BY DOUG McKENZIE
Staff Writer
CHRIS KELLY staff Brian Robinson and the Monmouth University football team are looking forward to etching their names in history as the first-ever Gridiron Bowl champions this Saturday in West Long Branch. The Monmouth University football team, to a man, feels it deserves to be among the 16 teams playing in the I-AA playoffs.
But rather than let the perceived snub get them down, they are choosing instead to use it as a motivation to prove the selection committee wrong.
And this Saturday’s inaugural Gridiron Football Classic presents the perfect opportunity to do just that.
The Hawks, who are the NEC champions for the fifth time in team history, will play host to San Diego University, of the Pioneer Football League, in the first-ever Gridiron Football Classic on Saturday, at Kessler Field. The Gridiron Football Classic is a post-season exempted event that pits the winners of the Northeast Conference and the PFL.
“Although we were looking forward to the opportunity to play in the I-AA playoffs, we are excited to play in the inaugural Gridiron Football Classic,” said Monmouth Head Coach Kevin Callahan. “San Diego is a good football team, and it should be a great game. Our team has worked hard, and it is great that the game will be played at Kessler Field.”
The Hawks were hoping to be the first team from the NEC to be selected to play in the I-AA playoffs after going 10-1 on the season and securing their first outright NEC Championship with a 19-0 blanking of Albany on Nov. 11. But it wasn’t meant to be, so instead, the Hawks, and their 18 senior starters, will be playing their last game at Kessler in front of what is expected to be a capacity crowd.
And they will certainly have their work cut out for them.
San Diego, 10-1 overall and ranked 14th in the nation, was also looking to get an invite to the 2006 Division I-AA playoffs but like the Hawks were passed over. San Diego, coached by former NFL quarterback Jim Harbaugh, had won 18 consecutive games heading into last weekend’s loss against UC Davis, and features one of the country’s top offensive units.
In the Toreros’ loss last weekend, Jon Grant completed 25 passes for 348 yards and three touchdowns to help UC Davis snap San Diego’s 18-game winning streak by beating the Toreros, 37-27. The game was tied at 25 in the second half when Chris Nolan scored on a two-yard run in the third quarter and receiver Chris Carter’s 11-yard run in the fourth at the 6:19 mark gave the Aggies their final points.
Josh Johnson passed for 344 yards, two touchdowns, and scored another TD on the ground for San Diego (10-1), who had not lost a game since Sept. 24, 2005, to Princeton.
Monmouth will need to put forth one of its finest defensive performances of the year if they hope to hand San Diego its second straight defeat on Saturday.
San Diego’s high-powered offense is averaging 44.3 points-per-game, and nearly 500 yard of total offense. They are led by QB Johnson, who is an accurate passer (228-for-341 with only four interceptions on the year) and is averaging 285.5 passing yards per game, while also rushing for about 56 yards per game.
His favorite targets are redshirt junior Wes Doyle (48 catches for 856 yards and 11 touchdowns) and redshirt sophomore Ben Hannula (54 catches for 536 yards and four touchdowns), as well as redshirt sophomore John Matthews (27 catches for 578 yards and seven touchdowns). Doyle and Matthews are the Toreros’ big-play threats, with each of them averaging near 20 yards per reception.
The San Diego running game is paced by redshirt sophomore J.T. Rogan, who has amassed 1,023 yards and 12 touchdowns on just 181 carries this year, good enough for a 5.5-yards-per-carry average. While Rogan averages about 90 rushing yards per game, Johnson is also a threat to run, with 11 rushing touchdowns on the season, while redshirt freshman Brendan Feliczak (66 carries for 393 yards and three touchdowns) should also be a factor in the rushing attack.
Defensively, the Toreros are allowing just 13.5 points per game and about 275 total yards of offense. They are particularly stingy against the run, holding their opponents to just over 110 yards on the ground per game.
Prior to the loss, the Toreros, like Monmouth were anticipating a spot in the I-AA playoffs, only to be disappointed when they weren’t one of eight at-large teams selected.
“We have tremendous respect for these playoffs, and this format is the best way to crown a national champion,” said Harbaugh. “The way our players played this season is the reason we were in this position. There are 16 deserving teams and our team played well enough to receive strong consideration. I believe they felt our presence and we will continue to knock on the door of the playoffs, and do what we do best – compete, compete, compete.”
Awards rolling in
for Hawk players
A total 11 members of this year’s Monmouth team were recently named to the All-NEC teams.
Monmouth also took home two of the conference’s six major awards, with redshirt freshman running back David Sinisi (Cedar Grove) taking home Offensive Rookie of the Year Honors and head coach Kevin Callahan winning the NEC Coach of the Year award for the third time in his 14-year career.
Quarterback Brian Boland (Brick), wide receiver Adam San Miguel (North Bergen,), offensive tackle Matt Connolly (Hewitt), offensive guard Jonathan Dunn (Blackwood), linebacker Mike Castellano (Freehold), and safety Matt Hill (Hopatcong) all earned First Team All-Northeast Conference. Sinisi was joined by tight end John Nalbone (Lawrenceville), defensive back David Jiles (Paulsboro), defensive linemen Brian Sweeney (Cherokee) and Erik Yngstrom (Freehold) on the All-NEC Second Team.
“I am happy that these players have been recognized for all of their hard work and dedication,” said Callahan. “These honors are certainly well deserved.”
Sinisi, a redshirt freshman, had a breakout season, scoring in every single Monmouth game, which was the longest streak in all of Division I-AA. Sinisi led the Hawks on the ground with 716 yards and 12 touchdowns, which was fourth in the Northeast Conference. He was named Rookie of the Week five times in the 2006 season. Sinisi and Stony Brook’s Cory Giddings (of Ocean), who was named Defensive Rookie of the Year, were the only two freshmen to make either of the All-Conference teams. Sinisi joins former running back Joe Migliore as the only other Hawk to earn Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.
Callahan, the only coach in the Blue & White’s history, picked up his third Coach of the Year Award after guiding the team to its fifth NEC championship and third 10-win season. Callahan owns a 85-55 overall record in 14 years at the helm of the Hawks. He was also Coach of the Year in 1998 and 2003.
Boland earns his first All-Conference selection, after quarterbacking the conference’s second leading passing attack. The senior owns almost every MU passing record and is just the third signal caller in NEC history to throw for over 7,000 yards.
San Miguel proved to be the conference’s most dangerous wide-out this season, leading the league in receptions and receiving yards per game. The senior from North Bergen, set the MU record for receptions in a single season with 70 catches, six of them going for touchdowns.
Castellano and Hill, undoubtedly two of the best defensive players in the eight team conference, led a Hawk defense that ranks in the Top 10 nationally in four different categories. Castellano, a senior captain and two-time second team selection, tallied 64 tackles this season while adding two sacks and three interceptions to his career totals.
Gridiron notes … Fans who cannot get tickets or make the trip to Kessler Field to watch the Hawks and Toreros in the Inaugural Gridiron Football Classic can still watch the two 10-win clubs by tuning into College Sports Television for the broadcast.
Paul Dottino, a veteran of Northeast Conference television broadcasts, will handle the play-by-play duties. Dottino will be joined by Steven Jackson on the broadcast. Monmouth is 2-0 this season on television, defeating Colgate on the road and Central Connecticut at home a few weeks back.

