NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., October 16, 2021 – The defense and special teams accounted for four touchdowns in Saturday's Homecoming game, lifting the No. 11-ranked Monroe College football team to a 42-14 victory over Milford Academy at Joseph F. Fosina Field. The Mustangs remain unbeaten at 5-0 on the season, while the Falcons drop to 4-4.
 
The Mustangs got off to a sluggish start in Saturday's contest, turning the ball over twice in the first eight minutes of the game. Special teams and the defense picked up the slack for the offense, though. After a punt deep into Milford territory, Walter Gibson blew up the returner to jar the ball loose, allowing Nazaiah Paul to fall on it in the end zone for a score, putting the Mustangs up, 7-0, with 2:50 left in the first quarter.
 
On Milford's next drive, Edmund Dennis picked off a third-down screen pass and went untouched to the end zone for another touchdown, pushing the lead to 14-0 with 2:07 still to play in the first.
 
On the first play of the Falcons' next possession, a handoff was fumbled and recovered by Douglas Blue-Eli to get the ball back for the Mustangs again. However, Shelton Applewhite Jr. was intercepted for the second time in the quarter, giving the ball right back to Milford.
 
The defense once again stepped up, as Cade White intercepted Zach Pilarcek on fourth down to get the ball back for Monroe on its own 11-yard line. After moving the ball up to the 35, Applewhite went deep up the seam for Halim Dixon-King, who pulled it down, shook off a defender, and took it all the way to the end zone for the score, making it. 21-0 lead for the Mustangs early in the second quarter.
 
The special teams once again got it done for Monroe on the next drive. On a fourth-down punt, Jalen Stewart got in front of a low punt for the block, which was quickly snatched up by Guirvenseont Guillaume who sprinted to the end zone for yet another Monroe touchdown, making it a 28-0 lead for the home team.
 
The takeaways kept coming for the Mustangs on the very next drive for Milford. On second down, Manny Azolin popped the ball out of the quarterback's hands, allowing Samuel Ntui-Ebob to jump on it and get the ball back for Monroe. The Mustangs got down to the six, but faced fourth down. Monroe chose to go for it, and a quick out from Applewhite to Jalen Rose-Hannah got him into the end zone for one more score, leaving the Mustangs up, 35-0, heading into halftime.
 
The third quarter was quiet until the final seconds of the period. A roughing the punter call against Monroe gave the Falcons new life, and they immediately went deep, with Matt Xiques completing a 73-yard touchdown pass. A botched snap on the extra point left the Mustangs up, 35-6.
 
The defense continued to play well in the fourth quarter. On third down for Milford, Tyee Martin Jr. jumped the route for an interception at midfield. The Mustangs were unable to move the ball and punted it back to Milford, but on the first play of the next drive, Martin once again stole the ball out of the air, this time returning it 30 yards for a pick-six, putting the Mustangs up, 42-6.
 
Milford responded with a long drive, aided by a few Mustang penalties. On 1st-and-10 from the Monroe 43, Xiques completed to Keon Green for a 43-yard score. Xiques then completed a pass on the two-point attempt to bring the score to 42-14, which proved to be the final score of the game.
 
Tyee Martin Jr. ended up with a big day, intercepting two passes and returning one for a score, as well as a tackle-for-loss in the win. Dennis had a pick-six for Monroe in the first half, while White also picked one off in the game. Azolin had a forced fumble on a sack, while Ntui-Ebob and Blue-Eli each recovered a fumble on defense. Azolin's sack was one of Monroe's four sacks, with Michel Lucien, Ntui-Ebob and Blue-Eli accounting for the other three. Zharell Walker led the team with eight total tackles in the win, while Lucien finished with seven, including 2.5 behind the line of scrimmage.
 
On special teams, Stewart picked up a punt block, which Guillaume returned for a score. Gibson forced the ball out on a punt, which Paul recovered in the end zone for a score. Bailey Marzola punted five times, averaging 39.6 yards with three inside the 20-yard line. He also had a long punt of 57 yards. Idrissa Nikiema made all six of his extra-point attempts, and averaged 53.1 yards on seven kickoffs, including two touchbacks.
 
It was a light day for the offense on Saturday as the defense and special teams took care of business. Applewhite completed 5-of-8 passes for two touchdowns, two interceptions and 97 yards, while Roman Purcell completed all three of his attempts after taking over after halftime, totaling 34 yards. Purcell rushed eight times as well.
 
Troy Booker rushed nine times for a team-high 69 yards in the win. Khyon Gillespie also carried the ball nine times for 25 yards. Dixon-King caught one pass on the day, but he made it count with a 65-yard touchdown, his seventh score of the season. Nikiema made a team-high three receptions for 26 yards.
 
The Mustang defense held the Falcons to just 18 rushing yards and 186 total yards of offense in the game, the majority of that coming on two plays. The Mustangs forced seven turnovers and blocked a punt in the victory.
 
The Mustangs will play next on Sunday, Oct. 24, in a newly added game up in Ithaca, N.Y., against the Cornell University JV team. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m
 
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 39 teams competing across nine sports. There are 21 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well as club men's and women's rugby, the Monroe College marching band, and the newly added esports and men's volleyball programs, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, has 18 teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level.
 
For more information about the Monroe Mustangs, please visit us at www.MonroeCollegeMustangs.com or follow us on social media: Facebook (Monroe Mustangs Athletics), Twitter (@Monroe_Mustangs) and Instagram (@monroemustangs).