September 2, 2018
Monmouth lost their opener Friday night to Eastern Michigan, 51-17. They are worth reading about as a Jersey team with many players from our state. Here is a summary from the Monmouth football web site:
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 17 | |
| 13 | 17 | 14 | 7 | 51 |
Game Recap: Football |
FOOTBALL FALLS IN OPENER TO EASTERN MICHIGAN
YPSILANTI, MI – The Monmouth University football team fell to FBS foe Eastern Michigan in the 2018 season opener Friday night, 51-17. The Eagles ran out to a 30-3 lead at halftime and were able to hold off the Hawks in the second half. Junior quarterback Kenji Bahar scored Monmouth’s first touchdown early in the third quarter, rolling out to the left for an eight-yard scramble. Bahar finished with 25 completions and 190 yards, including a 45-yard strike to senior Brandon Batts just before his rushing touchdown. With 4:37 left in the game, freshman running back Juwon Farri dashed for a 38-yard score, the first of his career. Farri ended as the team’s leading rusher, racking up 111 yards on just 13 carries. Monmouth scored its most points ever against an FBS opponent, besting the previous mark of 10 (at Central Michigan in 2015). Fifth-year senior wide receiver Reggie White Jr. moved into third all-time for receiving yards. He now has 2,317 for his career, trailing only Miles Austin (2,867) and Neal Sterling (2,615) in the record book. The Hawks fell to 0-1 on the season, and will host Hampton on Saturday, September 8.
NOTES AND QUOTES
“I think for the first game of the season we committed way too many mistakes to give ourselves a fighting chance to come up on top. I certainly wasn’t happy with the number of penalties we had across the board and we didn’t have any consistency in execution. There were things we did well in the second half, some positives to move on going forward. But before we can move forward we have to fix a lot of things where we broke ourselves down prevented us from earning the opportunity to win. We have to address that first as a coaching staff and then address it with our team.” – Monmouth Head Coach Kevin Callahan
-After Monmouth was forced to punt on its first drive, Eastern Michigan took an early 7-0 lead with a 16-yard touchdown pass. The drive went 95 yards in 15 plays and took 6:05 off the clock.
-A trick play put Eastern Michigan up 13-0 with 4:16 left in the first, as the QB Tyler Wiegers threw a backwards pass to WR Isaac Holder, who then threw a 34-yard touchdown to TE Bryce Kemp.
-Senior Devell Jones put the Hawks on the move towards the end of the first quarter, bursting through the middle for a 27-yard gain on a 3rd-and-1. The drive ended with a turnover on downs, however, as Bahar was sacked on 4th-and-2.
-The Eagles extended their lead to 20-0 in the beginning of the second quarter, as QB Mike Glass found WR Dylan Drumond on a 15-yard touchdown pass.
-A field goal with 10:35 left and a 20-yard touchdown with 2:08 left put Eastern Michigan up 30-0 late in the second quarter.
-The Hawks got on the board with 33 seconds left in the first half. Sophomore kicker Matt Mosquera drilled a career-long 42-yard field goal to make it 30-3.
-After the defense forced a three-and-out to start the second half, Bahar hit Batts down the sideline for a 45-yard gain. Bahar later scored Monmouth’s first touchdown on an eight-yard scamper.
-Eastern Michigan would answer with two more touchdowns, and by the end of the third quarter led 44-10.
-The teams traded touchdowns in the fourth quarter, eventually culminating in the 51-17 final score.
NUMBERS CRUNCH
-In his first collegiate action, junior linebacker Da’Quan Grimes collected eight tackles.
-Redshirt freshman Terrance Green Jr.’s first career catch came with 1:25 left in the second quarter, as his four-yard gain gave Monmouth a first down at Eastern Michigan’s 26-yard line.
-In the first half alone, White Jr. hauled in seven passes for 75 yards, which amounted to 61% of the offense.
-Dating back to last season, Monmouth has allowed 149 points over its last three games.
-Sophomore Anthony Budd compiled seven tackles, which ranked second on the team for the night.
-Eastern Michigan completed 22 of 27 passes for 302 yards and five passing touchdowns.
-On the ground, Monmouth outgained the Eagles 187-160.
-Sophomore Colin McCreary punted four times for an average of 45.8 yards, including a long of 60.
UP NEXT
The Hawks will return to West Long Branch on Saturday, September 8 to host Hampton. Last season on the road, Monmouth came away with a 30-23 overtime win over the Pirates.