Hawks Deserve Student Support For This One

The Monmouth University football team is a perfect 10-0 going back to the start of last season playing at home in the recently-refurbished Kessler Stadium. That perfect record might lead you to believe the Hawks have a great home field advantage because of the tremendous support they receive from their fans, especially students. That conclusion would not be accurate.

Don’t get me wrong…there are plenty of devoted fans, many of them alumni who attend every home game (and even some road ones) to cheer for the Hawks. As the public address announcer for the past several years I have seen many of the same faces inside Kessler Stadium wearing blue and white and displaying the Monmouth logo with great pride. Unfortunately, this team, which has gone 16-5 over the past two seasons, does not get tremendous student support and that’s what they could really use Saturday when they host powerhouse Kennesaw State in what is pretty much a Big South championship game.

Monmouth is not a big university with an enrollment of 6,300 including 4,600 undergraduates. I’m sure many students are not around the West Long Branch campus on a Saturday afternoon but they should be this week to give the Hawks a 12^th man which is what they will need to compete against the Owls who are ranked #2 in the country in both the AFCA Coaches and STATS FCS Top 25 polls.

Some 22 seniors will suit up for the Hawks Saturday and play for the final time at home. This group has raised the level of Monmouth football to new heights and given fans plenty to cheer for. It was just last fall that the Hawks earned their first-ever berth in the NCAA FCS Playoffs as part of a 9-3 season. Monmouth is 7-2 so far this season and has one more game scheduled after Saturday as they visit Gardner-Webb on November 17.

This final home game kicks off at noon Saturday which is very early for students who like to sleep in after a night out. Maybe some will turn in a bit early and show up at Kessler to show the 22 seniors and the rest of the Hawks they appreciate the accomplishments of the past two seasons. All you can do is hope.

The list of those who will be honored on Senior Day Saturday:

#3 Marcus Leslie

#6 Kyle Gregory

#7 Vinny Grasso

#9 Reggie White Jr.

#10 Quintin Parham

#14 Andrew Ashley

#17 Jake Powell

#29 Matt Castronouva

#48 Zach Talley

#51 Tre Nelson

#55 Pete Righi