Monmouth Out To Make History Saturday At Kennesaw State

Photo above courtesy of Monmouth University

WEST LONG BRANCH – Twenty five years later and it’s finally here - a “winner takes all” game for the conference championship and an automatic berth in the FCS playoffs.

It’s the dream every kid has dreamt of as he laced up his cleats for the first time - the chance to be a champion.

The Monmouth University Hawks – ranked No.22 in the latest FCS coaches poll - will travel to Georgia this weekend for a game against No. 21 Kennesaw State, Saturday at 2:00 P.M. at the 8,300 capacity Fifth Third Bank Stadium for all the marbles.

The winner will capture the Big South Conference championship and an automatic berth to the NCAA FCS playoffs – program firsts for both universities.

The 24-team playoff field consists of 10 conference champions that receive automatic bids and another 14 at-large bids that are up for grabs.

The NCAA selection show will be held this Sunday and the Hawks could also earn an at-large bid if they lose on Saturday but the goal here, obviously, is to win the Big South championship outright and punch their own ticket to the post season.

The Hawks and Owls each own 9-1 overall records and are tied atop the Big South Conference at 4-0.

Monmouth’s lone loss was a week-three setback to former Northeast Conference foe Albany - ranked 23rd in the FCS coaches poll at the time – while the Owls only defeat came at the hands of thirteenth-ranked Samford on opening day. Since then Kennesaw St. has reeled off nine straight wins while Monmouth goes into the game riding a seven game winning streak.

Playing as an independent their first three years starting in 1993, the Hawks joined the Northeast Conference in 1996 before accepting an invitation to join the Big South Conference in 2014 and Kennesaw State joined the Big South in 2015.

Monmouth’s first, and only, championship of any kind came in 2006, when they won the Northeast Conference title and played Pioneer League champion University of San Diego in the now defunct Gridiron Bowl. The Hawks fell 27-7 to the Toreros, who were coached by current Michigan and former Stanford and San Francisco Forty Niners head coach, Jim Harbaugh.

Kennesaw State on the other hand has made a meteoric rise to national prominence. In just their third year of football at any level, remarkably, they’re in position to win their first conference championship and trip to the FCS playoffs. It’s even more impressive considering their doing it as a member the Big South Conference, which is ranked as the sixth toughest conference in FCS football.

Both schools are ranked nationally in the FCS Top 25 for the first time in program history.

The Owls come into the game averaging 437.9 yards of total offense per game – second in the Big South while the Hawks aren’t far behind the Owls at 418.8. Monmouth leads the Big South in scoring offense at 36.6 points per game, which is also good for ninth overall in the FCS. Kennesaw St. puts up 29.7 points per contest.

Kennesaw State is the No. 1 FCS team in rushing offense averaging 332.4 yards per game on the ground. Monmouth counters allowing just 103.6-yards rushing per game on the ground – good for 16th in the FCS and second in the Big South behind Kennesaw St. who allows a meager 96.0 yards/game.

The Hawks run one of the most balanced offenses in the country averaging 211.0 yards per game through the air and 217 yards on the ground. Their rushing average per game ranks them 16th in the FCS.

Monmouth’s rushing attack is spearheaded by sophomore running back Pete Guerriero who ranks 20th in the FCS in rushing yardage with 876 yards and 17th in rushing yards per game averaging 97.3 yards.

Junior running back Devell Jones ranks seventh in the FCS in rushing touchdowns with 11 while adding 296 yards rushing. Senior Michael Jolly is in the mix as well averaging a whopping 8.9 yards per carry for 399 yards and three touchdowns.

True freshman Erik Zokuri burst on the scene in midseason rushing for 507 yards on 73 attempts with six TD’s in just five games before getting injured in Monmouth’s 23-20 road win against Charleston Southern three week ago and his status for Saturday’s game is unknown.

Sophomore quarterback Kenji Bahar is coming off his best game of the season when he tossed four touchdown passes on 15-of-24 attempts for 175 yards without an interception in leading the Hawks to a 41-14 rout of Gardner Webb.

For the year, Bahar is 175-of-279 (62.7%) for 2015 yards and 15 touchdowns with seven interceptions.

His main target in junior Reggie White Jr. who is tied for 10th in the FCS with 65 receptions for 786 yards and eight TD’s - 19th in the FCS. Senior Vinny Grasso has added 27 catches for 307 yards while tight end Jake Powell had hauled in 19 passes for 252 yards and three TD’s. Sophomore Lonnie Moore has also chipped in with 18 receptions for 282 yards.

The Hawks defense is led by senior All-American candidate Mike Basile at strong safety. Basile is No. 1 in the FCS for solo tackles with 81 (8.1 per game), ninth in tackles per game (10.6) and tenth in total tackles with 106. He also has three sacks and 9.5 tackles for losses.

Senior free safety Teddy Martinez leads the team with five interceptions and is second on the team with 47 tackles while senior defensive tackle Manny Maragoto’s five sacks leads the defense along with 18 tackles including eight TFL. Linebackers Diego Zubieta (46 tackles, 3 TFL, 1.5 sacks) and Agbai Iroha (38 tackles, 5 TFL, sack) have been stellar while true freshman linebacker DeJaun Cooper has been a pleasant surprise recording 53 tackles, 2.5 TFL and a sack.

Junior linebacker Trey Nelson (33 tackles, 2 TFL, sack), sophomore cornerback Tymere Berry (37 tackles, 2 INT, 3.5 TFL) and senior cornerback Kamau Dumas (31 tackles, 3 INT, TFL) have been solid as well.

Kennesaw St. runs an spread-option offensive set that comes at you from all directions. They utilize a three-back set along with quarterback Chandler Burks, who’s a magician with the ball.

Including Burks (180-843-11), all four starters Jake McKenzie (116-565-3), Darnell Holland (46-516-6) and Shaquil Terry (40-467-2) rank in the top 10 in rushing yardage and average per game in the Big South.

They like to rotate fresh running backs with Bronson Rechsteiner (78-377-2), T.J. Reed (28-269-1) and Sam Outlaw (34-143) in the backfield mix as well.

Burks does occasionally pass, but isn’t much of a threat averaging 89.3 yards per game through the air for 893 yards and five TD’s holding a 50-of-109 (45.87%) completion rate. However, he does keep you honest with his ability to hit the open receiver out of the option but basically the Owls just like to run the ball down your throat running the ball 82 percent of the time this season.

Leading Kennesaw State’s top rated defense is redshirt freshman linebacker/safety Bryson Armstrong who has recorded a team-leading 72 tackles including nine TFL along with nine sacks and three interceptions.

Linebacker’s Anthony Gore and Sam Izzy each have 58 total tackles and 5.5 TFL with Gore adding three sacks and Izzy two. Cornerback Keon Roman leads the team with four interceptions while defensive lineman Desmond Johnson (27 tackles, 6.5 TFL, sack) and Justin Marcus (13 tackles, 4 TFL, 3 sacks) wreak havoc upfront in the trenches.

KEYS TO THE GAME FOR MONMOUTH: On offense the Hawks must establish their running game early against the Owls vaunted defense. To do this, Bahar needs to soften up the Kennesaw defense and keep them honest by hitting some early shots downfield preventing Kennesaw St. from loading up the box and stuffing the run. The Hawks recipe for success on offense all year has been their balance so it’s imperative they keep to that game plan. If they’re forced into a one dimensional game it could be a long afternoon. Monmouth’s veteran offensive line needs to confirm that they’re the more physical unit on their first offensive series and control the line of scrimmage. If they can do that it will give Guerriero some space to break a long run and Bahar time to find his receivers downfield.

Defensively, the Hawks are, without a doubt, coming off their best game of the season when they completely suffocated the Gardner Webb offense limiting them to 81 total yards in the first half and 223 total yards for the game with 73 of those yards coming in garbage time. They’ll need to build off that effort and ride the momentum coming off that game. If anything, that effort should’ve instilled some confidence into the unit that at times this season has given up huge chunks of yardage. The line needs to stay in their lanes, hold up their blockers and not be pushed around allowing the linebackers to stack up the running backs. The defensive ends will need work on containment by sealing off the outside runs and they’ll need Basile more than ever to have a big game meaning 15+ tackles along with everything else he does. The secondary needs to play smart, keeping the receivers in front of them while helping in run support. In Monmouth’s last three games they’ve stepped it up allowing an average of just 18 points per game after giving up 36 and 39 points respectively the previous two. If they can keep the Owls to 18 points or under they’ve got a shot. Nobody’s stopped the Kennesaw St. running attack this season so the Hawks should concentrate on just slowing them down and keeping the long gainers to a minimum. A bend but don’t break approach may be in the offering, which in the long run may be a good thing.