Oct. 21, 2000

Box Score

West Long Branch, NJ -- - Junior Matt Merklinger rushed for 116 yards and four touchdowns as Monmouth (3-4, 3-3 NEC) handed Stony Brook (2-5, 1-5 NEC) its fourth straight loss Saturday at Kessler Field, 34-7. The Hawks evened the series at 1-1 with the victory.

Merklinger scored on a pair of one-yard touchdown runs in the first half to stake the Hawks to a 14-0 lead. The second score was set-up by a Stony Brook fumble by Clinton Graham that was recovered by the Hawks on the Stony Brook one-yard line.

The Hawks' special teams unit partially blocked a Dan Sable punt with 7:23 to go in the first half. What ensued was a Monmouth drive that lasted 3:55 and resulted in a 39-yard field goal by Chris Mandell to close out the first half scoring.

The Hawks opened the third quarter with scores on its first three possessions. Mandell hit another field goal from 38 yards out and Merklinger ran in from 14- and four-yards out as Monmouth built a 34-0 advantage. Monmouth scored on five straight possessions bridging the second and third quarters. In the meantime, the defense forced Stony Brook into five straight punts to take control of the game.

The Seawolves avoided the shutout as David Rodriguez plunged in from one-yard out with 4:33 remaining. Chad King gave the Seawolves the opportunity as he picked off his team-leading fourth pass of the season.

The real story of the day was the Monmouth defense, which allowed the Seawolves' offense to cross midfield twice on the afternoon, holding the Pack to 168 total yards on 58 plays. The Hawks allowed Stony Brook just 76 yards through the air and sacked the quarterback six times.

Senior Ralph Menendez inched closer to the school rushing record, collecting 99 yards on 23 carries. He now needs 21 yards to break the record of 2,342 set by Oliver Bridges.

Alexis Ayala led the Seawolves with 10 tackles - nine that were unassisted.

The Seawolves head to Jacksonville next Saturday.