Monmouth U Falls Late to Big South Foe

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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, Nov. 8, 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. The Hawks, however, could not match 10 Liberty points in the final 10:19 to earn its first Big South victory. Lavon Chaney 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,” Monmouth Head Coach Kevin Callahan said. “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 fourth 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 2-yard DJ Abnar touchdown. Trailing by 7, Monmouth drove out midfield but Hill was sacked and fumbled and Liberty pounced on the ball.
The Flames iced the game with 5-minute drive that culminated in a field goal and a 10-point lead with just over 3 minutes left.
Abnar gave his squad a 7-0 lead at the 9:31 mark with a 5-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 took a reverse, stopped and launched a 68-yard touchdown to tight end Hakeem Valles. 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 touchdown strike from Woodrum to Peterson after a penalty tacked on 15 yards to an 11 yard quarterback 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 Liberty 10. Three plays later Hill rolled left and hit Jake Mauro for a 3-yard touchdown to tie the game up 14-14. Chaney’s 45-yard run was a career long for the sophomore.
Down three to start the second half, Monmouth rattled off a 15-play, 68-yard drive that ended in a 24-yard Lucas Santangelo to tie the game at 17-17.
The Flames regained the lead on a 13-yard Woodrum to Henderson touchdown pass on third down. Liberty led 24-17 with 5:07 to play.
Monmouth answered back on the ensuing drive, with Hill connecting with Darren Ambush for a 37-yard touchdown strike with 3:30 left in the third quarter.
Liberty finished the third quarter with a scoring drive and started the final frame, pulling back in front 31-24 on a five-yard Abnar run.
In the fourth, the Flames scored 3 on Lunsford’s second field goal of the day for the final 34-24 score.
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 had a career-high 13 tackles while middle linebacker Tyler Thompson had 11 tackles, two for a loss and a fumble recovery. Darnell Leslie and Mike Basile each had eight tackles in the game.
Monmouth wraps up the road portion of the schedule with a game Saturday, Nov. 15, against No. 2 Coastal Carolina.