Monmouth University will kick off its 2012 football season on Sept. 1 at Lehigh University. Lehigh begins the season ranked No. 16 in the country among Division I-A teams. Game time is 12:30 p.m.
The Hawks were picked to finish fifth in the Northeast Conference in the preseason poll conducted by the coaches.
On Aug. 24, the Hawks had their final scrimmage of the preseason. The offense scored two touchdowns on the ground and two in the air, while the defense forced three turnovers.
“I think it was a good close to our preseason practice,” said Monmouth head coach Kevin Callahan in a press release. “It was very evident that we had made steady progress from start to finish, there were a lot of good things that were going on out there today and there’s some things I’d like to do a little bit better. That’s why you have these scrimmages and these live periods, as we have throughout camp, is to kind of evaluate where you are and what you need to do a little bit better job on. I think all in all, it was a good camp and today was a good finish to it.”
Pete Nagy of East Hanover was the most explosive Hawks player, scoring two long touchdowns—one rushing and one receiving. He found a hole through the middle on the first play of the fourth offensive drive and he went for 67 yards to paydirt. Later on in the 100-play scrimmage, Nagy got behind the linebacking corps and caught a pass from Kyle Frazier for a 58-yard score. Nagy led all Hawks with 144 yards of total offense.
“Pete had a very good camp,” said Callahan. “He’s really demonstrated that he is a guy that has to get on the field for us, and we gotta figure into the mix and get some carries. Running back is a position that we feel is very deep for us, and seeing the number of guys that can contribute is a good thing. I’m sure Pete is going to have his opportunities as we get into the season here. He did an excellent job today.”
The Monmouth defense began the day by holding the offense to a 43-yard field goal from Eric Spillane (Colts Neck) after the drive stalled on a third down sack by Patrick O’Hara. It was more of the same on the next drive, when Eric Macik recorded a sack on fourth down after a tackle and pass breakup by Dave Damirgian, one of three breakups on the day for the junior linebacker.
Rookie Matt Morcio intercepted a Ben Onett pass and returned it for 33 yards. The defense’s other pickoff came when senior Chris Luma of Edison tipped a pass that linebacker Dale DeGraw of Jamesburg pulled down. DeGraw filled the stat sheet with six total tackles, including a sack and the interception.
The game’s final touchdown came after freshman quarterback Terence Scanlon (Lincroft) evaded a blitzing defender and then found rookie tight end Zach Fabel (Brigantine) in the back of the end zone for a four-yard score.
In all, the Monmouth defense forced seven three-and-outs on the afternoon. Sophomore linebacker Colin Cooper had six total tackles, including four solo stops. The defense was credited with four sacks on the day coming from four different players. Freshman Chris Villante (Kinnelon) forced a fumble late in the scrimmage that was recovered by fellow first year player Malcolm Powers.
The offense featured a balanced attack, registering 224 yards on the ground and 247 yards through the air. Frazier was an efficient nine-of-13 with 109 yards and the touchdown toss to Nagy. Greg DePugh of Morris Plains went 6-of-10 passing for 84 yards.
Danny Agyeman (Lodi) had 34 yards on eight carries, including a 21-yard touchdown scamper. The offense averaged 5.2 yards per carry as a unit.
Callahan liked what he saw from his first team offense.
“They put together some really good drives and had some big explosive plays,” he said.
Monmouth’s home opener is Sept. 8 against the University of Rhode Island. Kick off in West Long Branch is 1 p.m.
The Hawks other home games are on Sept. 22 against Sacred Heart University (1 p.m.), Oct. 20 vs. Bryant University (1 p.m.), Nov. 3 against Central Connecticut State University (1 p.m.) and Nov. 10 vs. Saint Francis University (12 p.m.). All of these games are against NEC opponents.
On Oct. 13, the Hawks will travel to Ithaca, N.Y. to take on Cornell University from the Ivy League.