Monmouth football: Historic performance turns into heartbreaking loss vs New Hampshire

WEST LONG BRANCH – What had been an historic afternoon at Kessler Stadium turned into simply the latest heartbreak in a season of near misses for Monmouth.

While receiver Dymere Miller shattered Miles Austin’s program record with 333 receiving yards, it was New Hampshire getting a late touchdown pass from a freshman backup quarterback to pull off a 31-24 victory.

It all came down to a fourth down at the New Hampshire 31 in the final seconds, with Miller unable to make a diving catch on a tipped Hail Mary pass in the end zone as time expired, finalizing the latest missed opportunity for the Hawks.

“You’ve got to finish and play a full game,” Monmouth head coach Kevin Callahan said. “We did a lot of great things today. Dymere had a sensational day and there are a lot of other guys who played extremely well.

“When you play in this conference every week you are in a dog fight. There’s so much parity.”

Monmouth falls to 4-6 and will have a sub-.500 record for the second straight season, while dropping to 3-4 in CAA play. All four of Monmouth’s CAA losses are by a touchdown or less. New Hampshire improves to 5-5 overall, and 3-4 in league play.

“I set goals for the season and I reached them but I have bigger goals than just myself. I wanted to win championships and win games and we didn’t,” said Miller.

By day's end, Miller owned the program record for catches in a season, with his 85 receptions, including 11 Saturday, eclipsing the old mark of 74. He also set the record for receiving yards in a season with 1,243 yards with one game remaining, as the Hawks close the season next Saturday at Albany. His 333 yards was 98 more than the previous mark, set by Austin, who went on to become an All-Pro with the Dallas Cowboys, in 2005.

Opportunity lost

Monmouth had a chance to take the lead on what would have been a 34-yard field goal with just under seven minutes to play. But Callahan opted to go for the first down on fourth-and-three, with tight end Jack Neri stopped for a loss after making the catch.

“I think the result of that game was really on me 100 percent,” Callahan said. “We had fourth-and-three in field goal range, kick a field goal and we walk away with the win. I think I got a little greedy there and went for the first down.”

Except it’s not that simple. Eric Bernstein was Monmouth third kicker in as many weeks, and the Hawks still would had to stop the Wildcats from scoring, which they ultimately did could not do.

After Max Brosmer, who entered the game as the top FCS passer in the nation, was knocked from the game while scrambling for a first down to open the Wildcats' final drive, freshman Matt Vezza took over. And on fourth-and-three from the Monmouth 38, Vezza escaped pressure by rolling left, lofting a deep pass that Myles Thomason caught near the goal line for a touchdown and a 31-24 lead with 2:18 left.

“The play before (cornerback) Mike Reid was injured and had to come out of the game,” Callahan said. “They went to that side of the field and connected on it. I thought that was a situation where we could have gotten off the field right there.”

Monmouth quarterback Marquez McCray threw for 402 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and has thrown for 725 yards over the last two games. He moved Monmouth into New Hampshire territory in the final minute, but his desperation toss into the end zone as time expired hit the turf.

The fireworks everyone expected in a clash between two of the country’s top FCS offenses failed to materialize until late in the third quarter, at which point things heated up quickly.

One play after Brosmer threw a three-yard TD pass to Colby Ramshaw to tie the game at 17-all in the opening minute of the fourth quarter, Miller took a shovel pass from Marquez McCray, turned the corner and outran everyone down the sideline on 75-yard touchdown catch-and-run to put Monmouth back up 24-17.

But after a facemask penalty on the return set New Hampshire up at midfield, the Wildcats needed just six plays to reach the end zone, with Isaac Seide scoring from four yards out to tie the game with 11 minutes remaining.

Monmouth's Jaden Shirden and New Hampshire's Dylan Laube are two of the best FCS running backs in the country, but both were kept in check. Shirden finished with 85 yards rushing while Laube had just 47 yards rushing and 21 more receiving.

Monmouth football vs New Hampshire: Scouting report, analysis, prediction

WEST LONG BRANCH – What’s done is done. And sifting through the ashes of eminently winnable losses against Campbell, Elon and William & Mary changes nothing, with Monmouth still out of the FCS Playoff hunt.

But ending with three straight wins could ease the pain of what might have been – or make it worse. That means building on last Saturday’s lopsided 56-17 win over Stony Brook, in front of the largest home crowd of the season, when New Hampshire comes to Kessler Stadium Saturday.

Monmouth’s first-ever meeting with the Wildcats was last season’s opener, an already scheduled game that turned into the Hawks’ first CAA game after the program moved from the Big South.

It was a rude welcome to the new league, as the Wildcats scored 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to pull out a 31-21 win in Durham, New Hampshire. The Wildcats ended up in the FCS Playoffs, advancing with a win against Fordham before losing at Holy Cross.

For the record, New Hampshire fielded its first football team in 1893, exactly 100 years before Monmouth’s first season on the gridiron.

NEW HAMPSHIRE (4-5, 2-4) AT MONMOUTH (4-5, 3-3)

When: Saturday, 12 noon.

Where: Kessler Stadium, West Long Branch

TV: SNY, NBC Sports Philadelphia; FloSports.com (streaming).

Series: New Hampshire leads, 1-0.

When Monmouth has the ball

Buckle up. The offenses are going to dominate in what figures to be a wild shootout. New Hampshire ranks second nationally in passing offense (327.6 yards) and tenth in total offense (442.6 yards). But Monmouth is eighth in total offense (445.4 yards). And what the Hawks do better than almost anyone is run the ball, churning out 213.8 yards on average, with junior RB Jaden Shirden on pace to lead the FCS in rushing for a second straight year. They’re also top 25 in time of possession, and controlling the ball and giving its defense time to rest will be important. If it does come down to an aerial battle, Monmouth has some firepower of its own. QB Marquez McCray threw for 323 and four TDs against Stony Brook, and WR Dymere Miller, who ranks in the top 5 in every receiving stat nationally, and sets the program’s single-season mark for receptions in a season with his next catch, having equaled the mark of 74 catches with two games to play.

The Wildcats gave up 45 points and 436 yards in a loss to Villanova last time out. Junior LB Ryan Toscano leads the team with 68 tackles. DEs Josiah Silver and Dylan Ruiz have combined for six sacks and 12.5 tackles for losses.

When New Hampshire has the ball

Junior QB Max Brosmer leads the country with 2,939 passing yards in nine games, an average of 328.2 yards-per-game, with 24 TDs and just four interceptions.  He threw for 272 yards against Monmouth last season. Senior Dylan Laube leads the team in rushing and receiving yards. Monmouth has blitzed to increase the pressure on quarterbacks this season. And while they’ve continued to surrender big plays, the Hawks are giving up less points. It could be a dangerous tactic against Brosmer and his cadre of receivers.

CB Eddie Morales came up with his second red zone interception since returning from a knee injury. Winning the turnover battle and forcing a timely fumble or interception could be the difference. CB Mike Reid had a pair of pass breakups and S Tyrese Wright and S Thomas Joe-Kamara combined for 11 tackles against Stony Brook. What the Hawks didn’t have was a sack, and disrupting Brosmer will be imperative.

Special teams

Vincenzo Rea was perfect on eight extra points against Stony Brook. It’s exactly what the Hawks needed after the kicking woes in recent weeks. Luke Schabel tops the CAA in average and net average punting. Laube is a dangerous returner, having taken a punt and a kickoff back for scores, while the Wildcats have scored four special teams TDs this season.

Prediction

Monmouth 45, New Hampshire 42.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: College football Week 10 games: Monmouth vs New Hampshire