UAlbany Comes Out With An Explosive 2nd Half And Defeats Monmouth, Taking A Large Leap Toward NEC Championship

UAlbany Comes Out With An Explosive 2nd Half And Defeats Monmouth, Taking A Large Leap Toward NEC Championship. McCarty ran for 208 yards leading UAlbany. More to come...

Albany, N.Y. – David McCarty rushed for 208 yards and one touchdown and Vinny Esposito ran for the go-ahead score early in the fourth quarter, as UAlbany rallied in the second half for a 35-17 victory over Monmouth in a battle for first place in the Northeast Conference standings on Saturday, Nov. 1 at University Field.

UAlbany (6-3, NEC 5-0) reversed a 14-0 deficit at the intermission by reaching the end zone on two of its opening three possessions in the third period. Justin Gannon returned the second-half kickoff 37 yards to midfield. Esposito, a junior quarterback, finished off the 10-play march by rolling to his left and connecting with wide receiver Tim Bush on a 6-yard touchdown pass. The Great Danes drew even when Bush reached paydirt on a 17-yard reverse, a scoring play that set up by wideout John Lullen’s downfield block.

Monmouth (5-4, NEC 4-1) later went ahead 17-14 on Fred Weingart’s 27-yard field goal after both teams had turnovers on back-to-back plays. The Hawks’ David Sinisi fumbled as he was stripped by free safety Dave Casale following a 37-yard run. The Great Danes returned the favor when Bush coughed up the ball after hauling in a 9-yard reception at his own 20-yard line.

The Great Danes then reeled off 21 unanswered points as Gannon jump-started that outburst with a 51-yard kickoff return. Esposito, who eventually scored on a 1-yard sneak over the left side on the first play of the final stanza for a 21-17 lead, kept the short drive alive with a third-down completion to Bush at the Monmouth 10. Bush had a career-high eight receptions for 83 yards.

The Hawks, who had won five straight entering the contest, moved into UAlbany territory on their next series, but the sequence stalled due to Trevor Anderson’s sack of quarterback Brett Burke and two penalties. UAlbany then went to work on the ground, as McCarty ripped off runs of 35 and 30 yards to move his team into the red zone. On third-and-one at the Monmouth 14, the junior tailback was stopped near the line of scrimmage, but then broke free on second effort and into the end zone untouched with 6:14 remaining.

McCarty, who rushed for 185 yards after halftime and reached the 200-mark for the fourth time in his career, was featured on his team’s next possession. He ran on seven of the scoring drive’s nine plays, including a 28-yard burst to the Monmouth 25. Esposito, who connected on 13 of 20 passes for 107 yards in the contest, capped the comeback with a 1-yard sneak on third-and-goal.

“Our special teams made some great plays, the defense got a number of three-and-outs, and you would have to say (David) McCarty is quite a franchise player,” said UAlbany coach Bob Ford, whose team has won 11 in a row against conference opponents. “We are riding an emotional high, but now you have to be careful because this just puts us in the driver’s seat. We have two more games to win.”

Monmouth dominated the opening half and reached paydirt on its first possession with a 10-play, 60-yard march. Burke, who completed 17 of 28 attempts for 141 yards, fired a 21-yard touchdown strike, off play-action, to flanker Nick Romeo. The Hawks took a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter when Burke delivered a 15-yard scoring pass to tight end John Nalbone, who leaped above three defenders to make the catch. Monmouth could have increased its margin when Dave Ogden recovered Gannon’s fumbled punt return with 3:44 left in the quarter. But Sinisi lost hold of the ball on a fourth-down run and UAlbany linebakcer Mark Peretore came up with the turnover.

“I got down on myself at halftime and I normally never do,” offered McCarty, who has gained 100 or more rushing yards in 14 of his last 15 starts. “In the second half, the offensive line absolutely moved them around and that just makes me look good.”

Sinisi, a Walter Payton Award candidate and the nation’s leading rusher, finished with 118 yards on 27 carries. The Hawks, who have won or shared five NEC titles in their history, held the ball for 20-plus minutes in the first half, were limited to 113 total yards after the break. The two teams entered their annual meeting with unbeaten league records for the first time since 2003.

“We were complacent in the first half and they shoved it down our throat,” stated UAlbany safety Dave West, who had six tackles, including one for a loss. “That’s the most we have blitzed in six weeks (in the second half) and we changed up to man-to-man coverage. When we play Monmouth we know that the game will make a difference on who is going to win our conference.”