Monmouth Falls Late to Liberty, 34-24
LYNCHBURG, Va.- Monmouth University’s (5-4, 0-3 Big South) football team battled with first-place Liberty (7-3, 3-0 Big South) to a tie for most of the game but ultimately fell 34-24 on Saturday afternoon at Williams Stadium.
Monmouth answered four Liberty scores over the course of the first 49 minutes of the game, knotting it up 24-24 with 3:30 to play in the third quarter but could not match 10 Liberty points in the final 10:19 to earn its first Big South victory. Lavon Chaney (Edgewater, Md./River Hill) ran for 92 yards and had 125 all-purpose yards while Brandon Hill threw for 189 yards and two touchdowns on 18-of-28 passing.
“I was really proud of the way our team played today,” said Monmouth Head Coach Kevin Callahan. “They put forth a great effort and made some difficult plays in critical situations. Unfortunately, we were not able to pull the game out in the 4th quarter. I felt that we went into the game with a great plan on both sides of the ball and our players did a good job of executing it.”
With the score tied 24-24 at the start of the fourth quarter, the Flames were able to pull out in front for the fifth and final time on a two-yard DJ Abnar touchdown. Trailing by seven, Monmouth drove out midfield but Hill was sacked and fumbled and LU pounced on the ball. The Flames iced the game with five minute drive that culminated in a field goal and a 10 point lead with just over three minutes left.
Abnar gave his squad a 7-0 lead at the 9:31 mark with a five yard run up the middle. Woodrum was 2-of-3 for 36 yards while Abnar had six carries for 29 yards. The Liberty drive lasted 10 plays, went 68 yards and took off 5:29 of clock.
Monmouth evened the score on their second play from scrimmage when Matt Choi (Gaithersburg, Md./Quince Orchard) took a reverse, stopped and launched a 68 yard touchdown to tight end Hakeem Valles (Sicklerville, N.J./The Petty School). Monmouth’s drive covered 75 yards and took just 42 seconds off the clock.
MU’s defense recorded its first turnover in two games when Tyler Thompson recovered an Abnar fumble at the MU 44. The Hawks drove down to the Liberty 42 but penalties plagued the drive forcing a punt.
Liberty drove 80 yards on their next possession, moving ahead of Monmouth 14-7 on a 31 yard TD strike from Woodrum to Peterson after a penalty tacked on 15 yards to an 11 yard QB run. The score gave Liberty a 14-7 lead with 14:31 to play in the second quarter.
The Hawks battled right back on a six play scoring drive, started off by a 20 yard completion from Hill to Choi. That play was followed up by a 45 yard scamper by Chaney down to the LU 10. Three plays later Hill rolled left and hit Jake Mauro (Cheshire, Conn./Salisbury) for a three yard touchdown to tie the game up 14-14. Chaney’s 45 yard run was a career long for the sophomore.
Liberty took a late lead to end the half with a 26 yard John Lunsford field goal as time expired as the flames led 17-14.
Down three to start the second half, Monmouth rattled off a 15-play 68 yard drive that ended in a 24 yard Lucas Santangelo (Jamaica Estates, N.Y./Hempfied) to tie the game at 17-17.
The Flames regained the lead on a 13 yard Woodrum to Henderson touchdown pass on third down. The drive went 68 yards on six plays and was jumpstarted by a 44 yard pass to Jaquan Glover. After the 68 yard drive, Liberty led 24-17 with 5:07 to play.
Monmouth answered back on the ensuing drive, with Hill connecting with Darren Ambush (Dickerson, Md./Urbana) for a 37 yard touchdown strike with 3:30 left in the third quarter. The TD capped a quick scoring drive for MU, which went 81 yards on five plays over the span of 90 seconds.
Liberty embarked on a 15 play scoring drive to finish off the third quarter and start the final frame, pulling back in front 31-24 on a five yard Abnar run.
Monmouth got out to the Liberty 49 on its next drive but on third down Hill was hit while throwing and Liberty recovered the ball at the Monmouth 42. The Flames grinded out almost five minutes of the clock on the ensuing drive, getting down to the MU 10 before having to settle for Lunsford’s second field goal of the day, this one from 27 yards out.
Liberty registered a pair of sacks on the next Monmouth drive, forcing the Hawks to punt with just over two minutes to play. Liberty picked up a pair of first downs and Monmouth was unable to stop the clock, eventually falling 34-24.
Valles led the Hawks on the receiving end with 83 yards on two catches as Monmouth threw for 257 yards in the game. Linebacker John Sieczjkowski (Manalapan, N.J./Manalapan) had a career-high 13 tackles while middle linebacker Tyler Thompson (Union Bridge, Md./Linganore) had 11 tackles, two for a loss and a fumble recovery. Darnell Leslie (Gaithersburg, Md./Quince Ochard) and Mike Basile (Brick, N.J./Brick Memorial) each had eight tackles in the game.
Abnar ran for a career-high 164 yards on 39 carries with two touchdowns while quarterback Josh Woodrum threw for a pair of touchdowns on 13-of-19 passing. Safety Jacob Hagen led the Flames with 10 tackles, while LU finished with four sacks and eight tackles for a loss on the day.
Monmouth wraps up the road portion of the schedule next week with a game against No. 2 Coastal Carolina at 3 p.m. in Conway, South Carolina.
Nest Notes:
-Monmouth had two sacks in today’s game, the Hawks registered one in the previous three games
-Liberty held a 37:53-22:07 advantage in time of possession, including 11 minutes of the fourth quarter
-Liberty held a 407-344 advantage in total yardage
-Matt Choi is the second MU non-quarterback to throw a touchdown this season (Chaney)
-Valles’ 83 yards is the most in his career, his previous high was 37 yards
-The Hawks were six of 12 on third down, after going 1 for 13 last week against CSU
GAME AUDIO
Pre game and 1st Quarter
2nd Quarter
Half time
3rd Quarter
4th Quarter and Post Game
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