FINAL SCORE
Monmouth 63 (3-2)
Fordham 21 (0-5)

WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. — Sone Ntoh powered Monmouth to a commanding 63-21 victory over Fordham on a rainy and windy Saturday afternoon at Kessler Stadium, rushing for 136 yards and five touchdowns.

The Hawks (3-2) dominated from the outset, delivering a huge rushing performance and a pair of special teams touchdowns to overwhelm the Rams (0-5) and collect their third consecutive win.

Monmouth set the tone from the opening kickoff when Makhi Green returned the ball 100 yards for a touchdown. Fordham responded with a 9-yard touchdown run by Julius Loughridge, but Monmouth quickly regained control. Ntoh capped an 11-play, 87-yard drive with a 1-yard rushing score to make it 14-7, and the Hawks never looked back.

In the second quarter, Ntoh added three more touchdowns, including a 64-yard breakaway run that highlighted his day. Rodney Nelson also contributed with a 26-yard touchdown run, and Monmouth capitalized on a 79-yard kickoff return touchdown by TJ Speight, pushing their lead to 49-14 by halftime.

Quarterback Derek Robertson had an efficient outing, completing 11 of 14 passes for 180 yards, including a 27-yard touchdown pass to Tra Neal in the third quarter. Monmouth's defense, led by Isaiah Rogers and Ryan Moran, applied consistent pressure, limiting Fordham to just 278 total yards while recording two sacks.

NOTES AND QUOTES
"I couldn't be happier with the way our team played today. It was a great effort all the way around. We seemed to be clicking on every unit, our offense moved the ball and scored a lot of points, we were very good on special teams and extremely explosive in the kick return game and I thought our defense did a great job getting off the field and controlling the tempo of the game."
Head Coach Kevin Callahan

"We spend a lot of time on special teams, Dennis Long is our Special Teams Coordinator and he does an excellent job of putting us in the right position to do things well. It doesn't always come out the way we practice it, but I thought today it really clicked. I thought the guys returning the ball showed good patience and hit the seams when they were there and demonstrated their breakaway speed and I couldn't be happier about that."
Callahan on the special teams performance

"Coach Dorsett always tells us that we have to be able to do everything. That is one of the things that we pride ourselves on in the running back room; just being able to block, catch, run inside or outside, and it kind of gives defenses fits because you don't know who is going to pop off. Our room is so close, we all get excited for each other, we want each other to be successful and I think that is part of the reason why we are so successful."
Sone Noth on the performance of the running backs

Monmouth earned its first home win of the season.
The Hawks moved above .500 for the first time in 2024.
Monmouth moved to 4-2 all-time against Fordham.

NUMBERS CRUNCH
Monmouth set the program records for points in a half (49) and points in a quarter (35).
The previous record for points scored in a half was 42 set against La Salle in 2005.
The previous record for points scored in a quarter was 30 against St. Francis in 1998.
The Hawks have scored 42 or more points in their last seven wins.
Makhi Green returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown for his first-career kickoff return TD.
TJ Speight returned a kickoff 79 yards for a touchdown, his second-career kickoff return for a touchdown.
It was the first time the Hawks have ever returned two kickoffs for touchdowns in the same game.
Monmouth ran for a total of 407 yards on the ground, the second-most in a game in program history and 10 yards shy of the record of 417 set against La Salle in 1997.
It was also the first-time Monmouth had three 100-yard rushers in a single game.
Sone Ntoh ran for a career-high and equaled the program record with five rushing touchdowns. His 136 yards were also a career high.
Noth joins David Sinisi (at Central Conn. State - 10-21-07) and Chris Reed (vs. La Salle - 10-3-1998) as the only Hawks to score five rushing touchdowns in a game.
Noth moved past Ralph O'Neil (23) and Lavon Chaney (24) and is now tied with Jaden Shirden for eighth in program history with 26 career rushing touchdowns.
Rodney Nelson also ran for a career-best 128 yards, his third straight week setting a career high in rushing.
Jamir Barnes set a new career-high with 134 yards on the ground, including a career-best 48-yard run.
Monmouth racked up 581 yards of total offense in the win.
Tra Neal caught a 27-yard TD pass from Derek Robertson, who finished with 180 passing yards on 11-for-14.
Gavin Nelson had three catches for a team-high 62 yards.
Ryan Moran led Monmouth with seven tackles.
Deuce Lee and Sam Korpoi each had pass breakups in the win.
Michael Calton Jr. made all nine of his extra point attempts and had four touch backs in 10 kickoff attempts.

UP NEXT
Monmouth is back at Kessler Stadium next Saturday when it resumes CAA play. The Hawks host Delaware at 1 p.m. and the game will be broadcast live on NBC Sports Philadelphia and FloSports.