Monmouth Scores 35 After Halftime, Spoils Hampton Homecoming 49-13

For 30 minutes, Hampton had its homecoming crowd believing. Then Monmouth came out of the locker room and scored on every one of its first five possessions.

No. 18 Monmouth beat Hampton 49-13 on Saturday, Oct. 24, at Armstrong Stadium in Hampton, Va., spoiling the Pirates' 98th homecoming in front of 7,992 fans. It was a 14-7 game at halftime. It was 42-7 in the fourth quarter.

The Hawks improved to 6-2 overall and 5-0 in the Coastal Athletic Association, their fifth straight win. Monmouth is now 6-0 all time against Hampton and 6-0 this season when it scores first. Hampton fell to 1-7 and 0-4 in league play.

A slow, strange first half

Nobody scored in the first quarter, which was the first sign this would not be a normal Monmouth afternoon. The Hawks finally broke through with the longest drive of their season by every measure: 18 plays, 99 yards and 7 minutes, 41 seconds. Frankie Weaver capped it with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Smith Jr., and Monmouth led 7-0.

Hampton answered fast. Donovan Shepard broke a 76-yard run, and true freshman quarterback Xavier Brookins, making his first career start, finished the drive himself with a 1-yard touchdown run. With 7:49 left in the second quarter, the game was tied and the homecoming crowd was very much in it.

Monmouth took the lead back just before the break. Nazir Treadwell's 1-yard run capped a 10-play, 60-yard drive with 28 seconds left, and the Hawks went into the locker room ahead 14-7. Hampton coach Van Malone said afterward that he liked his team's energy in the first half. The second half was a different story.

Thirty-five points after the break

Whatever adjustments Monmouth made at halftime, they worked right away. Weaver hit Tra Neal for an 8-yard touchdown to stretch the lead to 21-7.

Then the Hawks got creative. Treadwell took a sweep and pitched to Neal, who tossed the ball back to Weaver, who found Shane Garrett for a 5-yard touchdown. It was the kind of play that only works when the defense is already on its heels, and Hampton was. It was 28-7.

The fourth quarter belonged to the Monmouth running backs. Elijah Jennings scored on a 1-yard run. Then Smith took a handoff and went 70 yards for a touchdown, the longest run of the season for the Hawks and their first of 50 yards or more. That made it 42-7.

Hampton got on the board again when backup quarterback Tre'Von Taylor threw a touchdown pass to TK Paisant. Monmouth had the last word, though. Redshirt freshman quarterback Brad Seiss came on for his college debut, completed both of his passes for 33 yards, including a 29-yarder to Burke Mickelsen, and led the drive that ended with Greg Randall's 3-yard touchdown run with 1:53 left. It was the first career touchdown for Randall.

Count it up and Monmouth scored on its first five possessions of the second half, put up 35 points after the break and turned a competitive game into a rout.

The players who decided it

Weaver was efficient all afternoon. He completed 24 of 32 passes for 234 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions, his third three-touchdown game of the season. He also had a hand in the trick play, which may be the highlight Hawks fans remember longest from this one.

Smith was the star. The rookie ran 19 times for 163 yards and a touchdown and caught a touchdown pass, his second straight 100-yard game. He had been named CAA Rookie of the Week two weeks in a row coming in, after a 175-yard day against New Hampshire, and he did nothing here to slow that down. Jennings added 79 rushing yards and a score, and Treadwell ran 11 times for 39 yards and a touchdown.

Here is a fun detail: all four Monmouth running backs who carried the ball scored a touchdown. Smith, Jennings, Treadwell and Randall all found the end zone.

For Hampton, Shepard's 76-yard run was the biggest play of the day for the Pirates. Brookins completed 9 of 16 passes for 49 yards in his first start and scored the Pirates' first touchdown. Taylor completed 6 of 10 for 97 yards and a touchdown in relief.

Stats that matter

Monmouth finished with 565 total yards, a season high, with 298 on the ground and 267 through the air. It was the Hawks' second straight game over 500 yards, and they piled up 30 first downs.

The Monmouth defense was just as good, even if the 76-yard run will show up on the highlight reel. Hampton managed just 249 total yards and 11 first downs all afternoon, and almost a third of that yardage came on one play. Take away Shepard's long run, and the Pirates gained 27 yards on their other 23 carries. Jake Davis, Bryce Rooks and Jahide Lesaine Jr. each had a sack.

The Monmouth offensive line, which leads FCS in fewest sacks allowed, did not allow a sack for the fifth straight game. That is a remarkable run, and it is a big reason Weaver can play the way he does.

The possession numbers tell the rest. Monmouth ran 83 plays to Hampton's 50 and held the ball for 36:31. The Hawks converted 5 of 11 third downs, Hampton went 2 of 11, and Monmouth scored on six of its seven trips into the red zone. The full numbers are in the official box score (opens in a new tab).

What it means

Monmouth is rolling. The Hawks moved up to No. 17 in the AFCA coaches poll and No. 18 in the Stats Perform poll this week, and at 5-0 in the CAA they control their own path. A week earlier, they beat New Hampshire 42-21 for the first time in program history. This week, they turned a sleepy first half into a blowout without needing anything fancy, well, except for that one trick play.

What stands out is the balance. Monmouth can run it, as 298 rushing yards show. It can throw it, with a quarterback who does not turn the ball over. And it can protect, with a line that has not given up a sack in five weeks. That is how teams make deep runs in the FCS playoffs.

Monmouth's next game was at home against Bryant on Oct. 31, the first of three straight home dates.

For Hampton, the story is about growth. The Pirates started a true freshman at quarterback, played with energy in the first half and gave their homecoming crowd something to cheer about for a while. Malone said the team needs more consistency and has to do a better job with its halftime adjustments, and the second half proved the point. Hampton's next game was at Towson on Oct. 31.

Both schools have more in their recaps, from Monmouth (opens in a new tab) and from Hampton (opens in a new tab), and WTKR (opens in a new tab) covered the game from Armstrong Stadium.

The last word

There was a stretch in the second quarter, after Brookins tied it, when Hampton looked like a team that might steal something special on homecoming. Monmouth never panicked. It ground out a drive before halftime, then spent the second half showing why it is unbeaten in the CAA.

Good teams survive a slow start. Very good teams turn it into a 36-point win. Monmouth did exactly that on Saturday, and the Hawks look like a team nobody in the CAA wants to see in November.

Sources: Monmouth Athletics and Hampton Athletics, the official box score, WTKR News 3 and The Associated Press. More FCS and college football coverage on Undrafted.

Photos: Monmouth Athletics.