NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., September 16, 2023 – The Monroe College football team gave its fans a good show on Saturday in the team's 2023 home opener at Joseph F. Fosina Field. The Mustangs led from early in the game through the final whistle, defeating Community Christian College (Mich.) (CCC) in their first-ever matchup, 41-6. Monroe improves to 3-0 on the season with the win, while the Lions fall to 0-3.
 
The Mustangs were unable to get much going on the opening drive of the game, eventually turning it over on downs at CCC's 43-yard line. On the second play of the Lions' first drive, Preston Thompson was crushed while dropping back, allowing Nareece Wright to intercept a floater and return it to the Lions' 40.
 
Monroe was moving the ball on the ensuing drive, with Mason Boothe completing a 16-yard pass to Rafael McCoy to move deeper into CCC territory. Another pass to McCoy got the Mustangs into the red zone, and then Kyon Barnes ran for 11 yards to get Monroe down to the nine-yard line. Boothe then dropped back and tossed one to the right corner of the endzone where Diego Lamonica high-pointed it for a nine-yard touchdown, giving Monroe a 7-0 lead with 6:11 to go in the first.
 
A big sack by Jessiah Gildersleeve on first down immediately made things difficult for the Lions on the next drive. Thompson then fell down for a loss of 11 on third down after being pushed out of the pocket, leading to a 28-yard punt by Fred Biles to set Monroe up on CCC's 38.
 
Barnes rushed for seven yards on first down to get things going for the Mustangs on their next possession. The drive then ended on the next play when Boothe found Lasalle Rose sprinting past the defense for a 31-yard touchdown, quickly making it 14-0 advantage for the Mustangs with 3:35 still left in the first quarter.
 
Monroe had the ball on its own 24-yard line early in the second quarter. Boothe then threw left on 3rd-and-8, but it was intercepted by Kuvon Tucker and returned for a Lions touchdown. A bad snap on the extra point then kept the score at 14-6 in favor of the Mustangs.
 
After a short kickoff, the Mustangs got back to work starting on their own 38. On the second play from scrimmage, Barnes broke free and rumbled for 40 yards before tripping on the turf at the CCC 16-yard line. Barnes later almost got in for a score, but a holding penalty backed the Mustangs up. They eventually settled for a 26-yard field goal by Patrick Fisher-Butler, pushing the lead to 17-6 midway through the second.
 
The Mustangs got the ball back a few minutes later when Darrien Lewis jumped a route for a diving interception. The Mustangs then took their time with the next drive. A nine-yard completion from Boothe to Trevion Thomas moved the chains, and then Barnes picked up another first down with a 16-yard run to CCC's 28-yard line. After moving the ball down to the 15, the Mustangs' drive stalled, but Fisher-Butler made another field goal, this time from 32 yards out, improving Monroe's lead to 20-6, which the Mustangs took into the halftime break.
 
The Lions recovered a Monroe fumble to take over at their own 37-yard line for their second possession of the third quarter. The Mustangs forced a three-and-out, setting up another punt by the Lions. Fred Biles' punt traveled just 29 yards to Mysonne Pollard at Monroe's 32, where he found a huge hole and zoomed through everyone on the field for a 68-yard punt-return touchdown, making it a 27-6 lead for the Mustangs early in the half.
 
The Mustangs had the Lions backed up all the way to their own 20-yard line after a sack by Brandon Bish. The snap on CCC's punt then went over the head of Biles, allowing the Mustangs to recover on the five-yard line. That immediately set up Charles Alia to take it the rest of the way on first down, with his five-yard touchdown run making it a 34-6 game in favor of Monroe.
 
The Mustangs' offense had one more big play in them early in the fourth quarter. After starting just shy of midfield, Boothe managed to hit Rashawn Reid deep for a 47-yard touchdown pass on second down, helping the Mustangs reach the eventual final score of 41-6.
 
The Mustangs' defense held the Lions to -51 yards rushing in the win, and a total of just 66 yards from scrimmage. Monroe needed just 295 yards of offense to produce four touchdowns in the game. The Lions converted just 1-of-12 third downs on Saturday. The defense also registered six sacks and 12 total tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
 
Mason Boothe completed 11-of-20 passes for 159 yards and three touchdowns. Barnes rushed 10 times for 104 yards, while Alia carried the ball nine times for 40 yards and a touchdown. Rashawn Reid led the pass-catchers with 55 yards and a touchdown on two receptions. Rose caught three passes for 51 yards and a score. Lamonica scored on his lone catch of nine yards.
 
Xavier Belton produced a team-high six total tackles in the win, including two behind the line of scrimmage. Gildersleeve was right behind him with five, including 1.5 sacks and 3.0 tackles for loss in the game. Bish registered 2.5 sacks, forced a fumble and also record another quarterback hurry on Saturday. Abdoul Kone and Sekou Kromah each had half a sack, while Kromah had 1.5 total tackles for loss. Wright and Lewis both came up with interceptions in the win, while Lewis produced a pair of QB pressures.
 
Pollard had a big 68-yard punt-return touchdown to help boost the Mustangs in the win. Special teams continued to produce with Fisher-Butler going 2-for-2 with field goals of 26 and 32 yards. Fisher-Butler also made all five of his extra-point attempts in the game. He is now 15-of-15 on point-after attempts on the season, while making all three of his field goal tries on the season.
 
The Mustangs are now set for their first big road trip of the season this coming Saturday, Sept. 23, when they head down to Georgia to take on Georgia Military College. Saturday's kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
 
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 28 teams competing across nine sports. There are 20 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well the Monroe College marching band, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, has seven 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). Read Full Article