Monmouth football: Jaden Shirden seeks national rushing title; scouting report vs. Stony Brook

There’s a long to-do list Monmouth football would like to accomplish in the regular-season finale against Stony Brook Saturday, with ending a four-game losing streak right at the top.

But just below that – and very much related – is getting Jaden Shirden the FCS regular season rushing title.

The dynamic sophomore running back has 1,567 yards to lead the nation, with Youngstown State’s Jaleel McLaughlin at 1,504 yards, and ShunDerrick Powell of North Alabama third with 1,468 yards.

It’s always possible someone on a team that makes a run in the FCS Playoff could catch him by playing more games.  But with one game remaining in the regular season, Shirden has been the best back in the country, even as Monmouth has struggled.

In their last game, Shirden ran for 202 yards, his fourth game over 200 yards this season, against a Delaware defense that’s in the top-10 nationally. Shirden has 554 yards and five TDs over the last three games, and has six TD runs of 67 yards or longer, including a 95-yarder.

“Jaden is an extremely dynamic player and a great young man a great guy to have on your team and in the locker room. He’s extremely grounded,” Monmouth coach Kevin Callahan said. “He’s a guy that his focus is on going out and contributing to us winning, and that is something that has not left him in spite of the success he has had. He has been focused, he hasn’t missed a practice since we started on Aug. 1, he’s always going full speed and I think that is one of the reasons he’s so successful come Saturday.”

Pete Guerriero’s program record 1,995 yards in 2019 was over 14 games. Shirden’s season will end after 11 games.

Here’s this week’s scouting report versus Stony Brook:

Stony Brook (2-8, 1-6) at Monmouth (4-6, 2-5)

When: Saturday, noon.

Where: Kessler Stadium, West Long Branch.

TV: SNY/FloSports (streaming).

Series:   Monmouth leads the series between the two former NEC rivals, 5-4. It’s the first meeting since 2007, when Stony Brook won, 21-15.

When Monmouth has the ball

Expect freshman QB Enzo Arjona to start his third straight game, since it’s unlikely Monmouth will rush starter Tony Muskett back from a knee injury for a game with no playoff implications. After the offense looked good against Towson in Arjona’s first start, the unit struggled against a good Delaware defense, with Arjona limited to 90 passing yards, getting sacked six times. Monmouth is top-10 nationally in rushing offense at 233.9 yards. If RBs Shirden, Juwon Farri and Owen Wright can get the Hawks to that number, it will make things go a lot smoother for Arjona.

Stony Brook is ninth in the CAA defensively, allowing 33.1 points, while Monmouth is tops in scoring at 37.6 points. But they rank fourth in stopping the run, limiting opponents to 134.9 yards. Leading tackler LB Reidgee Dimanche did not play last week against Towson. S Carthell Flowers-Lloyd has 12 tackles-for-losses so far, with 61 total tackles. DE Eric Black has three sacks over the last two games.

When Stony Brook has the ball

The Monmouth defense hasn’t been able to stop anyone of late. Over the last two games, opponents have scored 13 touchdowns to go with two field goals in 19 possessions. Monmouth has given up 149 points in the past three games. So against a Stony Brook offense that was only able to score 17 points against a Towson defense that gave up 48 to Monmouth two weeks earlier, Monmouth needs to reverse the current trend and get off the field.

Stony Brook has played three different QB, but Daron Bryden threw for 273 yards against Towson, with two TDs and one interception. Monmouth’s secondary was torched by Delaware last time out, so expect Stony Brook to follow that script. RB Ross Tallarico has 226 rushing yards over the last two games.

Prediction: Monmouth 35, Stony Brook 28.

From Wednesday

'They got us to the CAA': Monmouth football seniors leave big-time legacy

WEST LONG BRANCH – It's been a group of athletes like no other over the past three decades for Monmouth football.

The senior class that takes the field for the final time Saturday when Stony Brook visits Kessler Stadium are players who fueled their rise in the FCS ranks with a pair of Big South titles, navigated the Covid-19 pandemic and transitioned the program into the Colonial Athletic Association.

That’s an impressive resume, with some there for all or parts of a five-season run (2017-21) that saw the Hawks go 38-14, including three appearances in the FCS Playoffs.

“These are the guys who really got us to where we are today. They got us to the CAA,” Monmouth coach Kevin Callahan said. “They’ve been here four, five, six years, and were here when we were in the Big South, they were part of the transformation from just being a Big South team to playing for a championship every year. It’s because of what they did in those years that got us the invitation to the CAA.”

Among the 30-or-so players expected to be honored Saturday when Monmouth (4-6, 2-5) closes the season by hosting Stony Brook (2-8, 1-6) at Kessler Stadium (noon, SNY/FloSports) is graduate linebacker Da’Quan Grimes, with injuries and the pandemic extending a career that began in 2016.

Monmouth was 22-7 in games he played from 2018 through the spring 2021 season. After missing all of the 2021 fall season with a ruptured Achilles tendon he leads the team with 74 tackles this season.

“It’s kind of unreal that this time has finally come,” Grimes said. “It’s exciting but it’s also sad. I’ve made a lot of friends here. Mostly what’s important about this game is just having fun. This is our last game, guaranteed. No other ones. So go out and have fun playing the game I’ve grown up playing.

“It’s especially important with this being the last one. It means a lot to the older guys, myself included. We certainly want to go out with a win.”

Right tackle Justin Szuba, a graduate student and Brick Memorial product, was a first-team All-Big South performer before missing the 2021 season with a torn pectoral muscle. He returned for one final season, helping anchor an offense that’s been ranked in the top-10 nationally for much of the season.

“This week is just about loving football,” Szuba said. “This is the football I know I have, with the team I know I have, so really it’s just about cherishing everything I have with these guys. Making sure we have the right energy and excitement to come out and destroy this team on Saturday.

“In a lot of ways, not to sound cliché, but it really teaches you to be a man. A lot of battles, and the battles get harder and harder. They don’t get easier, they get different. There are things we never thought would happen and you have to be able to pivot and move forward and keep working a group towards a common goal, and that is an invaluable life lesson I will have for myself forever.”

It’s the seniors, many of whom will likely hang up their shoulder pads and helmet forever after this weekend, pushing to snap a four-game skid and win their third CAA game of the season.

“I think they have contributed so much to this program and we are certainly really appreciative of everything they have done,” Callahan said. “And they’ve done it through good times and championships, disappointing times when we didn’t win a championship, and Covid and being shut down. They have been through an awful lot and to their credit they have stayed with it. We’ve taken this first step in the CAA and I think we’ve shown we belong. We haven’t had the success that we had envisioned but we certainly have shown that we’re competitive and we belong in this league.”

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Monmouth NJ football: Scouting report vs. Stony Brook