MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa.– Monmouth University’s football team (4-1) rolled up 532 yards of offense and forced six turnovers in a dominating 51-20 win over Robert Morris (0-5) Saturday.
Monmouth ran out to a 37-0 lead late in the third quarter on Lavon Chaney’s third touchdown on the day as the defense didn’t allow a point until 11 seconds left. The defense recorded back-to-back interceptions, leading to a pair of MU scores within 11 seconds of each other to start the fourth quarter and put Monmouth up 51-7.
“It’s a great win on our final trip out here to Robert Morris,” Monmouth head coach Kevin Callahan said. “I was particularly pleased with the way our offense and defense seemed to feed off each other. I thought the defense made an awful lot of big plays and turned some of them into touchdowns. They gave the ball to our offense in prime field positions and our offense took advantage of that and put points on the board. It was a very good team win collectively.”
The defense recorded a season-high seven sacks, 12 tackles for a loss and two interceptions. Senior defensive lineman Zak Irizarry had a career day with five tackles, three a loss including 2.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. Outside linebackers Payton Minnich and John Sieczkowski combined for 20 tackles, including Minnich’s career-high 11.
In his first career start, Chaney recorded 163 all-purpose yards including 113 on the ground and two touchdowns. He also had four catches for 50 yards and a touchdown. Brandon Hill went 20-of-37 for 331 yards and two touchdowns with an interception. Neal Sterling recorded his second straight 100-yard receiving game, finishing with five catches for 144 yards and a touchdown. During the game he moved ahead of Will Holder for third place all-time in reception yardage with 2,215.
Robert Morris scored two late touchdowns with Monmouth resting almost the entire defense for almost 12 minutes of the fourth quarter. The Colonials recorded 133 of their 330 yards on their final two drives, including 95 yards.
Monmouth returns home Saturday, Oct. 11, for the first time since early September for a 1 p.m. homecoming game against Columbia.
