Monmouth football: Harvard grad Sone Ntoh flashes punishing, explosive style in 3 TD game
WEST LONG BRANCH – What did Sone Ntoh do immediately after graduating from Harvard in May?
The 230-pound running back jumped in his car and drove straight to the Jersey Shore to start working out with his new Monmouth teammates.
“I’ve only been here for four months now but it feels like I’ve been here for a year, that’s how close I am with the guys in the locker room and the coaches,” he said.
Ntoh officially introduced himself to everyone else Saturday night at Towson, barreling into the end zone twice from close range, while flashing his speed by turning a fourth-and-one into a 66-yard TD burst in the Hawks’ 42-23 victory.
The Macungie, Pennsylvania native steps into the role held the past two seasons by Owen Wright, now on the Baltimore Ravens’ practice squad. And while it’s a limited role, it’s an incredibly important one, with Ntoh having scored four times in his five carries over the first two games.
“He fits that role very well,” Monmouth head coach Kevin Callahan said. “He has the size and the strength to get the short yardage, the goal line, the tough yardage situations. That’s why he’s our guy. And he has a burst of speed, as we saw Saturday night.
“He has picked up our offense extremely well, and quickly. He’s a veteran who has played four years of college football.”
It was a big weekend for Harvard graduate transfers, with Hawks’ linebacker Jake Brown earning CAA Defensive Player of the Week honors for his seven-tackle, two-sack performance against Towson.
With Ntoh, there were no illusions when he visited Monmouth for the first time last January after entering the NCAA transfer portal. Jaden Shirden was coming off a season in which he finished third in voting for the Walter Peyton Award, given annually to the top offensive player in FCS football, rushing for 1,722 yards as a sophomore.
“I was told when I got here this is Jaden’s backfield,” Ntoh said. “I’m just trying to play my part in the entire thing, whatever it may be, whether it’s pass protecting on third down or giving Jaden a break or scoring a goal line touchdown that is what I am going to do.”
But at 195 pounds, Shirden carried the ball a career-high 33 times in pounding out 145 yards against Towson, while catching three passes for 29 yards. That’s a heavy workload, so don’t be surprised if Ntoh is asked to start picking up more of the slack.
“Sone gives us another option,” Callahan said. “Initially, our plan was that he would be our goal line and short yardage guy, but he’s a guy we could start working in for more opportunities.
“To Jaden’s credit, he showed the ability to be a back who can carry the ball 30-plus times, and we know he has the ability to be explosive and to rip off long gainers, too. So it was a side that maybe we haven’t seen as much of in the past.”
Ntoh's impressed with what he's seen from the offense so far, with the Hawks facing a tough test in Saturday’s home opener against Campbell, featuring a defense with nine transfers in the starting lineup.
“It’s a dynamic offense. That’s what (offensive coordinator Jeff) Gallo preaches, speed, speed, speed,” Ntoh said. “We’re trying to get the ball into our playmakers’ hands and let them go. But we also have that physical side without our downhill run scheme.
“I think we did a good job Saturday showing how complete a team we can be.”
Can Monmouth football defense rise to championship level?
In assessing his defense’s performance over the first two games of the season, Monmouth head coach Kevin Callahan’s words reflected both frustration with the unit in recent years, and hope for the current season.
“We’re starting to emerge as a defense that can be counted on,” he said.
That’s the goal. To be counted, be it pivotal plays or end-game scenarios, against ground-and-pound or run-and-shoot, early in the season or with an FCS Playoff spot on the line.
The step forward came Saturday during a 42-23 CAA victory at Towson in which Monmouth had four turnovers, including three forced by the defense, and four sacks. It was the first time the Hawks have had at least four turnovers and four sacks in a game in nine years.
But that renewed reliance will be put to the test in Saturday’s home opener (1 p.m.), when Campbell shows up at Kessler Stadium in West Long Branch featuring an offense ranked in the top 10 nationally in several key categories.
“I wouldn’t say we’re all the way there yet, but I think we’ve shown a tremendous amount of improvement,” Callahan said.
Big plays, big win
The numbers have been trending in the right direction. The unit that gave up 175 yards-per-game on the ground to conference foes last season held Towson to just 75. And while forcing four straight punts in the first half, Monmouth went from 10-0 down to a 21-10 lead.
All while transitioning away from a read-and-react defense to a more aggressive style after finishing last in the CAA in total defense a year ago. And the performance came three weeks after long-time defensive coordinator Andy Bobik left the program for “personal reasons.”
“That was the emphasis from the start of the week, to clean things up, focusing on tackling and the coaches did a great job,” said linebacker Jake Brown, named the CAA Defensive Player of the Week after making seven tackles, with two sacks and a forced fumble. “We trust in each other and if we go out and do our jobs we’re going to be a tough team.”
Trust and accountability are now moving the group forward, after an outing marked by big plays, particularly in the second half, that turned the game in Monmouth’s favor.
With Towson at the Monmouth 21-yard-line in the third quarter, trailing 21-17, the Tigers attempted a first-down flea-flicker. The Hawks were not fooled, with graduate cornerback Eddie Morales intercepting a pass at the 1-yard line to end the threat.
And after Towson pulled within 28-23 in the fourth quarter, it was Brown, a graduate transfer from Harvard, registered a strip-sack, with graduate defensive end Nick White recovering the ball at the Tigers’ 29, wetting up a Monmouth touchdown two plays later.
Now comes a Campbell team, led by fifth-year quarterback Malik Hajj-Williams, that rolled up 613 yards of offense in Saturday’s 56-7 win at The Citadel.
Monmouth football broadcast schedule announced
In addition to streaming on FloSports, Monmouth’s gave against Campbell will be broadcast live on SportsNet New York and NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Each of Monmouth’s five home games this season will air on local linear channels -SNY and NBC Sports Philadelphia - with two additional road games being shown in local markets as well.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: College football week 3: Monmouth vs Campbell coverage of CAA clash
