Wildcats Pull Out 31-24 Win at Monmouth

Saturday, November 11

West Long Branch, N.J.

12 PM

University of New Hampshire

5-5 , 3-4

Monmouth

4-6 , 3-4

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

New Hampshire

Monmouth

Matt O'Neill (73) lifts Myles Thomason (23) to the delight of Aidan Michaud (61) on game-winning TD

Photo by: Michelle Bronner

11/11/2023 5:30:00 PM | Football

Box Score

Vezza’s 38-yard TD pass to Thomason caps come-from-behind victory

WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – True freshman Matt Vezza (Elmhurst, Ill.) completed the first pass of his career, a fourth-down, 38-yard touchdown to sophomore Myles Thomason (Montclair, N.J.) with 2:18 remaining, to lift the UNH football team to Saturday afternoon's thrilling, come-from-behind 31-24 CAA victory against Monmouth at Kessler Stadium.

UNH (5-5, 3-4 CAA) erased a seven-point, fourth quarter deficit and outscored Monmouth (4-6, 3-4 CAA) 21-7 in the final frame to snap the Hawks' three-game home winning streak.

Vezza (1-2, 38 yards, TD), who came off the bench to make his college debut when starting quarterback Max Brosmer (Roswell, Ga.) sustained an injury on UNH's final drive, rolled to his left on 4^th-and-3, threw against the grain, and delivered a strike to Thomason (two catches, 45 yards, TD), who made the game-winning grab, his first career TD reception, despite a pass interference call against MU.

Thomason (five rushes, 47 yards) and junior Isaac Seide (Everett, Mass./eight rushes, 39 yards, TD) stepped up when senior Dylan Laube (Westhampton, N.Y.), the nation's leader in all-purpose yards, exited with an apparent injury early in the third quarter.

Brosmer went 28 of 45 for 239 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Laube led the Wildcats with eight receptions (for 21 yards), including a three-yard TD catch, and nine rushes (for 47 yards).

Eleven different Wildcats caught passes, with Kyle Lepkowski (Adamstown, Md.) making five catches for a team-leading 71 yards.

Junior Ryan Toscano (Bedford, N.H.) and junior Duncan Moreland (Beverly, Mass.) shared team-high honors with seven tackles apiece. Junior Josiah Silver (Hampton, Va.) notched 2.0 sacks among his 3.0 tackles for loss and five total tackles.

Dymere Miller set Monmouth's single-game receiving yards record with 11 catches for 333 yards, which surpassed Laube's 295 receiving yards (Sept. 9 at Central Michigan) as the highest total in the FCS this season. Miller also set Monmouth's single-season receptions record (85) and single-season receiving yards record (1,243) in the losing cause.

Hawk QB Marquez McCray completed 21 of 32 passes for 402 yards and two TDs, both to Miller. Jaden Shirden, who entered the game as the NCAA's top rusher, was held to 85 yards on 18 carries.

UP NEXT

UNH wraps up the regular season with the Border Battle, presented by Buffalo Wild Wings, on Saturday, Nov. 18, with a 1 p.m. game against Maine at Wildcat Stadium. The first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive a white Wildcat Beanie in celebration of the inaugural White Out Wildcat, and the winner of the UNH/Maine game will claim the cherished Brice-Cowell Musket. For tickets, visit UNHWildcats.com or call 603-862-4000.

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST QUARTER
•On its second drive, UNH had a would-be 15-yard TD rush by Laube negated by a penalty.
•That proved costly when Brosmer's deep pass intended for graduate student Logan Tomlinson (Manchester, Conn./three catches, 53 yards) was intercepted by Eddie Morales III in the end zone with 6:58 left.
•The Wildcats benefitted from a defensive penalty with 2:52 left in the first when an apparent 4^th-and-1 stop for no gain by the Monmouth defense was overturned by an illegal substitution penalty for too many men in the huddle.
•On the next play, Brosmer connected with Lepkowski for a 25-yard pass to make it 1^st-and-goal at the Hawk 6.
•Then, facing 3^rd-and-goal from the 3, Brosmer ran a misdirection play and spotted an open Laube for a TD pass and a 7-0 lead following the PAT from sophomore Nick Mazzie (Boxford, Mass.) with 1:02 left.

SECOND QUARTER
•The Hawks came right back to tie the score, 7-7, courtesy of a 10-play, 85-yard scoring drive that ended with a 4th-and-1 direct-snap TD rush from Sone Ntoh at 11:09.
•UNH scored the final points of the half on Mazzie's 23-yard field goal at 5:38 of the second.
•That kick capped a 13-play, 59-yard drive. Laube accounted for 37 of the yards on six touches (three rushes for 21 yards, three receptions for 16 yards).
•One play after Brosmer sustained a nine-yard sack to set up a 3^rd-and-16 at the UNH 49, the signal caller completed a 29-yard pass to sophomore D.J. Linkins (District Heights, Md./two catches, 33 yards) to the Monmouth 22.

THIRD QUARTER
•Monmouth snagged its first lead, 14-10, at 13:22 when Miller caught a shallow crossing route pass from McCray and dashed 73 yards down the right sideline for a TD.
•Eric Bernstein's 27-yard field goal lifted the lead to 17-10 at 4:10.
•The Wildcat defense stopped Monmouth on downs at the UNH 41 with 37 seconds left in the third.
•Brosmer hit Lepkowski down the field for a 24-yard pass to the Hawk 35 on the final play of the quarter.

FOURTH QUARTER
•Redshirt freshman Colby Ramshaw (Londonderry, N.H./one catch, three yards, TD) was on the receiving end of a three-yard TD pass from Brosmer to knot the score, 17-17, at 14:32. It was Ramshaw's fourth receiving touchdown of the season.
•That tie was short-lived, as Miller took a short pass at the line of scrimmage and outraced the UNH defense for a 75-yard score on the first play of the subsequent drive for a 24-17 lead at 14:21.
•The pendulum swung back in New Hampshire's favor when Seide scored his first TD of the season on a six-yard carry to make it 24-24 at 11:04.
•The Wildcat defense again stood tall with a 4^th-down stop at its 18-yard line with 6:37 remaining. Sophomore Brendan Tighe (Lowell, Mass.) made the drive-ending stop, tacking Jack Neri for a one-yard loss.
•Brosmer rushed for a critical first down when he gained four yards on a 3^rd-and-4 from the 24.
•Mike Reid made the hit that was initially ruled targeting before official review overturned the call.
•Seide picked up a first down with a 12-yard carry to the UNH 40, and Vezza notched a first down with an 11-yard rush to the Monmouth 45.
•Four players later, Vezza found Thomason for the go-ahead TD to cap a 10-play, 82-yard drive.
•The Hawks drove to the Wildcats' 39 before the game's final play was an incompletion in the UNH end zone broken up by junior Noah Palm (Reinholds, Pa./five tackles)

GAME NOTEBOOK
•Starting senior center Osho Omoyeni (Lowell, Mass.) and starting senior safeties Joe Eichman (Merrimack, N.H.) and Max Oxendine (Chester, Va.) each missed the game due to injury.
•Mazzie improved to 6-for-6 in FGs from 20-29 yards with his 23-yarder that made it 10-7 in the second quarter.
•Shirden was held to 24 yards on seven rushes in the first half.
•The Wildcat defense held Monmouth's high-powered offense to 1-for-6 on third downs in the first half.

PHOTO GALLERY

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