High Stakes: Monmouth U Hosts Owls For Big South Championship

WEST LONG BRANCH – Twentieth-ranked Monmouth University will host seventh-ranked Kennesaw State Saturday at Kessler Stadium for what amounts to the Big South championship game.

The winner of the game will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA FCS playoffs as conference champions.

“You want to make the playoffs and it’s something that’s an overall goal for the season but as far as we’re really concerned it’s beating Kennesaw State this weekend that we're focused on,” said Monmouth’s All-Big South offensive tackle Justin Szuba. “The mantra on the team is 1-0 and we try to focus specifically on that opponent. There are things we can’t control but what we really can control is our effort to focus on Kennesaw State. So we’re not looking ahead to the playoffs or looking ahead to next week we’re focused on Kennesaw State.”

Both teams enter the game with 2-0 Big South records and will be playing their third of four scheduled conference games in this abbreviated 2021 spring season. Overall, the Owls are 4-0 having won two non -conference games against Shorter University (35-3) and Dixie State (37-27).

Monmouth (2-0, 2-0) opened their season with a decisive 35-17 victory over Charleston Southern two weeks ago. Whereas Kennesaw State (4-0, 2-0) had to hold off a late charge by Charleston Southern in its second game of the season on March 13. In that game the Buccaneers came back from a 24-7 deficit to pull within 24-19 only to see the Owls run the last 1:46 off the clock to preserve the win.

The two teams posted impressive wins last weekend as Kennesaw State shut out Robert Morris 35-0 - Monmouth's next week opponent - while the Hawks used a dominant second half to overpower Gardner-Webb 48-19.

Since the two teams joined the Big South Conference, Monmouth in 2014 and Kennesaw State in 2015, the Owls have been a bit of a nemesis of the Hawks. They won the first four games before the Hawks gave Kennesaw State a taste of its own medicine in 2019 with a resounding 45-21 win in Atlanta – their last meeting.

“It’s going great, I love the energy among the team,” said Szuba when asked how the teams game preparation is going. “I think everybody’s locked in and ready to play. This is quite the rivalry matchup for us so we’re all pretty pumped up.”

Kennesaw State’s punishing veer triple option rushing attack is its whole identity and they come to town boasting the nation’s No. 2 rushing offense averaging 294.8 yards per game. Through the air they're averaging a meager 69.75 yards per game passing while throwing just 18 passes in four games.

The Owls run out six different players who have rushed for over 100 yards so far this season. Senior running back Kyle Glover is paving the way with 278 yards while averaging 5.2 yards per attempt.

In 2017 and 2019, Kennesaw State led the nation in rushing yards per game.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Xavier Shepard got his first career start last week against Robert Morris and led the team in rushing with 97 yards and a touchdown on 19 attempts and went 3-for-3 passing for 45 yards, including 33-yard scoring strike to wideout Will Haigler.

Shepard passed for over 5,485 yards with 52 touchdowns and rushed for 1,778 yards at Pearl-Cohn High School so he adds another dimension to the Owls attack that Monmouth must now prepare for.

It’s no wonder the Owls are as accomplished at running the triple option as they are when its head coach, Brian Bohannon, comes from the coaching tree of one of the best in the business.

Bohannon is a disciple of triple option guru Paul Johnson having served as an assistant under Johnson beginning in 1997 at Georgia Southern. He then followed him to Navy and eventually to Georgia Tech where he was the quarterback coach when he was hired to be Kennesaw States first coach in its 2015 inaugural season.

In the five games between the two teams, Kennesaw State has averaged 386.5 yards rushing per game against the Hawks averaging 6.6 yards per carry.

Monmouth, however, comes into this game with a much improved defense that is ranked sixth nationally at stopping the run allowing just 56.0 yards per game on the ground. Overall, Monmouth is ranked 26th in the country in total defense giving up 298.5 yards per game on the average.

No doubt, this game is going to be won upfront in the trenches where the Hawks are equipped to take on whatever Kennesaw State plans to throw at them.

“One of the big things is that we have a lot of the same defensive linemen back from last year,” said junior defensive end Nick Shoemaker, who’s the leading tackler on the D-line this season. “We’re all pretty experienced and work together really well. It’s a very tightknit group and we’re very close like a brotherhood and we’re all really focusing hard on this game.”

Across the board the Hawks defensive line consists of veteran starters who've been through the wars with Kennesaw State and know what to expect. But Monmouth has also added a couple of high-end transfers along with the infusion of some talented young linemen that has helped transform the line into one of its strength.

Along with Shoemaker, senior defensive end Kahari Scarlett, junior tackles Kurt Aumer and senior Erik Massey at the Rush position round out the starting D-line. Sophomore DeAndre Clifton, junior transfers Lorenzo Hernandez and Zamon Robinson and true freshman Justin O'Bannon have also been instrumental the Hawks defensive resurgence.

"Saturday's game all comes down to who can control the line of scrimmage at the end of the day," said Shoemaker. "They are tough to play but we expect our offensive and defensive lines to be able to move theirs."

Add that to a linebacker crew that’s led by Defensive Player of the Year candidate Da’Quan Grimes and elite transfer Eddie Hahn and a defensive backfield headed up by All-Big South selections Anthony Budd and Justin Terry and that’s a recipe for success.

This just may be the Hawks best overall defensive unit that they’ve put on the field since joining the Big South and a big effort Saturday would go a long way in proving that.

“I believe so,” said Shoemaker when asked if he thought this was the best defense he's played on since he’s been here.

Kennesaw State, led by Big South Defensive Player of the Year Bryson Armstrong, is ranked sixth nationally allowing an average of just 228.2 total yards per game, including 90.8 yards rushing and 137.5 yards passing.

Szuba doesn’t take much stock in another teams stats and isn’t fazed by it. “We try to block out all that outside stuff. They’ve played other opponents and of course we’ve watched the films to see what defense and schemes they’re running, but we’re really just worried what we can control and what we can do as an offense. So we’re not really worried what other teams have done but more so looking at scheme and see how we can attack them in a way we can be successful.”

As good as Kennesaw State is on defense, Monmouth is just as good or better on offense. The Hawks offense is ranked No. 11 nationally in average total yards per game with 438.5 and their 212.5 yards rushing per game ranks No. 14 in the FCS.

“It’s cool and everything,” said Szuba about the offensive rankings. “But at the end of the day it comes down to what kind of work are we putting in during the week and how is that going to help us win. Because the rankings, when game time comes, mean nothing.”

The Hawks offense benefits from an experienced and veteran offensive line that prides itself in being physical and dominating the line of scrimmage.

Monmouth returned four of five starting offensive linemen this season and the fifth was a part time starter so they’re very familiar with each other. Szuba - an All-Big South selection - is joined by right guard Bryan Syracuse, All-American center A.J. Farris, left guard Charles James, All-Big South left tackle Mahmoud Shabana and rotating guard Manny Christian.

“Having so much playing time together across the board on the line makes our communication right now invaluable,” said Szuba. “Our communication during games is so quick and so sharp and our ability to pick up pressures is really awesome. It’s cool to click that way and have that mental aspect seamlessly fall into place like that.”

The Hawks know that its running game will go only as far as its offensive line will take them and that's a fact not lost on them.

Redshirt sophomore Juwan Farri and junior Romeo Holden present a potent one-two punch that the O-line takes pride in.

“Having Juwan back is fantastic, he’s an animal,” said Szuba. “And Romeo has done an awesome job. They’re a big part of our offense and we have total confidence in them.”

True freshman Tony Muskett, who has been a revelation at quarterback this season, will be facing his sternest test of his young career. But there’s no reason to think he won’t be able to handle the pressure with the poise and assertiveness he’s already shown in first two starts.

“Absolutely,” Szuba said when asked if he had confidence in his young quarterback. “Muskett came in day one and it wasn’t even like he was a freshman, we have all the confidence in the world in Tony. He doesn’t play like a freshman at all, I mean it’s as though he’s a three-year starting quarterback. So we have complete confidence in his abilities for sure.”

You can expect this game to be a good old fashion “mano a mano” battle between the two best teams in the Big South and two of the best team in the FCS, but when its all said and done I give the edge to Monmouth.

“We all expect this to be our most physical game,” said Szuba. “It’s not to say there’s bad blood but it is a rivalry game. Their going to bring their A-game and we’ll bring ours and there’s no joking about it. This is a trenches game so its going to be physical, it’s going to be a bloodbath and it’s going to be a fun time."