Monmouth Rolls Past Lehigh With Complete Offense

Tagged under: Gameday Hub, News, Pennsylvania Colleges

Alec Eskin | October 2, 2022

The Lehigh Mountain Hawks and the Monmouth Hawks are two birds of a feather: looking to win today’s game in the battle of the birds. It was a rainy, windy, and cold afternoon in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania as the remains of Hurricane Ian rolled through. But it certainly seemed like Monmouth was the hurricane today. They had arguably their best game of the year on defense and were able to put up the regular number of points they usually do with their high-powered offense. In the end, they kept their winning streak going with a 35-7 victory over Lehigh. Lets go into a recap of each team and how they fared…

The Monmouth Hawks were 2-2 coming into today’s game, beating the likes of Villanova, who was ranked number nine in FCS but losing to unranked Fordham. Last week, they got a last second touchdown to upset Villanova 49-42 that really put them on the map. They were a team coming in having one of the best rushing attacks in the FCS. However, today they were more about the pass. Tony Muskett was able to throw for 261 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception on 27 passing attempts. Dymere Miller was able to get nine receptions for 125 yards and a touchdown. Then, Assanti Kearney had three receptions for 75 yards and a touchdown. Not to say that their ground game did not have an impact either. Jaden Shirden ran for 108 yards on 20 carries. Then Muskett also added on 56 yards for a touchdown as well, bringing his total to three. Their biggest play of the day came on a 52-yard touchdown pass from Muskett to Kearney. Overall, it was a great day for the offense in all phases.

On defense, they had by far their best day of the year. They allowed only seven points to the Mountain Hawks. They were able to force two fumbles from Lehigh, one of which came on a 53-yard run by Gaige Garcia. The defensive line was able to put a lot of pressure on both Dante Perri and Brayten Silbor throughout the entire game. Also, they were able to stop the run game for the most part. They also did not make too many mistakes either, the only one being a long reception to Geoffrey Jamiel. That defense was one coming into this game that was regarded as being one of the worse ones in FCS, but they sure proved everyone wrong today.

The Lehigh offense today was not at its best today. They were not able to move the ball a lot today and when they did, they were often turned away and did not result in a score. Dante Perri was replaced by Brayten Silbor after halftime after not scoring in the first half. Perri was seven of 13 for 60 yards. Silbor 10 of 22 and threw for 139 yards. Gaige Garcia led in rushing for 71 yards on eight carries. Their longest play of the day was a 53-yard run by Gaige Garcia that unfortunately resulted in a fumble recovered by Monmouth. Overall, they are going to have to fix a lot of things before they have their second Patriot League game against Fordham.

The Lehigh defense overall fared very well today and only allowed only 35 points to Monmouth. This also showed that they were in very good condition as they were able to make them fight for yards and contain the run game. They were able to force an interception in the redzone which was caught by Latreil Wimberly. Also, they were able to force a Muskett strip sack in the 4th quarter. Lastly, the Mountain Hawks forced two turnovers on downs. They were able to keep Lehigh in the game through the first half, but after a quick touchdown on Monmouth’s first drive of the second half, putting them down 28-0, the game was all but over. The Mountain Hawks defense continues to be a strength for them as the season goes on.

The Monmouth Hawks will move to 3-2 and play Albany, who is currently 1-3, at home next week on Saturday at 1:00 PM. Lehigh will drop to 1-4 and will play at home against Fordham next week on Saturday at 12:00 PM. Both teams have important league matchups next week and will be looking to perform well next Saturday.

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