Saturday, September 30
West Long Branch, N.J.
1:00 PM
Lehigh University
1-4 , 0-0
7
at
49
Monmouth
2-3 , 1-1
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Lehigh
0
7
0
0
7
Monmouth
7
21
21
0
49
Mountain Hawks Drop Non-League Finale At Monmouth
9/30/2023 5:18:00 PM | Football
WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – A 15-play, 80-yard drive, one of the best of the year for Lehigh, resulted in a game-tying touchdown for the Mountain Hawks. Monmouth took control from there, scoring the next 42 points in a 49-7 win over Lehigh Saturday at Kessler Stadium.
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The Mountain Hawks gained a season-high 118 rushing yards but allowed 619 yards of total offense to the host Hawks. Monmouth hit several big plays and also produced touchdown drives of 96, 76, 90, 77, 92 and 83 yards.
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Monmouth's Jaden Shirden and Sone Ntoh both eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark Saturday, with Ntoh scoring twice, including a 92-yard run in the third quarter.
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Lehigh finishes the non-league portion of its schedule at 1-4, while Monmouth improves to 2-3.
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Shirden had a 66-yard rush on Monmouth's opening drive, that set up a one-yard run by Ntoh to open the scoring.
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Monmouth moved into Lehigh territory on its next drive but the Mountain Hawks' defense stood tall, forcing a 25-yard field goal attempt that was missed.
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Lehigh took over with 1:51 left in the first quarter and made its only scoring march of the day. A leaping grab by first-year Mason Humphrey gained 27 yards and set Lehigh up at the Monmouth 42 to begin the second quarter. Sophomore Brayton Silbor hit Martin Laham for 11 yards to convert a 4th-and-2 and then a pass interference penalty gave Lehigh 1st-and-goal. On 4th-and-goal, Silbor scored on a one-yard sneak to tie the game at 7-7.
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Monmouth answered with a seven-play, 76-yard drive and took the lead for good on a 10-yard pass from Marquez McCray to Dymere Miller. On Lehigh's next possession, Deuce Lee intercepted Silbor and returned the pick 36 yards for a Hawk touchdown. McCray then connected with Dre Tucker for a 34-yard touchdown to give Monmouth a 28-7 lead at halftime.
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McCray finished 22-of-28 for 333 yards and four touchdowns.
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"We had some positives, but it's really hard to see a positive in 49-7," Lehigh head coach Kevin Cahill said. "Small glimmers of positivity and we're going to look at those and try to build on those. Every single one of these kids could quit right now and pack it in for the season, but they're not going to do that. They're continuing to learn, continuing to come in and they're continuing to develop.
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"We have to continue to build the culture and we have a lot of fixing to do."
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Silbor finished 18-of-30 for 163 yards. Senior Connor Kennedy caught six passes for 71 yards, while Humphrey gained 48 yards on eight carries.
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Senior Jack DiPietro and first-year Luke Yoder led the run game with 43 yards apiece. Silbor added 18 yards on the ground.
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First-year safety DJ Brown led the defense with eight tackles, while sophomore Matt Spatny had both of Lehigh's sacks to go along with five tackles.
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"We're growing, but we have to continue to grow a lot faster than we are," Cahill said. "We have some guys in situations for the first time in their college careers. We don't have time for them to grow up. They need to do it now."
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The Mountain Hawks conclude their road trip next Saturday when they open Patriot League play at Fordham. Game time is set for 1 p.m. from the Bronx, N.Y. with streaming on ESPN+ and audio coverage on Fox Sports Radio 94.7 FM and 1230 AM and LVFoxSports.com.
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EXTRA POINTS… Monmouth has now won five straight to even the all-time series at 5-5… senior Ben Banks-Altekruse punted eight times, averaging 43 yards per punt… all eight of his punts were downed inside the Monmouth 20 yard line… Lehigh came into the game allowing just 13-of-54 opponents' third downs but Monmouth was 8-for-15… senior Renach Gena made his first career appearance, and start on the offensive line… despite personnel being shuffled around, Lehigh did not allow a sack… one week after winning the turnover battle at Dartmouth, Lehigh was minus-3 in turnovers.
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Like Lehigh Football on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.
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The Mountain Hawks gained a season-high 118 rushing yards but allowed 619 yards of total offense to the host Hawks. Monmouth hit several big plays and also produced touchdown drives of 96, 76, 90, 77, 92 and 83 yards.
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Monmouth's Jaden Shirden and Sone Ntoh both eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark Saturday, with Ntoh scoring twice, including a 92-yard run in the third quarter.
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Lehigh finishes the non-league portion of its schedule at 1-4, while Monmouth improves to 2-3.
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Shirden had a 66-yard rush on Monmouth's opening drive, that set up a one-yard run by Ntoh to open the scoring.
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Monmouth moved into Lehigh territory on its next drive but the Mountain Hawks' defense stood tall, forcing a 25-yard field goal attempt that was missed.
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Lehigh took over with 1:51 left in the first quarter and made its only scoring march of the day. A leaping grab by first-year Mason Humphrey gained 27 yards and set Lehigh up at the Monmouth 42 to begin the second quarter. Sophomore Brayton Silbor hit Martin Laham for 11 yards to convert a 4th-and-2 and then a pass interference penalty gave Lehigh 1st-and-goal. On 4th-and-goal, Silbor scored on a one-yard sneak to tie the game at 7-7.
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Monmouth answered with a seven-play, 76-yard drive and took the lead for good on a 10-yard pass from Marquez McCray to Dymere Miller. On Lehigh's next possession, Deuce Lee intercepted Silbor and returned the pick 36 yards for a Hawk touchdown. McCray then connected with Dre Tucker for a 34-yard touchdown to give Monmouth a 28-7 lead at halftime.
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McCray finished 22-of-28 for 333 yards and four touchdowns.
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"We had some positives, but it's really hard to see a positive in 49-7," Lehigh head coach Kevin Cahill said. "Small glimmers of positivity and we're going to look at those and try to build on those. Every single one of these kids could quit right now and pack it in for the season, but they're not going to do that. They're continuing to learn, continuing to come in and they're continuing to develop.
Â
"We have to continue to build the culture and we have a lot of fixing to do."
Â
Silbor finished 18-of-30 for 163 yards. Senior Connor Kennedy caught six passes for 71 yards, while Humphrey gained 48 yards on eight carries.
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Senior Jack DiPietro and first-year Luke Yoder led the run game with 43 yards apiece. Silbor added 18 yards on the ground.
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First-year safety DJ Brown led the defense with eight tackles, while sophomore Matt Spatny had both of Lehigh's sacks to go along with five tackles.
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"We're growing, but we have to continue to grow a lot faster than we are," Cahill said. "We have some guys in situations for the first time in their college careers. We don't have time for them to grow up. They need to do it now."
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The Mountain Hawks conclude their road trip next Saturday when they open Patriot League play at Fordham. Game time is set for 1 p.m. from the Bronx, N.Y. with streaming on ESPN+ and audio coverage on Fox Sports Radio 94.7 FM and 1230 AM and LVFoxSports.com.
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EXTRA POINTS… Monmouth has now won five straight to even the all-time series at 5-5… senior Ben Banks-Altekruse punted eight times, averaging 43 yards per punt… all eight of his punts were downed inside the Monmouth 20 yard line… Lehigh came into the game allowing just 13-of-54 opponents' third downs but Monmouth was 8-for-15… senior Renach Gena made his first career appearance, and start on the offensive line… despite personnel being shuffled around, Lehigh did not allow a sack… one week after winning the turnover battle at Dartmouth, Lehigh was minus-3 in turnovers.
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Like Lehigh Football on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.
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Team Stats
LEH
MON
Total Yards
281
619
Pass Yards
163
388
Rushing Yards
118
231
Penalty Yards
81
55
1st Downs
15
27
3rd Downs
2
8
4th Downs
2
0
TOP
27:26
32:34
1st Quarter
LEH 0, MON 7
MON - Ntoh,Sone 1 yd run (Calton Jr,Michael kick), 9 plays, 96 yards, TOP 04:25
2nd Quarter
LEH 7, MON 7
LEH - Silbor,Brayten 1 yd run (Garrido,Nick kick), 15 plays, 80 yards, TOP 07:55
LEH 7, MON 14
MON - Miller,Dymere 10 yd pass from McCray,Marquez (Calton Jr,Michael kick) 7 plays, 76 yards, TOP 02:36
LEH 7, MON 21
MON - Lee,Deuce 36 yd interception (Calton Jr,Michael kick)
LEH 7, MON 28
MON - Tucker,Dre 34 yd pass from McCray,Marquez (Calton Jr,Michael kick) 10 plays, 90 yards, TOP 01:57
3rd Quarter
LEH 7, MON 35
MON - Miller,Dymere 36 yd pass from McCray,Marquez (Calton Jr,Michael kick) 9 plays, 77 yards, TOP 04:15
LEH 7, MON 42
MON - Ntoh,Sone 92 yd run (Calton Jr,Michael kick), 1 plays, 92 yards, TOP 00:13
LEH 7, MON 49
MON - Nelson,Gavin 29 yd pass from McCray,Marquez (Calton Jr,Michael kick) 5 plays, 83 yards, TOP 01:49
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
18
TD
0
YDS
163
INT
1
CMP
0
TD
0
YDS
0
INT
0
Players Mentioned
K/P
/ Football
RB
/ Football
OL
/ Football
WR
/ Football
WR
/ Football
WR
/ Football
DL
/ Football
RB
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