UNIONDALE, N.Y., September 2, 2023 – Both sides of the line of scrimmage got the job done in the Monroe College football team's season-opener at NJCAA Div. III No. 5 Nassau Community College, earning a 31-13 victory over the Lions on Saturday at the Mitchel Athletic Complex. The Mustangs start the season 1-0, while the Lions fall to 0-1.
 
The Mustangs got off to a quick start to immediately jump into the lead. After Nassau attempted an onside kick to open the game, the Mustangs recovered and started the game on their own 41-yard line. Justin McDuffie started in the backfield and ran for five yards on each of the Mustangs' first two plays to move the chains. Mason Boothe then hit Trevion Thomas for a 10-yard gain for another first down. Boothe then found Rafael McCoy over the middle behind the defense for a 39-yard touchdown, giving the Mustangs a 7-0 lead just 1:50 into the game.
 
Nassau was moving the ball on its first possession of the game, with quarterback William Pickett rushing for 11 yards on first down, and then the Mustangs committed a 15-yard penalty to push the Lions into Monroe territory. On the next play, Xavier Belton jarred the ball loose from Fernando Rodriguez, allowing Jessiah Gildersleeve to recover the fumble on Monroe's 44-yard line and get the ball back for the Mustangs.
 
On the very next play, McDuffie took the handoff, found a hole on the left side and was off to the races for a 56-yard touchdown, giving the Mustangs a 14-0 advantage with 11:35 still left in the first quarter.
 
Nassau's next drive took up most of the remaining time in the first quarter. Aided by Monroe penalties, the Lions had first-and-goal on the 10-yard line. Joseph Pronchick and Belton combined to sack Pickett on second down, but a pass interference on the next play gave the Lions a new set of downs. Pickett sacked again on first down by Brandon Bish and Deitron Parker. Nassau eventually had fourth-and-goal from the five-yard line when a personal-foul penalty on Monroe once again kept the drive alive for Nassau. Two plays later, Zachary Mitchell punched it in for the Lions, cutting Monroe's lead to 14-6 with 10 seconds left in the first after a missed extra point.
 
Both teams traded punts on the next three drives before Nassau got a drive going with 4:47 left in the half. On second-and-seven from the Monroe 17, Pickett was intercepted on the eight-yard line by Nareece Wright, who returned it 15 yards to set Monroe up on its own 23 with 1:44 to play in the half.
 
The big play on Monroe's next drive was an 18-yard completion from Boothe to Thomas that put the Mustangs on Nassau's 33-yard line. Charles Alia then rushed for five yards to get the Mustangs a little closer for Patrick Fisher-Butler's first field-goal attempt. Fisher-Butler was good with plenty of distance from 45 yards out, leaving the Mustangs up, 17-6, heading into halftime.
 
The Mustangs' defense bent, but did not break on a lengthy third quarter-opening drive by Nassau. The Lions started on their own 17-yard line, driving 67 yards on 16 plays before eventually settling for a field-goal attempt from 33 yards after a third-down sack by Jeffrey Wilson. The Lions then came away with nothing on the drive after Thomas Zabransky missed the kick.
 
Neither team put up any points in the third quarter, but the Mustangs had the ball to start the fourth. After slowly moving their way down the field, the Mustangs got a big gain on a 29-yard pass from Boothe to Jamel Stubbs down to Nassau's 29. After losing three yards on second down, Boothe found Thomas crossing over the middle downfield for a 32-yard touchdown, giving the Mustangs a 24-6 edge with 11 minutes left in the fourth.
 
Nassau got the ball back on its own 24-yard line and once again had a long drive that took up a lot of the remaining time in the game. The Lions used 12 plays to drive 76 yards, scoring on a one-yard run by Pickett to cut Monroe's lead to 24-13 with 5:22 to play.
 
The Lions attempted an onside kick, but the Mustangs fell on it to start a new drive on Nassau's 45. On second down, Boothe found Diego Lamonica for a 15-yard gain. Two plays later, Alia ran for 29 yards before being taken down at the one-yard line. Two plays after that, Alia punched it in for a one-yard score to make it a 31-13 game with just 1:25 on the clock.
 
Nassau picked up a couple big gains, including a 37-yard completion from Pickett to Andre Mottas on a tipped pass to get the Lions down to the one-yard line with only seconds remaining. The Lions had four chances to score from the goal line in the final seconds. Pickett's first throw was dropped, and then two passes were incomplete. On fourth down, Anthony Lacy jumped the route to intercept the pass in the end zone with no time left, securing Monroe's 31-13 victory.
 
Boothe completed 15-of-21 passes for 203 yards and two touchdowns in the win. Thomas ended up with three receptions for 60 yards and a score, while McCoy caught two passes for 43 yards and a touchdown. McDuffie rushed four times for 71 yards and a touchdown, while also catching three passes for another 25 yards. Alia ran the ball eight times for 29 yards and a score.
 
On the defensive side, Belton led the Mustangs with nine tackles, including two tackles for loss, a half sack and a forced fumble. Mysonne Pollard matched Belton with nine total tackles, while Abdoul Kone totaled seven with 1.5 tackles for loss. Wilson had a sack and five tackles in the win, as well as two pass breakups. Parker had 2.5 tackles for loss and a half a sack. Wright and Lacy each had an interception in the win, while Gildersleeve recovered a fumble.
 
Fisher-Butler had a strong first outing as Monroe's placekicker on Saturday. He made his lone field-goal attempt from 45 yards out, went 4-for-4 on extra points and averaged 56.0 yards on five kickoffs. Kye Collins totaled 110 yards on three punts in the game.
 
The Mustangs outgained the Lions, 311-291, in the game, doing so on 25 fewer plays (69-44). Monroe held Nassau to just 2.6 yards per rush, while the Mustangs averaged 4.7 yards per carry. Monroe converted 5-of-8 third downs, while Nassau converted 9-of-14.
 
The Mustangs get back to work on Friday, Sept. 8, when they take another short trip out to Staten Island to take on the Wagner College JV team. The game is set for an early 11 a.m. kickoff.
 
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