With the 15th season of Monmouth football kicking off this August, www.GoMUHawks.com will revisit the 15 greatest football victories of the past 14 years, with one game released each week until the Hawks open the season against Maine on Sept. 1, 2007.
MU FOOTBALL 12th GREATEST VICTORY: NOV. 11, 2004
MONMOUTH WINS SECOND CONSECUTIVE NEC CHAMPIONSHIP WITH 49-39 WIN OVER SFPA
Migliore's 125 Yards and 3 TD's paces Hawks
West Long Branch, NJ- Monmouth University needed its highest scoring output of the 2004 season to keep Saint Francis (PA) University at bay as the Hawks won a 49-39 decision over the Red Flash in collegiate football action Saturday afternoon at Kessler Field. The win clinched the Northeast Conference Title for the Hawks.
The Blue & White used 107 second-half rushing yards by Joe Migliore to take control of the contest. On the opening drive if the second half, Migliore rushed six times for 45 yards, including a 6-yard TD run to give MU a 42-31 lead.
Monmouth's Brian Boland fumbled at the Monmouth 1-yard line and Jason Dean recovered in the end zone to trim the lead to 42-39. That score carried over into the fourth quarter.
The Hawks put the game out of reach midway through the final stanza. Monmouth took over possession of the ball at the Saint Francis 34-yard line after a Red Flash player crashed into Billy Worfolk as he was attempting to field a punt. Migliore rattled off runs of 13 yards and 7 yards followed by a 24-yard pass from Boland to Miles Austin, moving the Hawks to the 4-yard line. Two plays later, Migliore galloped in from three yards out to give Monmouth a 49-39 cushion.
Migliore finished the day with 125 yards and three touchdowns. Bobby Smith ran for 81 yards and one TD on seven carries. Through the air, Boland completed 12-of-22 passes for 186 yards and two TDs. Austin caught 7 passes for 124 yards and two TDs. With his two TD receptions, Austin set the Monmouth career record with 22, surpassing Anthony Galella's 21 scoring catches.
For Saint Francis, Anthony Doria completed 26-of-53 for 340 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Luke Palko caught 10 passes for 116 yards Michael Caputo had nine receptions for 137 yards and three TDs and Maurice Sales hauled in four passes for 99 yards and one TD. On the ground, Todd Harris rushed 12 times for 98 yards.
The Hawks fell behind early, 14-0, as Saint Francis got a pair of touchdown passes from Doria in the first eight minutes of the game. On the Red Flash first drive, Doria connected with Caputo for a 23-yard TD pass to cap an 8-play, 76 yard drive. On SFU's second drive, Doria hit Sales on a 45 yard touchdown pass, to complete a 5 play, 80 yard drive and Saint Francis held a 14 point advantage with 7:27 remaining in the first quarter.
After David Jiles returned a kickoff 37 yards to the Saint Francis' 46-yard line, Boland completed passes of 16 yards to Michael McClelland and 21 yards to Matt Sosnovik to set up a 3 yard TD run by Joe Migliore. Monmouth ran the swinging gate play on the point after touchdown attempt and Dan Blazosky ran in for two points, trimming the lead to 14-8 with 5:21 remaining in the first quarter.
Saint Francis inflated the cushion back to nine points as Adam Sciulli hit a 23-yard field goal and the Red Flash 17-8 as the first quarter clock expired.
On the first play of the second quarter, Smith broke through the line and found no one in the defensive secondary and rumbled 40 yards for a touchdown, trimming the lead to 17-15.
The Red Flash scored on its fourth consecutive drive as Palko was running what appeared to be reverse and found a wide open Caputo who he hit for a 31-yard TD pass. The extra point gave St. Francis a 24-15 kead with 12:03 left in the first half.
The Hawks' defense finally stifled the Red Flash to force a punt on SFU's fifth drive. Carl Parrish's punt was blocked by McClelland who recovered at the Saint Francis 30-yard line. A personal foul by the Red and White put the ball at the SFU 15-yard line and on the first play of the drive Boland hit Austin for a 15-yard TD pass, trimming the lead to 24-22 with 4:57 left in the half.
Monmouth took its first lead of the game with 3:55 remaining in the first quarter. Mike Castellano intercepted a Doria pass and rumbled down to the Monmouth 3-yard line. Two plays later, Brendan Kennedy scampered into the end zone from four yards out. The Hawks went for the two point conversion, but Boland's pass was dropped by Austin in the end zone.
Ivin Hicks returned the ensuing kickoff 47-yards to the Monmouth 45-yard line. Doria completed 3-or-4 passes for 40 yards, including a 24-yard TD pass to Caputo to give Saint Francis a 31-28 lead with 2:03 left in the first half.
The Hawks responded with a 7-play, 61-yard drive. Boland completed 6 of 7 passes for 61 yards. The final play was a 13-yard TD pass to Austin to give Monmouth a 35-31 advantage heading into the intermission.
“Fortunately, we had a big offensive day against St. Francis,” said head coach Kevin Callahan. “Everytime they took the lead we responded with points of our own. It was an exciting game and with the win we captured our second consecutive NEC Championship.”
With the win, Monmouth equaled the school mark for wins with 10, set in 2003. The Hawks also set a new standard for winning percentage as the Blue and White's .909 winning percentage surpass it's .833 mark from last season. Monmouth posted a 10-1 overall record and a 6-1 mark in Northeast Conference play, en route to earning the Sports Network Cup, awarded to the top team among the nation's NCAA Division I-AA Mid-Major teams.
