NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The Monroe College football team got a special surprise upon their arrival in Western New York on Friday, when they learned that Assistant Coach Harvey Silverbush had arranged for the team to hold practice at Ralph Wilson Stadium, home of the NFL’s Buffalo Bills. Their good fortune carried over to game day the next afternoon, as the Mustangs forced a couple of key turnovers and defeated Erie Community College, 28-21, in the season-opener.
Monroe got off to a slow start after receiving the opening kickoff. The team picked up a first down on a defensive penalty, but fumbled the ball away on their own 37. Erie capitalized on this with a 42-yard touchdown pass on the ensuing play. The Mustangs trailed 7-0 with 13 minutes left in the first quarter.
From there, Monroe got the ball back on the ensuing kickoff, but the team went three-and-out on offensive. The special teams unit then came up with a game-changing play. Freshman Jared Calhoun punted the ball to the Kats 35-yard line, where the returner was hit and fumbled. Freshman strong safety Sam Guillaume fell on the ball for the recovery, giving the Mustangs a first down on the Erie 35.
Monroe promptly covered the 35 yards in four plays, tying the game at 7-7. Quarterback Aaron Williams converted a key third-and-11 play with a 20-yard run. The touchdown came two plays later on an eight-yard scamper by Ryan Fulse. Erie Community College scored another touchdown later in the quarter, and led 14-7 as the second period got underway.
Early in the second quarter, Erie was driving once again. The Kats got down to the Monroe College 11 before the stalwart defense came up with another big play. Erie running back Sam Castronova was headed for the end zone when Ramsher Clarke hit him, causing a fumble. Jatece Wright picked up the ball on the 15-yard line and ran 85 yards in the other direction for a defensive touchdown. The game was all square at 14-14.
The Monroe defense turned up their intensity in the second half, allowing just seven points to help seal the 28-21 victory. The Mustangs pulled ahead 21-14 in the third quarter. On the scoring drive, Williams picked up a first down with his legs and later connected on a 53-yard touchdown pass to Rakeem Langston. Monroe led 21-14 with 10 minutes remaining. Both teams exchanged punts for the remainder of the quarter.
The Mustangs defense kept the Kats at bay for the entire third quarter and most of the fourth quarter, but Erie eventually tied the score at 21-21 with 4:54 left in regulation. With just over three minutes left, the Mustangs took the lead for good. Williams tossed his second touchdown pass of the day, this one to Aaron Lewis for 21 yards. Monroe jumped ahead to 28-21.
With less than three minutes remaining, Erie had the ball again, but the Monroe defense made another big play, dashing their hopes of evening the score. Lawrence Harrison picked off the Erie pass and returned it 22 yards to the Kats 38, securing the win.
In the victory, Williams was 12-22 and threw two touchdowns. Fulse rushed for 108 yards and added a touchdown. Langston led the Monroe receiving corps with five catches for 82 yards. Calhoun had two punts inside the 20. Jatece Wright and Darrius Stokes led the defense with six stops each.
The Monroe College football team will host its home opener at Fosina Field on Saturday, September 10th, against Nassau Community College at 6:00 PM.