Monmouth Puts It All Together In 51-22 Rout of Maine

WEST LONG BRANCH – Monmouth University saved its season with an impressive 51-22 demolition of the University of Maine Saturday at Alfond Stadium in Orono, Maine.

Saturday’s game was a must-win situation for the Hawks, and they more than met the challenge.

They dominated on both sides of the ball and never let up. So thorough was the Hawks dismantling of the overmatched Black Bears that Monmouth gained over 600 yards of total offense (632 yards) while the defense held Maine to under 300 yards (286 yards) of total offense.

Heading into Saturday’s game, the Hawks were 0-4 against the Black Bears, but it was all Monmouth on Saturday. More importantly, Monmouth is now 1-0 in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play.

“We’re excited about the win and very happy with it,” said Monmouth head coach Kevin Callahan. Having started out 0-2, this was an important game for us, and it was important to get one in the win column. We knew we would have to play almost a perfect game to do that; I was very happy with how we played offensively. We were able to move the ball down the field and combined that with some explosive plays. And then on defense, particularly in the first half, we did a good job of getting off the field and giving the ball back to our offense. Any time you can play complementary football like that, you have a really good chance of being successful.”

Monmouth’s young defense entered the game ranked last in the CAA and 109th nationally. But on Saturday, they played their best all-around game in years, especially in the first half when they held Maine’s offense to five first downs, 109 total yards, and no offensive touchdowns as they built a 27-8 lead with Maine’s lone score coming on a Trevin Ewing 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

On Maine’s first two possessions of the game, Monmouth’s defense forced consecutive three-and-outs. On the Black Bears' third possession, they drove to their own 41-yard line before being stopped on third-and-12 and forced to punt again on senior Kadeem McKnight’s 1-yard tackle for loss.

Each time the defense gave the ball back to the offense to start the game, the offense went down the field, scored, and built a 20-8 lead; that’s what you call complementary football. Maine’s only touchdown in the first half came on special teams, which was the one area of concern in Saturday’s game.

Maine moved the ball a little better in the second half on the Hawks' defense, but they still held the Black Bears' offense to just two touchdowns and 286 yards of total yardage for the game. If Monmouth’s defense can continue to play with the intensity they showed on Saturday, the season's outlook appears a lot more promising than it did a day ago.

The Hawks offense continues to soar. They came into the game ranked No.1 in the CAA and Saturday’s performance justified that ranking.

After racking up 439 and 429 total yards, respectively, against Eastern Washington and Lafayette, the Hawks' offense exploded for an intimidating 632 yards and 31 first downs.

It was a homecoming of sorts for Monmouth quarterback Derek Robertson, who spent four seasons at Maine before transferring to Monmouth this season, and he made the most of it. The 6-foot-2 Robertson threw for 390 yards and four touchdowns without an interception while completing 22-of-36 passes. This is after passing for 390 yards and three touchdowns against Eastern Washington and 355 yards and four touchdowns versus Lafayette.

“First, I just want to say I have a ton of respect for Maine football and the University of Maine, and I enjoyed my time here,” said Robertson. “But, yes, the familiarity definitely helped. I practiced against them for almost four years, using a similar defensive scheme, and I know some of the players. Ultimately, it really comes down to these other guys on our team; they are the ones making plays; they are the ones blocking for me, so it's not really me; it’s the guys you should be talking about.

One of the team's question marks entering the season was the lack of experience among Monmouth’s young receiving corps—that question has been answered and then some. The chemistry Robertson has quickly developed between his wide receivers and tight ends has been remarkable. Last week, he threw touchdown passes to four different receivers; this week, he connected with sophomore wideout Josh Derry for two scores and tight ends Jack Neri and Marcus Middleton for one each.

Derry had a breakout game, catching seven passes and two touchdowns for a whopping 227 yards, including a program-record 94-yard touchdown reception.

Robertson spread things out, completing passes to seven players in the game.

Monmouth’s offense had been pretty much a one-man show with Robertson directing, but Saturday, the Hawks unleashed their ground game, giving them a much-needed balanced attack. Entering the game Saturday, the Hawks had rushed for a combined 123 yards in two games for a 2.75 yards per carry average. Saturday, they racked up 242 yards on the ground for a 6.2 yards per carry average.

Sophomore Rodney Nelson rushed for 96 yards on 14 carries, including a 24-yard touchdown run for a 6.5-yard average. Junior Makhi Green added 78 yards on eight attempts, including a 46-yard run, while bruising back Sone Ntoh scored two touchdowns while gaining 40 yards on eight carries.

If the Hawks can continue to rush the ball like they did Saturday, there’s no telling what heights this offense could reach.

“Our big emphasis on the offensive line is communication,” said Hawks center Ed Gatling. “That’s our pillar, that’s what we’re taught by coach Brian Gabriel. We communicate from the O-line to the tight ends to the quarterback. We talk before, during and after each play as much as we can and we keep the communication going as we block and we move around. As long as we keep talking and we keep communicating with each other, we can play our game and we can have games like this.”

Let’s hope they can because the balanced attack the Hawks showed Saturday was a beautiful sight to see.

Monmouth (1-2, 1-0) travels to FBS opponent Florida International University (1-2) next weekend. Saturday’s huge win should give them a much-needed boost of confidence as they hit the road against a formidable opponent. The Hawks are looking for their first-ever victory against an FBS opponent, and Saturday would be an excellent place to start.

In Monmouth’s favor, Robertson and Maine almost pulled off an upset on FIU last season, getting edged out 14-12, with Robertson passing for 213 yards and the Maine offense gaining 409 yards against FIU in the process. So, Robertson’s familiarity with them is a big plus, and the intimidation factor is negligible.