Nothing wrong with dreaming ...

So after four weeks of the 2009 season, the Hawks are 2-2 which considering the fact they lost their first two games of the year is pretty good. One could easily make the case, that if a few plays go MU's way against Colgate and/or Coastal Carolina, the Hawks could be 3-1 and maybe even 4-0. Of course they didn't, so Monmouth has to focus on the fact they are riding a two-game winning streak going into the bye before things resume on October 10th against Wagner at home.



Three of the first four games have been on the road which to me is always fun, especially the non-conference games. It really provides an interesting take on how other schools do it around the country. All three games that have been played away from West Long Branch have been these non-conference games. I have Monmouth blue in my blood as a former player for the team, a former student broadcaster, two-time professional broadcaster for the team, graduate of the university two times over ('96 & '04), and current faculty member in the communication department. With that all out of the way, I am probably gonna write something now that most of you know if you have ever been to a game at Kessler Field, we (and I say we with a great deal of pride) need to update our football facility.



Each of the three places the team has played at this season have provided a little bit of insight into what Monmouth could be and I hope at some point will be. I thought Colgate was nice. It had a decent size stadium, nice scoreboard, and a smaller but tight-knit college atmosphere. Coastal Carolina was even better with a larger stadium, a press box to die for (loved the pulled pork before the game), pretty decent fan support, and an attitude of looking to the future.



Coach Callahan saved the best game for last this season in terms of the non-conference schedule playing at ODU. A brand new program with a 20 thousand person stadium that was a perfect blend of concrete from the 1930's and a suite section that would rival anything any other FCS and a lot of FBS schools would have. I was so impressed with the way the school and the surrounding community have embraced having college football in the Tidewater area. The university has made it very fan friendly with tailgating areas in every parking area, inside concessions that had anything you could want, and did I mention the suite level?



The key question of course for Hawk fans is what can be done to make Kessler a better place to watch a football game and Monmouth more of a draw for alums and surrounding area football fans. So I went ahead and complied a little list;

1 - Reconfigure the stands .. At this point of the program's history (17 years), there has to be stands on more than only one side of the field. I don't think either end zone needs to have stands but there has to stands on the other sideline. If this got done, it would make sense to move the home sideline to where the new stands are and you can leave the old bleachers for the visitors/students. Coastal Carolina had their student section right behind the Hawks bench and I can't imagine that would be a whole lot of fun.

2 - Add some suites .. This one might be tough and it doesn't have to anything crazy but even a few boxes to watch the game in would add so much atmosphere. I loved how ODU had theirs set-up in the end zone area and I think there would be enough room to build something in front where the MAC is and it would also create a tunnel effect for MU players to run out from if their locker room stayed where it us currently set. If that plan wouldn't work maybe put some in the new stands.

3 - New scoreboard .. Doesn't have to be anything overbearing or gaudy but something with a video board for replays/advertisements/etc would be great. Easy to read numbers that stand out a little more than what is there now.

4 - New press box .. Sorry but I couldn't help putting something in there for members of the media that would look nice in the new stands and give everyone a little more room and privacy up there.

5 - More student involvement .. This has been a problem for MU in all sports but it shouldn't be with the enrollment as big as it is and a large enough alumni base. Not sure exactly how it would work but reward students somehow for attending athletic events on the campus (not just for football but all sports).

6 - Lights for Saturday night football .. This one is easy to jazz up excitement at MU for both the school and the football program. The Shore Conference plays great football in Monmouth & Ocean counties and you would have to think that if given an option to watch football at a higher level both players and football fans would jump at the chance. Saturday nights would be great at 6pm as there are very few high school games that take place at this time. West Long Branch might cause some problems here but it would be worth a shot.

This is certainly no knock on anything or anyone involved with the school and the athletic department as I think our facilities are very good and athletes are taken good care of on campus but I think most, if not all, of these things are very doable and important for the continued growth of the program. None of it will be cheap to build (nothing is in today's world) but can you picture this state of the art football stadium to match the MAC. It would be some sight and something you would think student-athletes would jump at the chance to play in West Long Branch.

Makes me think of Field of Dreams; if you build it, they will come.

From Toms River to Norfolk ...

It has been a little different for me this season as the play by play voice for the Shore Sports Network adding Monmouth University football into the mix along with our award winning high school broadcasts. This weekend is a perfect example as we broadcast the Toms River South vs. Toms River East game on Friday. The biggest change is rather than the normal Saturday afternoon game somewhere around the Shore Conference I will jumping a plane in the morning and flying down to Virginia where the Hawks will try and even their record at 2-2.



The way I see it right now is I have the best of both worlds, doing the high school games on Friday and keep up with the area teams and the spot I have occupied now for over ten years and Monmouth on Saturdays where everything moves a little faster on the field. That being said, I can't wait for both matchups this weekend.


First up, the all Toms River matchup that features the Indians and the Raiders. I have always loved these games that involve real rivals and if you toss in Toms River North you have a great and natural trio. TRE is off to a great start with one of the shore's best in Nico Sterti running the ball and always a hard hitting defense. TRS has one thing going for it heading into this game, the hope of a let down by TRE. The Raiders have started off with two wins including a tough 14-7 conquest of Lacey last week while the Indians got beat up by TRN in week one and blew a big lead against the Midd North last weekend. The status of Robert Whitfield (TRS RB) is still up in the air with a shoulder injury but it sounds he will give it a shot. That is good news for South as he is the one big time player the team has.


Saturday night, the Hawks wrap up their non-conference schedule playing at Old Dominion. The Monarchs have gotten off to a great start winning their first three, not bad when you consider this the first time that ODU has had football since 1940. I would guess this is a similiar situation to when Monmouth traveled down to Coastal Carolina two weeks ago. CCU is a fairly new program with a great staduim, tons of support, and aspirations of becoming a big-time football program either that the FCS or eventually the FBS level. ODU looks to have much of the same with a stadium that seats almost 20 thousand fans and an area of Virginia that was really missing a college football program (a rarity in the South).


Good things for Monmouth going into this one, a week three victory over Duquesne for a Hawk team that had battled hard in losses to Colgate & Coastal. Nothing cures a team's ills more than winning, at home and in the conference no less. The defense is still giving up too many yards and needs some more consistent play but made huge plays when they needed to last week against the Dukes. Offensively, MU still needs to find some balance between David Sinisi carrying too much of the load and having each of their QB's look for some more down the field throws that will open up the ground game.


Broadcast Information .. Friday Night .. TRS @ TRE .. 6:50 pregame on 1160 WOBM & Fox Sports 1310 .. Kick off is at 7pm and 105.7 the Hawk will join the broadcast .. Saturday night .. MU @ ODU .. 5:45 pregame .. 6pm kickoff .. 1160 WOBM & Fox Sports 1310 .. Both broadcasts are streamed on the web at shoresportsnetwork.com ..

Home Sweet Home

The Hawks return home this weekend for an early 12 noon kickoff against Duquesne. I am not a big fan of cliches especially with this only being week 3 of the football season but this is a must win game for MU for many reasons. First, being that between the first two weeks, a valid argument could be made the Hawks could be 1-1 if not an outside shot of being 2-0. Second, it is the home opener & the conference opener in the NEC so a win knocks out two big areas with one shot.



I liked what I saw out of Monmouth this past Saturday down at Coastal Carolina. The intensity was much higher than at Colgate as was the level of play. I don't think it is wrong to say, but if MU plays the way they did against Coastal when playing Colgate the second half becomes a Hawk rout and a win. The trick for this week against the Dukes is do it again, get better than you were a week ago (with a better result) and start the conference schedule off with a win. Winning does wonders, especially when you are a good football team, and a win for MU this Saturday sets them up very well going into their last non-conference game on September 26th down at ODU.


Penalities and just bad mistakes at the wrong time have plaqued MU in the first two weeks but one would have to think going into the conference opener this Saturday that the Hawks will come out flying. I am not much for preditions but I do see a Monmouth win with the offense starting to find its rhytmn a little more than in weeks one and two.


Broadcast info .. Fox Sports 1310 AM & 1160 WOBM AM .. shoresportsnetwork.com .. 11:45 am pre game show .. 12 noon kickoff

Quite a busy weekend coming up ...

So one week in the books for Monmouth University Football after a disappointing loss to the Raiders of Colgate last Saturday night in a game that featured a little bit of everything both on the field and in the broadcast booth. Some early technical issues led to some old-time broadcasting over a handheld phone (who know they even existed anymore) for the first half. Everything was resolved by halftime except the power went out everywhere but in the press box. This was one story I am already looking forward to telling my sports broadcasting class.

In terms of the game, in case you haven't read or heard enough, Monmouth was 4 plays away from winning their season opener. Every game has those swing play in which every evenly played game has but the problem for the Hawks on this night was they didn't come out on the winning end of any of those plays. Still though, there were enough positives to come out of the game for the coaches and players to feel like this could be a very good season.

Tough assignment in week #2 as MU travels down to the Myrtle Beach area to take on Coastal Carolina. This is a rematch of a game that last season Monmouth had some problems matching up with Chanticleers. In my eyes, this will be the most talented team that the Hawks see all season long.

Broadcast time is 6:45pm for the pre-game show & 7pm for the kickoff ..


Changing gears a little bit, I am looking forward to be on the air tomorrow with Kevin Williams & Ed Sarluca for the edition of our weekly high school football show on the Shore Sports Network. We start at 6pm down at Boston's in Toms River which should be a lot of fun all season long.

Brick and Colts Neck is our game on Friday night and will be broadcast on 105.7 The Hawk .. 7pm kickoff ..

Let's get it started ...

Most of us here in the Jersey Shore area are disappointed when summer comes to an end. Kids back at school, no more vacations for a while, work becomes more of a focus, and there is just a different feeling after Labor Day. There is one bonus of course and that is the start of the football season, be it high school, college, or the NFL. College moves to the forefront first with games starting tonight and rolling all through the weekend including the season opener for Monmouth who takes on Colgate up at Andy Kerr stadium starting at 6pm.

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Normally I would be paying attention to this game anyway as a former Monmouth player (1993), two time graduate of the University, and current faculty member but I have to say I have not been so excited for the Hawks to hit field in a long, long time. As some of you may know, the Shore Sports Network will be broadcasting all MU football games this year and as the play by play announcer I have to say I think it will be a great season for the blue and white.

Not getting to overblown with details and stats, this season opener will be big challenge for Monmouth. Colgate will be playing their first ever night game at home and you have to think the excitement and intensity will be sky high. Couple that with the fact that Kevin Callahan's team beat the Raiders back in 2006 which at the time came as a big surprise. Monmouth went on to a NEC Championship that same season. Colgate comes in off a great year in 2008 winning the Patriot League and making FCS (division 1-AA) playoffs. Colgate did lose a decent amount to graduation and even though there are not too many players on either roster that were even around back in the '06 season, one would have to think this one is a game the Raiders really want.

Some of the big questions for the Hawks coming into this season have to revolve around the QB spot. Andrew Mandeville will get the start on Saturday and looked to be the more consistent player during the preseason but redshirt freshman Kyle Frazier should see some snaps and certainly looks to have great potential for the future. With a strong offensive line and dangerous running game led by David Sinisi, Monmouth may look to the ground more than in years past.

Watching the scrimmages and practice time during the preseason, I loved the big play capability of Rodney Salomon. Salomon, who is a 5th year senior, has the opportunity to break off some serious long gains and at 6'4/235 he is a tough matchup for any cornerback.

On the other side of the ball, the Hawks go back to their more traditional and familiar 4-3 alignment after being a 3-4 team the last three seasons. Good depth up front on the defensive line and a solid group of LB's (once everyone is healthy) will serve MU well.

Broacast Information .. Season opener at Colgate .. Saturday September 5th .. Kickoff at 6pm .. Pregame at 5:45pm .. 1160 WOBM-AM, Fox Sports 1310 AM, shoresportsnetwork.com, & gomuhawks.com .. Matt Harmon (play by play) & Eddy Occhipinti (Color) ..