NEWTON, N.J., November 20, 2021 – The No. 5-ranked Monroe College Mustangs football team completed a historic regular season on Saturday, defeating Sussex County Community College, 42-10, at Newton High School to complete an unblemished 10-0 regular season. Sussex County falls to 3-5 to conclude its first-ever fall season.
 
The Mustangs took advantage of an immediate miscue by the Skylanders, as Cedric Bazile had the opening kickoff bounce off his chest, allowing the Jonathan Kamto of the Mustangs to jump on it and have the first possession of the game. However, the Mustangs were unable to capitalize, turning the ball over on downs at the five-yard line.
 
The Skylanders produced a pair of first downs on the next drive, but Michael Lufile popped the ball loose on a carry by Elvondo Thomas, allowing Jalen Stewart to scoop it up and get the ball back for Monroe on Sussex's 41-yard line.
 
After being sacked on second down, Shelton Applewhite Jr. scrambled for eight yards to pick up a first down. He converted another on a 12-yard completion to Halim Dixon-King. Monroe reached goal-to-go after a 16-yard catch by Jalen Rose-Hannah. Three plays later, Applewhite found Rose-Hannah once more for a five-yard touchdown, putting the Mustangs up, 7-0.
 
Sussex found its way into Monroe territory on the following possession, but the Mustangs got the stop on fourth down to take over as time expired in the first quarter.
 
Troy Booker started to push the offense for Monroe, ripping off runs of eight, six and 15 yards during Monroe's next drive. This set up a completion from Applewhite to LaMarcus Brand, who shook off a defender and was off to the races for a 45-yard touchdown, pushing the lead to 14-0.
 
The Skylanders once again got the ball into Mustang territory on their next possession, but a penalty moved them back to their side of the field. With Sussex facing a long 3rd-and-22, Thomas fumbled in the backfield, but the Skylanders recovered to give them a chance to punt the ball away.
 
Late in the half, Monroe took over on Sussex's 31-yard line after a 10-yard punt return by Brand set the Mustangs up with great field position. Monroe then ran a slip-screen to Booker, who took advantage of his blockers to eventually find a whole to take it the rest of the way for a 31-yard score, leaving the Mustangs up, 21-0, a score they took into the halftime break.
 
Sussex tried to catch the Mustangs napping with an onside kick to open the second half, but Monroe was able to fall on top of it to start the half with great field position. Booker nearly had another long touchdown, but a 34-yard score was negated by a penalty. Two plays later on 3rd-and-11, Ernest Blackshear rushed for 20 yards to convert and get Monroe into the red zone. Blackshear then ran for 11 yards down to the seven, and finished off the drive with a seven-yard score on the next play, making it a 28-0 game.
 
Sussex's next drive was saved on numerous occasions by Mustang penalties, leading to the Skylanders' first score of the evening. Decian Minogue was good on a 39-yard field goal attempt, leaving the Skylanders down, 28-3.
 
Monroe punted the ball back to Sussex on the next drive. A 21-yard pass from Zach Scillia to Cedric Bazile had the Skylanders moving. On 3rd-and-1, Thomas burst through the line for 10 yards, but was met by Jakai Coker, who jarred the ball loose and immediately grabbed it for a fumble recovery, taking the ball back for Monroe.
 
Monroe faced 3rd-and-9 on the next drive, but Wayne Davenport made a tough catch over the middle, and held on after getting hit immediately, to gain 12 yards and move the chains. Kimon O'Sullivan capped it off from there with a 27-yard touchdown run on the next play to push the lead to 35-3.
 
The Mustangs were flagged for a face-mask penalty on the next kickoff, setting up the Skylanders on Monroe's 32-yard line. Corey Dempster ran for 29 yards on third down to reach the two-yard line, and then Daivon Seymore ran it in from there for Sussex's only touchdown of the game, making it a 35-10 score.
 
The Mustangs responded with one final scoring drive after Stewart returned a short kickoff 32 yards to Sussex's 45-yard line. Applewhite completed a pass down the sideline to Dixon-King for 27 yards on the first play. O'Sullivan then rushed for six yards, but was taken down by his face mask, moving the ball down to the six-yard line. O'Sullivan then hit paydirt for the second time with a six-yard rush to reach the eventual final score of 42-10.
 
Applewhite hit on a number of big plays on Saturday, finishing 13-of-24 for 222 yards, three touchdowns and an interception in the win. Blackshear finished as Monroe's leading rusher with 57 yards and a touchdown on seven carries. Michael Akinleye totaled 45 yards on five carries on Monroe's last drive. O'Sullivan scored twice on five carries, finishing with 40 yards. Booker rushed eight times for 36 yards, adding a 31-yard touchdown reception.
 
Dixon-King caught seven passes for 96 yards in the win. Brand made his only catch count, taking it 45 yards for a touchdown. Rose-Hannah also scored through the air, finishing with three catches for 38 yards.
 
Stewart had an enormous day on defense and special teams for Monroe on Saturday. He finished with a team-high 11 tackles, recovered a fumble, and also returned two short kickoffs for a total of 67 yards. Lufile had two tackles for loss, five total tackles, and a forced fumble in the win. Coker had four tackles, and recovered the fumble that he forced. Tyee Martin, Andrew Hardin and Edmund Dennis all had pass breakups in the game, with Martin also having a tackle for loss.
 
Sebastian Aranda got the job done by making all six of his extra-point attempts. He also kicked off six times for 277 yards.
 
Monroe converted 24 first downs in the win, while the Skylanders had just 11 of them, four of which by way of penalty. The Mustangs held a 403-200 advantage in total offense. Monroe converted on 7-of-9 third downs, while the Skylanders moved the chains on just 3-of-14 third downs.
 
With the regular season now in the can, the Mustangs await the final NJCAA Div. I Football Rankings, as well as the possibility of an invitation to a bowl game. All updates will be made on the Monroe Mustangs social media pages, and MonroeCollegeMustangs.com.
 
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).