lot about the makeup and the character of these guys up here and the guys in the locker room, they did an outstanding job."
Head Coach Kevin Callahan

"End the game. We wanted the ball in our hands at the end of the game, it's that simple. We have come up short a couple times in those situations this season and we weren't going to let it happen again. We wanted to end the game with the football and the running backs, the offensive line, TJ Speight's play at the end, it was an unbelievable drive to end the game."
Quarterback Derek Robertson on the mindset of the team on the final drive

Monmouth leads the all-time series against Villanova 3-0.
The victory was Monmouth's sixth win all-time against a ranked opponent.
The win was Monmouth's fourth over a top-10 team in program history.
It was Monmouth's first win over a ranked team since it defeated No. 10/9 Villanova in 2022. 
The Hawks recognized 26 student-athletes as part of their pregame Senior Day celebration.
Zack Hios and Lamont Lester each made their Monmouth debuts.

Numbers Crunch
Sone Ntoh broke David Sinisi's single-season rushing touchdowns record with his 23rd rushing score of the season. He is second to Sinisi on Monmouth's career rushing touchdowns list with 37.
Ntoh scored three times in the game, giving him 24 total touchdowns on the season, and extended his streak to 11 straight games with a touchdown. Ntoh has scored in 20 of his 22 career games with the Hawks.
Derek Robertson threw for 358 yards on 22-of-23 passing and three touchdowns. 
Robertson now has 28 passing touchdowns and 3,401 yards on the season, both are second on the Hawks' single-season lists.
TJ Speight totaled a team-high seven receptions for 120 yards. It was Speight's second 100-yard game of the year.
Josh Derry hauled in six passes for 65 yards and his fifth touchdown in 2024.
Maxwell James scored for the third time this season.
Rodney Nelson led Monmouth in rushing with 10 carries for 83 yards and a touchdown.
The Hawks were 7-for-11 on third down and 2-for-2 on fourth down.
Israel Clark-White led the defense with seven tackles, including four solo stops.

Up Next
Monmouth closes its 2024 season on Saturday Nov. 23 at Stony Brook. Opening kickoff is set for 1 p.m. and the game will be broadcast live on FloFootball.