By Rich Chrampanis
PHILADELPHIA – Monmouth University’s football program has made the move to one of the top FCS conferences in college football and the Hawks’ first win in the Colonial Athletic Conference was a memorable one, knocking off the ninth ranked team in the FCS national coaches’ poll.
Jaden Shirden’s 16-yard touchdown run with 46 seconds left in the fourth quarter gave the Hawks a 49-42 win over Villanova. Shirden finished the game with 211 yards and two touchdowns.
Monmouth took a 7-0 lead and the two teams traded touchdowns the rest of the game, with the Hawks never trailing in the game but never building a lead bigger than seven points.
“I told the team last night and then again this morning that this was a game we could go out and win,” head coach Kevin Callahan said. “We had to take it one play at a time and the biggest thing was playing until there were zeros on the clock and we certainly did that – twice. Getting the first CAA win is a great feeling and I am really happy for the team.”
After starting the season 0-2, the Hawks have put together back-to-back wins to reach the .500 mark. Monmouth’s offense has been explosive, scoring 49 points in a loss to Fordham, followed by a 45-point outburst at Georgetown and 49 points against a nationally ranked team.
“When we were 0-2, our team, to their credit, felt that we weren’t an 0-2 team,” Callahan said. “We were doing a lot of good things, we just needed to finish the game. We did that last week and although this was a different game, we did it again (against Villanova).”
Monmouth is back in Pennsylvania this weekend when it travels to Lehigh for a Saturday noon kickoff. The Hawks return to West Long Branch Oct. 8 to host the University of Albany.
The article originally appeared in the September 29 – October 5, 2022 print edition of The Two River Times.
