WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – Monmouth jumped out to a 33-0 lead in the second quarter and Gardner-Webb couldn't recover in a 54-17 loss to the first-place Hawks Saturday afternoon.

Monmouth (3-2, 2-0 Big South) took a commanding lead in the league standings and won their fifth in a row over Gardner-Webb (2-3, 0-1 Big South).

The Runnin' Bulldogs couldn't find any rhythm offensively after scoring more than 50 points in each of their previous two games. Gardner-Webb finished the day with 322 yards of total offense, but ran for only 97 and managed just 10 first downs.

Monmouth scored early and often, tacking on a defensive touchdown after Juwan Farri and Joey Aldarelli found the end zone in the first quarter. Lonnie Moore IV scored on a double-reverse run from 39 yards out to push the lead to 26-0 with 8:46 to play before halftime – and Aldarelli caught his second touchdown pass of the game for a 33-0 lead with 1:16 before the break.

Gardner-Webb finally got on the board as time expired in the second quarter, using a 47-yard sprint from Dexter Brown down the left sideline and an extra point kick to trail 33-7 at the break.

Monmouth scored quickly to start the third, getting a pair of long passes from Tony Muskett to Dymere Miller – the final one a 38-yarder for a touchdown and a 40-7 lead.

Gardner-Webb got three big pass plays from Bailey Fisher to score on its initial second-half drive, with Donovan Jones capping a quick 72-yard march with a short run – cutting the Hawks' lead to 40-14 with 12:01 to play in the third.

Monmouth scored again with 7:48 to play in the third, with Moore IV getting open for an 18-yard score from Muskett. Farri capped the home team's scoring with a 13-yard run with 10:36 to play in the game.

Gardner-Webb drove down inside the Monmouth red zone midway through the fourth and Austin McKay knocked in a 27-yard field goal for the final margin.

Monmouth finished the game game with 527 total yards (240 rushing) and averaged a healthy 7.2 yards per play. Muskett passed for 289 yards and four touchdowns, with Moore and Miller each topping 100 yards through the air.

Farri had 139 yards and two scores on 23 carries to lead the ground attack.

Fisher completed 19-of-29 passes for 164 yards to lead Gardner-Webb, but threw his first interception of the season. The junior signal caller avoided any sacks, despite being under a heavy rush much of the day. I 

T.J. Luther caught five balls for 53 yards and Justin Jordan had five catches for 36 yards.

Gardner-Webb will return home next weekend, hosting Campbell at 6:00 pm in the North Carolina East/West BBQ Bowl. The game will stream live on ESPN+ from Spangler Stadium and will be carried live by WGNC 1450 AM / 101.1 FM (TuneIn App).