WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – Gardner-Webb played even with Monmouth for a quarter, but the Hawks changed momentum in the second quarter and took off for a 49-28 win.

The Runnin' Bulldogs (3-4, 1-1 Big South) have lost five out of six meetings with their northernmost Big South neighbors and have never won in New Jersey.

On Saturday, Gardner-Webb appeared to have momentum after a game-tying, 15-yard touchdown toss from Kalen Whitlow to Izaiah Gathings with 5:05 left in the first quarter and a defensive stop.

Gardner-Webb was driving at the end of the first quarter, but an untimely sack halted a promising march. GWU got the ball back, but another sack forced a punt. Jack Pawloski boomed a 55-yarder down inside the Monmouth five-yard line, but an illegal motion penalty proved costly – negating the kick and forcing another try.

Monmouth returned this offering deep – all the way to the Gardner-Webb 23-yard line – and took the lead for good just 49 seconds later when Kenji Bahar found Terrance Greene, Jr., on a 22-yard touchdown fade route with 6:30 to play before halftime.

The Hawks added a late score just 37 second before the break and led 21-7 at intermission.

The third quarter proved fruitful early for Monmouth, with Pete Guerriero darting around the left side for a 58-yard touchdown run less than a minute in – giving Monmouth a commanding 28-7 advantage.

Gardner-Webb answered, going 50 yards after a solid kick return by A.J. Moses. Whitlock found Jayln Cagle out of the backfield from five yards away for his second touchdown of the day, and the Runnin' Bulldogs cut the lead back to two scores.

Monmouth drove quickly for another score of its own, with Bahar completing passes of 18, 26 and 11 yards to get inside the 10. He finished the drive with a five-yard touchdown run and Monmouth was up 35-14 with 8:27 to play in the third.

The back-and-forth quarter continued after Devron Harper motored to midfield on a 44-yard kickoff return. Whitlow connected on an array of first-down throws and capped the drive with a 16-yard scoring toss to Gathings with 5:17 to play in the quarter.

Guerriero bounced through a small hole on second down and finished in the end zone on a 65-yard scoring sprint to put the Hawks up 42-21.

On Gardner-Webb's next offensive play, Cagle sprinted up the middle 50 yards down to the Monmouth 12-yard line, keeping up with the pace of an increasingly wild contest. Monmouth held, however, getting the ball back on downs after a fourth down pass in the end zone was incomplete.

Monmouth used a 50-yard pass play from Bahar to Lonnie Moore to set up another score and Devell Jones bulled in from the four to put the Homecoming hosts up 49-21 with 10:52 on the clock.

Jordan Smith came off the bench to run for a first down on Gardner-Webb's next possession, an hit A.J. Alexander for a 23-yard gain into Monmouth territory. He and Alexander hooked up again one play later, with Alexander dragging a defender into the end zone for a 45-yard touchdown. The extra point cut the lead to 49-28 with 7:31 left. 

Monmouth retained possession the rest of the way, running out the clock inside the Gardner-Webb red zone to end the game.

The Hawks rolled up 599 yards of total offense, with Bahar completing an efficient 20-of-26 passes for 327 yards and a pair of scores. Guerriero had 20 carries for 189 yards and two scores and Jones added 68 yards and a pair of scores on the ground.

Greene set a new career-high with eight catches for 146 yards and two touchdowns.

Gardner-Webb managed 360 yards in the game, with Whitlow finishing his day 15-of-27 for 164 yards and three touchdowns. Smith came off the bench to complete each of his attempts for 68 yards and a touchdown.

Cagle had 112 of Gardner-Webb's 128 yards on the ground, reaching that total on 18 carries. He added a five-yard touchdown catch. Gathings finished with four grabs for 65 yards and two touchdowns – pulling down both on jump balls in the end zone.

Darien Reynolds had 13 tackles and Cade Hamilton finished with 11 hits to pace Gardner-Webb defensively.

The Runnin' Bulldogs return home next week, hosting Campbell on Military Appreciate Day at 1:30 pm Saturday (October 26). The game will stream live on ESPN+ and air live on WGNC Radio.