Monmouth drubs Lehigh, 49-7; Hawks roll up over 600 yards of offense
WEST LONG BRANCH – Now everyone can take a deep breath and exhale heading into the bye week, with Monmouth 49-7 victory over Lehigh Saturday releasing the pressure that built during the Hawks' early-season struggles, including a recent two-game skid.
And it’s the way it all went down at Kessler Stadium that provided real hope Monmouth might be capable of turning the season around.
There was the breakout performance by graduate transfer quarterback Marquez McCray, hitting on 22 of 28 passes for 333 yards and four TDs, and a strong effort by the Hawks’ beleaguered defense, limiting the Mountain Hawks to under 300 yards of offense despite missing five key players, including two starters. And the ground game got back on track, rolling up 228 yards as junior Jaden Shirden ran for 119 yards, breaking a 66-yarder, while graduate transfer Sone Ntoh went on a 92-yard TD run in the third quarter.
So while the Hawks are still 2-3, the alternative was a heck of a lot worse, with the bulk of a very tough CAA schedule still to come. The overall play was much cleaner than a week earlier in a loss at Lafayette, going from 10 penalties down to five, while the offense rolled up over 600 yards.
“We had opportunities throughout our first four games to win more than the one that we did, and we didn’t capitalize on those opportunities, and the team made up its mind we were going to capitalize on them today,” Monmouth head coach Kevin Callahan said.
“I thought it was a total team effort, both sides of the ball contributed to the victory. Offensively, we kind of had our way in the air and on the ground and really moved the ball at will and put it in the end zone. I thought the defense was opportunistic, coming up with some turnovers, and they were very stout against the run all day long.”
Here are five takeaways from Monmouth's dominating victory over Lehigh:
Dymere rising
Lost in Monmouth’s early-season struggles has been the play of senior receiver Dymere Miller, who came into the game third in the nation with 9.5 receptions-per-game, and top-10 in yards-per-game. And Miller did nothing to hurt his stature among the nation's top slot receivers, finishing with eight catches for 122 yards and two touchdowns.
A preseason All-CAA selection, Miller caught a 10-yard TD pass in the second quarter to cap off a 76-yard drive that saw McCray complete all seven of his passes for 73 yards. The two later thooked up on a 36-yard scoring strike to up Monmouth’s lead to 35-7 with 10:37 left in the third quarter.
"The offensive line did a great job protecting. I felt comfortable the entire time and we got the ball to our playmakers like Dymere and just got everybody involved early," said McCray, who got sacked just twice and being dropped seven times a week earlier."
Injuries mounting
Just how crowded is the Monmouth trainer’s room getting?
On defense alone, Monmouth was without starting linebacker Jake Brown, out with a knee injury, while starting cornerback Eddie Morales (knee), nickel back Davis Smith and dime back Jaylen Dotson all sat out, while defensive tackle Bryce Rooks, who had been coming on, and backup linebacker Charlie Sasso were all out. Callahan indicated after the game Dotson was not injured and had left the team.
On the offensive side, the Hawks were without starting left tackle Jordan Hall and starting center Tyler Williams.
Defensive stand
After being unable to get off the field in big spots the past two weeks, while surrendering 735 yards and 73 points, Monmouth limited the Mountain Hawks to just 281 yards of offense and one score. And they did it with some younger players stepping up, including freshman cornerback Deuce Lee, who made an interception, and freshman Israel Clark-White, who made four tackles.
“I think we just weren’t satisfied coming off the first four games,” said linebacker Remi Johnson, who had a team-high nine tackles, with two for losses. “We felt like we had so much more in the tank and so much more potential, and even them scoring seven points we were disappointed with that.”
Special teams solid
It was a mixed bag in this area. There were positives, including making all seven extra points, not giving up any big returns for scores or turning the ball over.
But there was a miss of a 25-yard field goal. And a roughing the kicker penalty on a punt with four minutes to play. And with Micah Green returning punts while Morales is out, there were a few anxious moments as he tried to scoop up a ball he shouldn’t have, while not fielding several punts he should have.
In the final minutes, freshman Josh Derry did recover a fumble off a muffed punt.
Down the road
After the bye week, Monmouth gets into the heart of its CAA schedule when it hosts Hampton Oct. 14 at 1 p.m. A week later, Monmouth must travel to face Elon, which last week beat a Campbell team that knocked off Monmouth two weeks ago.
If Monmouth can start to get healthy, the Hawks might have a chance to get back into the hunt for an FCS Playoff berth and potentially the conference race, but there’s no margin for error at this point.
“I think the bye comes at a good time," Callahan said. "It’s right in the middle of the season and it comes at a time when we have a number of players who did not play today, so it gives them an additional week to heal up and get healthy."
Pregame coverage
Monmouth vs Lehigh: Scouting report, analysis and prediction
WEST LONG BRANCH – As disappointing as last Saturday’s 28-20 loss at Lafayette was, it’s worth remembering that Monmouth is still 1-1 in Coastal Athletic Association play, with the bulk of its conference schedule still to be played.
So there’s still time to turn the season around after a 1-3 start, but it has to begin with a Homecoming win over Lehigh today. Because back-to-back losses to Patriot League teams would be a pretty strong indicator that the Hawks won’t be able to compete in the CAA, with Lehigh already have been drubbed at home by Villanova, 38-10.
The first step has to involve cleaning things up on gameday, with the Hawks having been a sloppy, penalty-ridden team all season, getting whistled for 10 penalties last weekend.
“(Lafayette) was they were able to convert on third downs and we weren’t able to get off the field,” Monmouth head coach Kevin Callahan said. “Those are the downs you have to win to get yourself off the field. Combine that with four or five big pass plays they made on each of their touchdown drives - they had a big play that maybe got 25, 30 yards - that helped improve their field position, and some of those were on third down. “
Here's today’s scouting report:
LEHIGH (1-3, 0-0 Patriot) AT MONMOUTH (1-3, 1-1 CAA)
WHEN: Today, 1 p.m.
WHERE: Kessler Stadium, West Long Branch.
TV: SNY, NBC Sports Philadelphia, FloSports.com (streaming).
SERIES: Lehigh leads the series, 5-4, but Monmouth has won four straight, including a 35-7 at Lehigh last season.
More: Monmouth football falls at Lafayette, 28-20, as Hawks' season begins to slip away
When Monmouth has the ball
One thing Monmouth has been able to count on during its rise through the FCS ranks over the past decade is a dynamic offense. But the unit has floundered this seasons, limited to 59 rushing yards by Lafayette last weekend, while QB Marquez McCray was sacked seven times. It’s unclear if the Hawks will get healthy along the offensive line, with LT Jordan Hall missing last game and three starters sidelined by game’s end last Saturday. RB Jaden Shirden is nursing a sore shoulder, limited to 41 yards on 16 carries after averaging 8.4 yards-per-carry last season. WR Dymere Miller did catch 10 passes for 121 yards and two TDS and is currently ranked third nationally catches-per-game (8.5) and seventh in yards-per-game (99.5).
The Lehigh defense is led by a trio of New Jersey linebackers in Denville’s Mike DeNucci (35 tackles), Mahwah’s Nick Peltekian (28 tackles) and Freehold’s Tyler Ochojski (21 tackles). Lehigh only has six sack sin four games, but the Hawks struggled to sustain blocks last week. The Mountain Hawks rank 17th in the country in pass defense, giving up just 161 yards-per-game, and are 50th defensively nationally, giving up 358 yards on average.
When Lehigh has the ball
Monmouth is likely to be without graduate transfer linebacker Jake Brown, the Week 2 CAA Defensive Player of the Week, while CB Eddie Morales sat out last week’s game. But the Hawks need all hands on deck with the unit have done a backslide since a solid effort at Towson, giving up a combined 73 points and 735 yards the past two games. Penalties, including a pair of pass interference calls on CB Mike Reid, and a penchant for surrendering big plays continue to be problem areas.
Sophomore QB Brayton Silbor has been the Mountain Hawks’ starter this season, but senior Dante Perri, last year’s starter, played the fourth quarter against Dartmouth last weekend. The Mountain Hawks only have three rushing TDs so far, and two by running backs. Junior Gaige Garcia is their leading rusher, but he’s averaging just 28 yards-per-game.
Special teams
The highlight last week was freshman K Michael Calton Jr. kicking field goals of 36 and 47 yards in tough conditions at Lafayette, while P Luke Schabel averaged 52.5 yards and stopped two inside the 20.
But Monmouth’s return teams continue to rank near the bottom nationally. But Makai Green was back from injury and looked good on kickoffs.
Prediction
Monmouth 27, Lehigh 24
Monmouth to 'evaluate everything' after disastrous loss to Lafayette
There was exasperation in Monmouth head coach Kevin Callahan’s voice as he spoke about the events of last Saturday in Easton, Pa.
To the point where Callahan promised a re-examine of everything, including personnel, in the aftermath of last Saturday’s meltdown at Lafayette, with 10 penalties and two turnovers the starting point in assessing a 28-20 loss in which Monmouth quarterback Marquez McCray was sacked seven times, while the defense gave up 213 rushing yards and a handful of big plays.
“We need to really evaluate what we’re asking the players to do. Are we asking them to do the right things? Are we putting them in the right position to be successful?” Callahan said on the CAA’s weekly conference call, after his team fell to 1-3.
“We’re at the point where we’ve lost two-in-a-row, we’re not doing things at a high level - so as a coaching staff, as the head coach, I have to evaluate everything we’re asking our players to do and we’ll have a plan moving forward, and it will be a plan that not only fits what we have planned but we want to be philosophical.”
It’s unclear how any changes might manifest themselves when the Hawks take the field Saturday (1 p.m.) at Kessler Stadium in West Long Branch when they host Lehigh in a nonconference game.
To put it in perspective, the ground game that averaged 228.5 yards last season is getting just 145.8 this season, and was limited to 59 rushing yards by Lafayette. And the defense, which lost its coordinator when Andy Bobik, on the staff for nearly 30 years, walked away from the program two weeks before the start of the season for “personal reasons,” ranks 111th out of 122 FCS teams nationally in red zone defense, 107th in passing efficiency defense and 82nd in third down conversion defense.
“From our standpoint, we did not play up to the level of our expectations,” Callahan said. “We hurt ourselves with mistakes. I think those mistakes were ultimately the difference. The mistakes that you can’t make regardless of who you are playing.
“We had 10 penalties, seven were what I classify as mental mistakes, false starts, lining up offsides. Those are the things a well-coached, disciplined team doesn’t do. The other thing is we’re not good on third downs. They won third down easily. And then the turnovers created good field position for them. It wasn’t a good day and they played well.”
There’s still a chance to save the season, but it won’t be easy with a brutal league schedule on the horizon, including a trip to No. 4 William & Mary and a visit from No. 17 New Hampshire.
“Are we asking our players to do things that fits them the best?” Callahan wondered. “Running the ball more effectively, are we running it too much? Are we not running it enough? Do we need to change schemes in what we’re doing? Those are all things that are up for evaluation this week.”
What’s unclear is who will be available this week, as injuries continue to mount. Monmouth’s top running backs, Jaden Shirden, nursing a shore shoulder, and Sone Ntoh, were on the sidelines when the Lafayette game ended. Cornerback Eddie Morales was expected to play but didn’t, while linebacker Jake Brown is week-to-week with a knee injury. Not to mention several starting offensive linemen whose status is in doubt.
Michael Calton kicking into gear
If there was a bright spot from Saturday it was freshman kicker Michael Calton Jr. from Manalapan, who converted field goal tries of 47 and 36 yards in difficult conditions. The program record for the longest field goal is 49 yards.
“We are very excited about what Michael is doing for us,” Callahan said. “He’s able to hit from long range and he’s been consistent. He missed on a couple of extra points where he hit it off the upright, but what he was able to do Saturday was a testament to his resilience. He’s a guy who takes his craft very seriously.”
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: College football games this weekend: Monmouth vs Lehigh
