Monmouth football: 5 takeaways from 42-23 win over Towson in CAA opener

Monmouth’s sloppy season opener against FBS foe Florida Atlantic seemed like a distant memory.

Because a week later, the Hawks’ overall execution was much crisper against Towson in Saturday’s CAA opener at Johnny Unitas Stadium in Maryland. It might not have been a perfect performance, but the 42-23 victory over the Tigers was a big step forward as the Hawks seek to rise in the standings in their second season in the league.

Monmouth overcame an early 10-0 deficit, and then held off a fourth quarter rally when Towson pulled to within 28-23, getting a special teams turnover that led to a 4-yard TD run by Sone Ntoh with 4:42 to play to give the Hawks the cushion they needed.

The Monmouth defense then sealed the victory with its final turnover, leading to Ntoh's third TD run of the game, as the Hawks improved to 1-1.

"You only get eight chances in the league so you have to take advantage of them, and for us to go 1-0 is huge," Monmouth head coach Kevin Callahan said.

In all, Monmouth forced four key turnovers, including two that halted Towson drives, while setting up a pair of touchdowns.

"That’s been the goal since the start of camp," said linebacker Jake Brown, with the graduate transfer from Harvard finishing with seven tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble. "We’ve got guys on both sides of the ball that can fly and we knew once we put it together we’re going to be a tough team to compete with. Today we put it together and complimented each other."

Monmouth turned the ball over on its first possession of the game. But after it led to a Towson touchdown, the game was suspended for a half hour due to a weather warning.

“The weather delay came at the right time,” Callahan said. “We regrouped and came out and did what we had to do and all three phases played well."

Here are five takeaways from Monmouth’s win at Towson:

1.  Defensive stand

At one point, the Monmouth defense got Towson off the field on four straight possessions, allowing Monmouth to score 21 unanswered points. For the game, the unit allowed just 275 yards of offense.

But the big play woes that cropped up in the first game became an issue again. Towson quarterback Nathan Kent completed passes of 27 and 25 yards in the first quarter when they built a 10-0 lead, and he got Towson back in the game in the third quarter with a 44-yard completion down to the Monmouth 5-yard-line, with Devin Matthews scoring three plays later to pull Towson within 21-17 with 8:31 left.

But after Towson drove to the Monmouth 21 with just over a minute left in the third quarter, Towson tried a flea-flicker, with Lukkas Londono throwing a pass towards the end zone that graduate cornerback Eddie Morales intercepted at the one-yard-line.

It was one of three turnovers the defense forced, including a strip-sack by Brown, with the loose ball recovered by Miles Mitchell at the Towson 29. Three plays later Monmouth took a 28-17 lead with 9:41 to play on Assante Kearney’s 16-yard TD grab.

“The coaches put us in position to make plays, and when it’s blitzing I just pin my ears back and try to make a play," Brown said. "I was able to get that done, but the defensive line did a great job and that just opened up.

"The sky is the limit for this defense."

2. Special teams contribute

With 10:31 left in the game, a low line drive punt from Luke Schabel was muffed by Londono, with Dre Tucker recovering for Monmouth at the Towson 40. With Monmouth’s offense having punted on its previous three possessions, it was a huge boost, setting up a Monmouth score.

But a 49-yard return on the ensuing kickoff by D’Ago Hunter set Towson up in Monmouth territory. Overall, it was a better performance, but Monmouth struggled with Hunter, an All-CAA returner.

3. Shirden grinds away

After junior running back Jaden Shirden gashed Towson for 211 yards last season, including a 75-yard TD run, the Tigers’ defense was focused on the junior. Shirden was able run for 145 yards on 33 carries. But for the second straight week it was clear teams will be gearing up to stop him after he gained 1,722 yards in 11 games last season.

"Jaden did a great job picking up some really tough yards," Callahan said. "I think he showed today how durable he can be and how he is able to get the tough yardage."

He capped off Monmouth best drive of the season, a 16-play, 81-yard march, taking it the final six yards from the shotgun to put Monmouth on top, 14-10, with 1:44 to play in the first half.

Monmouth ran for 202 yards, with Ntoh, a graduate transfer from Harvard, taking the ball on fourth-and-one and rumbled 66 yards for a touchdown to pull Monmouth within 10-7. He scored three TDs on the game, including on a three-yard run with 1:25 remaining.

4. Strong under center

Graduate transfer quarterback Marquez McCray had another solid performance. His finest moment came in the third quarter with the Hawks holding a 14-10 edge. He gave a play action fake to Shirden, spun into the pocket and fired a 36-yard strike to Kearney in the back of the end zone to give the Hawks a 21-10 lead with 10:44 left.

For the game, McCray threw for 237 yards, completing 21-of-30, with two TDs and no interceptions. He bounced back from strip-sack on the game’s opening possession that led to a Towson TD.

"I'm very happy with the way Marquez operated in the pocket, getting the ball to our receivers," Callahan said.

5. The path forward

This was a critical win because not only does it get the Hawks off to a 1-0 start in CAA play, it builds momentum heading into a stretch of game where Monmouth has some very winnable games.

The Hawks return to the field next Saturday for the home opener when Campbell comes to West Long Branch. After that, Monmouth has games at Lafayette and home against Lehigh, before hosting Hampton, picked to finish last in the CAA.

Pregame:

Monmouth football vs. Towson: Scouting report, analysis and prediction for CAA opener

Monmouth gets into its second season of CAA competition quickly, with a Week 2 clash with Towson Saturday to open league play.

Monmouth got off to a fast start in 2022, getting to 2-1, including wins over No. 9 Villanova and Albany, before losing four straight CAA games to fall from contention, including a 52-48 loss to Towson in West Long Branch.

Starting fast again would help, with some of Monmouth's toughest games, including at preseason favorite William & Mary, come in the second half of the schedule.

MONMOUTH (0-1) AT TOWSON (0-1)

WHEN: Saturday, 6 p.m.

WHERE: Unitas Stadium, Towson, Maryland.

STREAMING/AUDIO: Flosports.com/MonmouthHawks.com.

SERIES: Towson leads the series 8-1, winning the last meeting, 52-48, in 2022 at Monmouth.

When Monmouth has the ball

FAU was simply not going to allow star RB Jaden Shirden to get loose, crowding the line of scrimmage from the start, and the Hawks didn’t do enough to offset it was play action and misdirection. Shirden broke a 75-yard TD run vs. Towson in 2022, part of a 213-yard, two TD afternoon. QB Marquez McCray played well, and needs to be trusted to throw the ball more early on, not just when you’re behind and have no choice. WR Dymere Miller caught 10 passes, but McCray missed him wide open on a deep ball. Look for WR TJ Speight to get more target after catching six passes for 72 yards.

More: Monmouth football falls at Florida Atlantic in 2023 season-opener

Towson LB Mason Woods was an FCS Freshman All-American last season, and had eight tackles, including two for a loss, and a half-sack against Monmouth last season. DL Jesus Gibbs, a second-team All-CAA pick a year ago, had a sack and four tackles against the Hawks.

When Towson has the ball

Last season’s loss to Monmouth, in which the Tigers ran for 263 yards, rolling up 479 yards of offense, was a microcosm of the Hawks’ season, squandering some very good offensive performances. Is the defense any better? Here’s a good measuring stick, with Towson RB Devin Matthews returning, after rushing for 112 yards on just 15 carries last year against the Hawks. Dynamic QB Tyrell Pigrome has been replaced by redshirt junior Nathan Kent. Also returning is WR Da’Kendall James, who had a 61-yard TD catch vs. the Hawks.    And they’ll be working within the fast-paced “Air Raid” offense of first-year head coach Pete Shinnick.

The linebacking duo of Ryan Moran and Jake Brown combined to make 22 tackles, an interception, a tackle-for-a-loss and a quarterback hurry. But overall, the unit did not tackle well, giving up a 72-yard TD pass in which two DBs missed chances to make a play, and a 57-yarder that set up another score. There were also several pass interference penalties, while senior S TJ Kamara was ejected for targeting midway through the first quarter. Monmouth’s defense has to play better, cleaner and smarter to have a chance in this one.

Special teams

Missing an extra point should happen maybe once every year or two. Maybe. Monmouth missed four last season, and freshman K Michael Calton Jr. missed one in the first game. And the Hawks avoid kicking field goals if at all possible. P Luke Schabel was busy in the opener, pungent seven times with a 40.3-yard average.

Towson’s KR D’Ago Hunter is a Preseason All-CAA selection.

Prediction

Monmouth 35, Towson 32,

From earlier this week:

Is Towson a must-win? Why CAA opener looms as major measuring stick

WEST LONG BRANCH – Of course it’s not time to panic after Monmouth’s season-opening 42-20 loss at Florida Atlantic last Saturday. Sure, the Hawks were sloppy, but it was an FBS foe on the road, right?

Saturday’s CAA opener at Towson is another story.

Towson finished tied for sixth in the league last season, while Monmouth tied for ninth. Monmouth was picked eighth in this year’s preseason poll, while Towson was ninth. In terms of any upward mobility for the Hawks in their second season in the league, this is a big one.

Must-win?

Let’s just say it’s a huge early measuring stick for Monmouth’s offense, now led by graduate transfer quarterback Marquez McCray, and a restructured defense, featuring a host of new faces as it moves forward without longtime defensive coordinator Andy Bobik, who left the program for personal reasons three weeks ago.

“I see a team that is very resilient, I see a team that is focused on succeeding on Saturday. They understand where we fell apart,” Monmouth head coach Kevin Callahan said this week.

And it goes beyond the game itself.

Monmouth’s heading into the heart of its recruiting base this weekend. They’ve gotten many of their top players over the past 15 years from the I-95 corridor between Delaware and Northern Virginia. They’re now in direct competition with Towson for players in that area.

A victory in the middle of the region would be an early statement in Year 2.

The Tigers come in off a 38-6 loss at Maryland under new head coach Pete Shinnick, who led West Florida to a Division 2 national championship.

With nine penalties, including some critical false starts and pass interference calls, special teams miscues and some missed assignments, there’s plenty Monmouth needs to clean up to have a chance at Unitas Stadium in Towson, Maryland Saturday.

“On offense, we put ourselves in some bad situations with penalties and when you’re playing up in a game like that you almost have to be perfect to give yourself a fighting chance,” Callahan said. “If you don’t you don’t have any chance. The good thing is that everything we saw in my mind is all correctable.

“The positive is that our guys played their asses off. No matter what point in the game, regardless of the score, we played hard as hell and we kept playing hard as hell. Even late in the game when we get the fumble, the turnover on defense, there was energy on the field and energy on the sideline.”

Monmouth emerged from the FAU game relatively healthy, with only sophomore linebacker Charlie Sasso questionable for the Towson game.

Keep checking back throughout the weekend for complete coverage of Monmouth's CAA opener against Towson.

Monmouth football and defensive coordinator part ways

WEST LONG BRANCH – Fixing its beleaguered defense was Monmouth’s top offseason priority after finishing last in most major statistical categories in its first CAA season, while ranking 91st nationally out of 123 FCS programs.

So Saturday’s revelation of the sudden departure of Andy Bobik, the team’s defensive coordinator for 23 seasons and associate head coach since 2009, was totally unexpected. Bobik, a member of head coach Kevin Callahan’s original coaching staff in 1993, left the program two weeks earlier for what a statement from the school said were “personal reasons.”

Callahan has not commented specifically on Bobik’s departure. Bobik did not respond to a voicemail message from the Asbury Park Press Tuesday.

Monmouth lost its opener at Florida Atlantic, 42-20, with the Owls, an FBS program, rolling up 493 yards of offense. Now the Hawks face a critical early-season measuring stick in Saturday’s CAA opener at Towson (6 p.m.), which opened with a 38-6 loss at Maryland.

Time is of the essence, with Monmouth trying to slip through an incredible window of opportunity with the Hawks possessing some of the top offensive talent at the FCS level in junior running back Jaden Shirden and senior receiver Dymere Miller.

The Hawks spent the offseason transitioning to a more attacking style of defense rather than the read-and-react schemes used throughout Bobik’s tenure, although it’s unclear if that played a role in his departure.

Now Monmouth’s moving forward without a defensive coordinator, with much of the workload shared between the defensive staff, including linebackers coach Andrew Kirkland, in his ninth season with the program, defensive line coach David Kunyz, in his fifth season, and defensive back coach Bishop Neal, in his second season.

“We’ve got to distribute the workload among the whole staff,” Callahan said. “Everyone is pitching in to help out. Yes, we are a man down, but I think we can divide the workload and share it equally.

“I’m not going to name a defensive coordinator at this point because in my mind it’s not the thing to do. I don’t want to put that responsibility on any one person without having time to prepare for it. So I think it is a cooperative effort. Certain guys will signal, certain guys will call things. It’s a collaborative effort.”

Added graduate cornerback Eddie Morales: “Our coaches are doing a great job so I don’t think this really had an impact on us, and we’re going to be ready for Towson.”

The 493 yards-per-game Monmouth gave up last season was its most ever, after giving up 428.6 yards  in 2021. Since 2014, excluding the four-game spring COVID season in 2021, Monmouth has finished an average of 70th nationally in total defense.

Mixed bag

Looking at the opener, however, Callahan saw positives and negatives in the team’s overall performance against a team from the American Athletic Conference.

“Defensively, we didn’t tackle well and we gave up some big plays,” he said. “That made the score what it was. A one-play drive for a touchdown, a two-play drive for a touchdown, that’s 14 points right there. Who knows if you make them go a long way. Maybe it was because of their speed, but we’ve got to be better than we were.”

Monmouth’s defensive effort wasn’t helped by the ejection of senior safety TJ Kamara for targeting midway through the first quarter.

“He’s got to be smarter than that. It was very, very clear it was targeting,” Callahan said. “It was early in the game, it was an aggressive mistake and he lowered his head. You can’t do that.”

Callahan was impressed with graduate transfer quarterback Marquez McCray in his first game for the Hawks, throwing for 249 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception,

“It wasn’t too big for him,” Callahan said. “He played like the veteran quarterback that he is. A guy who has been a starter for three years (at Sacred Heart). He was never rattled in the game. He was composed and maintained his control when things were good or bad, and that was a sign of his maturity.”

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: College games today: Monmouth vs Towson; Coverage of Hawks' CAA opener