Final Score
Monmouth (1-1, 1-0 CAA) – 31
Sacred Heart (0-1, 0-1 CAA) – 24
WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – Kenny Smith Jr. scored twice, including the go-ahead touchdown with 2:54 remaining, and Monmouth rallied for a 31-24 victory over Sacred Heart Saturday afternoon in the Hawks' home opener at Kessler Stadium.
The win marked the first career victory for first-year head coach
Jeff Gallo and also gave the Hawks their first victory when trailing by at least seven points since last season's win at Fordham.
"It's about the fight to finish," Gallo said after the game. "That was the challenge at halftime, and our guys responded. It feels great [to earn Win No. 1], but it's about our team."
Monmouth (1-1, 1-0 CAA) struck first, driving 58 yards on its opening possession before Smith capped the eight-play march with a seven-yard touchdown run. Sacred Heart answered with touchdown drives of 74 and 65 yards to take a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter.
The Hawks answered just before halftime. Quarterback
Frankie Weaver guided an 11-play, 85-yard drive that featured completions to
Shane Garrett,
Tra Neal and
Greg Genross before finding
Gavin Nelson for a 19-yard touchdown with 22 seconds remaining. Weaver completed seven passes for 91 yards during the quarter as Monmouth evened the game at 14-14 at halftime.
Monmouth regained the lead on its opening possession of the second half. Weaver completed four passes on an eight-play, 65-yard drive, including a 10-yard touchdown strike to
Elijah Jennings out of the backfield that put the Hawks ahead 21-14. Sacred Heart responded with a 52-yard touchdown pass from Poochie Snyder to Dean Hangey, tying the game at 21-21 with 3:02 left in the third.
The fourth quarter belonged to the kickers before the decisive offensive possession.
Sky Sholder drilled a 25-yard field goal with 13:46 remaining to put Monmouth ahead 24-21, but Sacred Heart answered with a 23-yard Ryan Bocklett field goal to tie the game with 8:08 left.
With the game tied, Weaver and the Hawks' offense delivered.
Monmouth marched 68 yards on 11 plays, converting two third downs along the way. Weaver completed six of nine passes for 49 yards on the drive, including a 9-yard completion to Nelson and an 18-yard connection with
Tra Neal. Smith finished the possession by taking a short pass from Weaver seven yards into the end zone with 2:54 remaining, giving the Hawks a 31-24 lead.
"Just out-leveraging the linebackers and we had great protection up front," Smith said later while breaking down the play. "Frankie did a great job getting me the ball in the flat and I was just trying to outrun the linebackers."
"I think it's a mix of everything, Weaver said. "Guys getting open, O-line doing a great job blocking on third down, and then just finding playmakers, getting them the ball."
Sacred Heart drove into Monmouth territory on its final possession, but the Hawks held on downs with 35 seconds remaining to secure the victory.
"We just stick to our assignments," captain defensive back
Jaeden Jones stated. "I think our pursuit of the ball got better as the game got on, and we are heading in the right direction as a unit. We have a great plan in place, a great coaching staff, great players too, and, we have a lot to work on, but I think, we've shown glimpses of who we can be at moments. Playing a full game of those glimpses is what is going to set us over the edge and allow us to be the defense that we want to be – that Coach Louis D knew we could be. We're just trying to honor him every day that we can, doing the most and trying to build his legacy that he built"
Monmouth honored the late Louis DiRienzo Jr. pregame with a moment of silence. DiRienzo was elevated to Defensive Coordinator in the winter before tragically passing in June at the age of 34.
Defensively, Jones led all Hawks with 12 tackles, matching his career high.
Hunter Watson added nine tackles, while
Donovan Fey recorded seven.
Charlie Sasso and
Jahide Lesaine Jr. each registered a sack. Lesaine starts his Hawks career with a sack in each of his first two games, becoming the first Monmouth player since Lorenzo Hernandez in Spring 2021 to do notch a sack in the first two games of a season.
Weaver finished 26-of-37 for 237 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. Nelson led Monmouth with eight catches for 89 yards and a touchdown, while Neal added eight receptions for 52 yards. Smith totaled 50 rushing yards and two touchdowns while adding two receptions for 16 yards.
Sacred Heart held advantages in total offense (408-350) and time of possession (35:26-24:34), but Monmouth converted 7-of-12 third downs and finished 5-for-5 in the red zone.
The victory also marked the Hawks' 18th all-time home-opening win and their second consecutive home-opening victory, but first under a coach not named Kevin Callahan – who the Hawks honored throughout the day with naming the playing surface Kevin Callahan Field.
Gallery: (9-5-2026) Kevin Callahan Field Dedication 9/5 (1)
"I told our guys, most of them are here because he said yes, right? He said yes on all these guys. I get to coach them, but he said yes. And so, it was all about us honoring him and how we played. Him and Louis D. It was a great motivation."
Notes
- Monmouth improves to 14-6 all-time versus Sacred Heart – earning their first win over the Pioneers since 2012.
- The Hawks are now 18-16 in home openers, winning back-to-back home debuts for the first time since winning four straight from 2017-20.
- Monmouth wins a game for the first time since 2022 in which they lost the possession clock battle by 10 minutes or more.
- First time converting 100% of redzone attempts (minimum of five attempts) since the win over No. 8 Villanova in 2025.
- It's the fourth time in the last five games Weaver has surpassed 235 yards passing, and third time in his last four with a trio of touchdown passes.
- It's the first game with three different players with receiving touchdowns and no 100-yard receiver since 8-29-24 at Eastern Washington
-
Hunter Watson (9) and
Donovan Fey (7) set career highs in tackles.
-
Jaeden Jones had another 12 tackles, the sixth time matching his previous career high.
Numbers Crunch
- Sacred Heart had more first downs, 26-23.
- Sacred Heart ran more offensive plays, 71-63.
- The Pioneers outgained the Hawks, 408-350.
- SHU had more time of possession, 35:26-24:34.
- MU was 7-of-12 on third down.
- SHU went 6-of-14 on third down and 2-of-3 on fourth down.
- Monmouth went a perfect 5-of-5 on redzone chances, and Sacred Heart went 3-of-3.
- The Hawks had two sacks for five yards, while the Pioneers had one sack for 10 yards.
- There was a total of 16 penalties for 145 yards – MU had nine for 80, while SHU had seven for 65.
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