Red Flash Football Downed by Monmouth 42-15
WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. (Oct. 4, 2008) – The Saint Francis football team found the end zone but couldn’t get the win as they fell to the Monmouth University Hawks 42-15 in their second Northeast Conference match up of the season at Kessler Field in West Long Branch, N.J.
The Red Flash will return home to continue conference play with a contest against Sacred Heart on October 11 at DeGol Field in Loretto.
Senior running back David Sinisi scored the first of his 4 touchdowns with 10:37 left to play in the first quarter. Sinisi took the hand off from Hawks quarterback Brett Burke and ran one yard into the end zone to make the score to put Monmouth up by 6. Kicker Fred Weingart’s point after would go through the uprights to make the score 7-0.
The Red Flash were three-and-out on their first possession of the game, gaining only one yard on three plays. Punter Bobby Fuller (Mount Savage, Md./Beall) had a 38 yard punt from the Red Flash’s own 17-yard line that was returned by Nick Romeo to the Saint Francis 45 yard line.
Sinisi scored again, just 3 minutes after his first touchdown on a 10 yard run for another 6 points. Weingart’s kick would make the score 14-0.
Neither team would score on their next possessions. With 12:31 left to play in the second quarter, running back Bobby Giles would fumble the ball on the Saint Francis 25 yard line. The fumble would be recovered by Red Flash linebacker Matthew Parker (Darlington, Pa./Blackhawk), but they were unable to score on the drive.
Parker then intercepted Burke’s pass on the next drive and returned it 13 yards to the Red Flash’s 28-yard line. However, three incomplete passes by quarterback George Little (Duquesne, Pa./Duquesne) would force another punt by Fuller.
Hawks backup quarterback Andrew Mandeville would take over for Burke on the Hawk’s next possession. Mandeville was limited to only one completion before he was intercepted by Red Flash defensive back Mike Horn at the Saint Francis 28-yard line.
On the ensuing drive, Little had a 17-yard completion to Parker and 43-yard toss to wide receiver Anthony Howze (Upper Marlboro, Md./Riverdale Baptist). After a few short runs and completions, Little would take the ball into the end zone himself for a one-yard rushing touchdown. Kicker Zak Campbell (Munhall, Pa./Steel Valley) had his extra point attempt blocked by Monmouth to keep the score at 14-6.
Hawk tight end John Nalbone had a 17-yard catch and a 29-yard reception on consecutive plays before Sinisi again rushed for 10 yards into the end zone to put the Hawks up 21-6 going into half time.
The Red Flash started the second quarter off strong with a Campbell field goal from 20 yards out on their first drive in the second half.
The Hawks would respond with 7-play drive for 62 yards that ended with a pass from Burke to Romeo in the end zone for another 6 points. Weingart’s kick would make the score 28-9.
Running back Calvin Williams (Cleveland, Ohio/South) returned Jake Delvento’s kick 12 yards to the his own 28 yard line. Little’s pass to Omar Winston (Cleveland, Ohio/South) would be complete for a gain for 38 yards. Three more passes would bring the Red Flash to the Monmouth 16, where Williams rushed for 5 yards to the 11 for the first down. An 11-yard rushing touchdown by Winston picked up 6 for the Flash. Backup quarterback Colton Sipe, holding for Campbell’s point after, rushed for 2 but couldn’t get to the end zone and score remained at 29-15.
Fuller’s onside kick attempt was recovered by Monmouth, at the Saint Francis 46-yard line. Seven short plays later, Sinisi rushed six yards for his fourth and final touchdown of the day with 16 seconds remaining in the third quarter to make the score 35-15.
The Red Flash would make it all the way to the Monmouth 8 yard line on their next possession, but couldn’t find the end zone for the rest of the game.
Sinisi, who finished the day with 247 rushing yards, had a 50 yard carry on the Hawk’s next drive that brought the ball to the Red Flash 38-yard line. Sinisi rushed 4 more times for 27 yards before Burke tossed the ball to Rodney Salomon in the end zone for a two-yard touchdown, to give the Hawks a 42-15 lead.
Little was 32-of-58 with 322 yards on the day with no picks, while Burke went 17-of-22 for 147 yards and was intercepted twice. Winston led the receivers for the Red Flash with 119 yards on 9 catches, with Williams right behind him with 11 catches for 78 yards. Howze was the receiver for Little’s longest pass of the day, which was complete for 43 yards. Williams led the run with 25 yards on 9 carries. Little also had 7 carries for 23 yards.
Linebacker Scott Lewis (South Fork, Pa./Bishop McCort) led the defense with 13 tackles, including 1 sack and 3 tackles for loss. Parker was right behind him with 10 tackles, one fumble recovery and an interception returned for 13 yards.
The Red Flash had 19 first downs, as opposed to the 8 they had last week at Morehead State. They finished with 76 offensive plays for 361 yards. The offense was 4 of 17 on third down conversions and 3 of 5 on fourth down conversions. They were able to score 3 of the 4 times they made it to the red zone. For the second straight game, the Flash had less than 30 minutes of possessions, holding the ball for 28:41 seconds of the game.