New Rochelle, N.Y. – The only thing that dampened the Monroe College Homecoming game on Saturday was the intermittent rain that fell on Fosina Field in New Rochelle. Despite the weather, Monroe College defeated Hudson Valley Community College, 31-3.
Ryan Fulse, one of the 27 sophomores that was honored prior to their final home game, rushed for 132 yards and scored two touchdowns.
Monroe deferred the opening kickoff, going on defense first. Just three plays into the Vikings' opening series,
Daejon Weeks-Landy stepped in front of a pass and made the interception. He returned the ball to the Hudson Valley 23, where the Mustangs started on offense.
Monroe gave the ball back to the Vikings on downs, and on the ensuing drive, Hudson Valley drove down to the Monroe 46. On a third-and-long play,
Jatece Wright thwarted the second-straight Vikings drive with another interception.
The Mustangs capitalized on this drive and came out with three points, thanks to a 34-yard field goal from
Jared Calhoun. The key play on the drive was a 65-yard scamper on a broken play from freshman quarterback
Sean Kelly, who was starting his second game of the season. Monroe led 3-0 after a quarter.
Calhoun and the special teams set Monroe up for another score, placing a punt inside the 20-yard line. Three plays later, a
Richard Butler sack set up the Vikings for a fourth-down play from their own five-yard line. Hudson Valley elected to punt, and a poor snap resulted in the punter just jumping on the ball. He was tackled by a swarm of Mustangs, and the resulting safety made brought the score to 5-0.
Later in the quarter, Monroe brought the score to 12-0 thanks to a Fulse touchdown. He bounced outside and took off down the sidelines for 30 yards, after having a 15-yard scamper earlier in the drive.
The next Monroe possession resulted in points as well. Starting near midfield, the Mustangs had a 57-yard scoring drive that ended in a Fulse 11-yard touchdown run. Another key play on the drive was
Aaron Williams's completion to
Aaron Lewis for 14 yards. The extra point was blocked, and Monroe led 18-0.
The Vikings got the ball for the ensuing drive, but were shut down by the stingy Monroe defense.
Kadeen Dryden,
Anthony Stubbs, and
Dermel Bonaparte all made tackles that helped force a Hudson Valley punt. The Mustangs went to work from their own 35 following the kick.
Hudson Valley seemingly stopped the Mustangs, but on a fourth-down punt, they were whistled for roughing the kicker, giving Monroe a new set of downs. The drive ended when Williams connected with Lewis for a 20-yard touchdown pass. The score was 24-0 after another blocked extra point.
Dejohn Rogers brought the crowd to its feet in the third quarter, returning the second-half kickoff 85 yards. He got a few nice blocks on the run, and was eventually tackled at the Hudson Valley 15. The Mustangs ended up missing a field goal.
The ensuing Vikings possession saw the team march 63 yards in 14 plays, culminating in a 35-yard field goal. The score was 24-3 after three quarters of play.
It looked like Hudson Valley was going to score again early in the fourth, as they had the ball on the Monroe 7. From there,
Darrius Stokes intercepted a pass at the three and took it back 97 yards for a touchdown. The score went to 31-3, where it remained for a Monroe victory.
With the victory, Monroe Improved to 7-1 on the season. The Monroe College Football team will conclude the regular-season on Saturday, November 5th, against Dean College in Franklin, Massachusetts. The game will begin at noon.
