CHARLESTON, S.C. - Monmouth utilized a strong rushing attack to hold off host Charleston Southern on Saturday night at Buccaneer Field as the Bucs fell to the Hawks in Big South play, 35-13.
 
Jack Chambers picked up 323 total yards of offense (231 passing, 92 rushing) and added a late 24-yard touchdown run for CSU (2-6, 0-2 Big South) as the Bucs returned home for the first time since the beginning of October. Ronnie Harris added 11 carries for 33 yards, while Terrence Wilson had a career-high six catches for 36 yards.
 
Monmouth (6-2, 3-0 Big South) was paced by the Big South's rushing leader in junior Pete Guerriero as the Hawks' running back picked up 221 yards on 22 carries and added a touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Kenji Bahar was 15-of-27 through the air for 194 yards and three touchdowns, two to Shawn Clark, in the win.
 
Redshirt senior linebacker J.D. Sosebee added a career game defensively with 14 tackles and a pass breakup. Darin Smalls added his third interception of the season to set up a CSU field goal, while Shaundre Mims boasted a three sack performance for the Bucs.
 
David Smith led Monmouth's defense with nine tackles in the win, while Da'Quan Grimes added seven tackles and a tackle for loss. Overall, Monmouth recorded seven pass breakups in the win.
 
CSU redshirt senior Kyle Reighard became the Big South's all-time leader in 50-plus yard punts in the contest as the Salem, Va. native connected on his 30th 50-yard punt in the second quarter and drilled his 31st in the third quarter to extend his totals.
 
Key Drive
Pete Guerriero flipped the field for the Monmouth Hawks on their second drive of the third quarter as CSU looked to fight its way back into the game. Following a 51-yard Kyle Reighard punt, the Hawks were pinned deep at their own 12-yard line to start their drive.

Three plays later, Guerriero broke loose on a 2nd-and-11 play as he took the halfback draw handoff and weaved his way up the right sideline for the 63-yard carry to swap the field. Four plays later, Devell Jones scored on the four-yard carry from the MU wildcat formation to put the Hawks ahead 21-6 and led Monmouth to carry the momentum the rest of the way.
 
How They Scored

• Monmouth scored on their opening drive of the game as Bahar found Terrance Greene for a 36-yard reception down the right sideline to put Monmouth up 7-0 with 12:20 to play in the first quarter.
• Following a Darin Smalls interception on the ensuing MU drive, the Bucs capitalized on the turnover with Alex Usry drilling a 33-yard field goal to put CSU on the board with 6:24 remaining in the opening period.
• Usry knocked his second field goal of the game through the uprights as he converted a 27-yarder with 12:17 left in the half to bring the Bucs within 7-6.
• After Reighard's record-setting punt, the Hawks went eight plays and moved the ball 59-yards with Bahar finding Shawn Clark for the 12-yard touchdown pass to put Monmouth ahead 14-6 with 5:23 remaining in the first half.
• Pete Guerriero flipped the field with a 63-yard run midway through the third quarter and set up Devell Jones' four-yard touchdown run with 6:46 remaining to put Monmouth up 21-6.
• Lonnie Moore's 42-yard carry set up Monmouth's next touchdown as Bahar found Clark for the second time of the game with an 8-yard touchdown pass to put the Hawks ahead 28-6.
• Pete Guerriero capped the Hawks' scoring with a 42-yard touchdown run with 5:08 left in the game to put Monmouth ahead, 35-6.
• Jack Chambers put the final score on the board for the Bucs as the redshirt sophomore quarterback took it into the end zone from 24-yards out with 4:01 remaining in the game to provide the final 35-13 margin.

 
Inside the Numbers

• Monmouth held the 32:09-27:51 advantage in time of possession with nearly 20 minutes in the possession battle coming in the key third and fourth quarters.
• The Hawks picked up 345 rushing yards on 49 carries on Saturday paced by Guerriero's 221 yards.
• Jack Chambers paced four different CSU ball-carriers with 92 rushing yards as the redshirt sophomore averaged 10.2 yards per carry in the game.
• Chambers was 24-of-39 through the air for 231 yards and targeted nine different receivers in the game.
• Five different Buccaneers caught multiple passes on Saturday paced by Terrence Wilson's six catches. Garris Schwarting (4), Isaac Ross (4), Demetrius Jones (3), and Ronnie Harris (3) also had multiple catches for the Bucs.
• Schwarting led the Bucs in receiving in the contest with a team-high 62 yards in the game.
• The Bucs' defense recorded four sacks and eight tackles for loss in the contest against the Hawks with Shaundre Mims recording a game-high three in each category.
• Evan Cruz led the Bucs with two pass breakups
• Paced by his two 50-yard punts, Kyle Reighard averaged 46.2 yards per punt over his five attempts in the game.

News & Notes

• Kyle Reighard became the Big South Conference's all-time 50-yard punt leader in the second quarter when the redshirt senior uncorked a 53-yard attempt for his 30th career 50-yard punt. His number surpasses the mark set by Gardner-Webb's Michael Hanna (2005-08) and tied by Presbyterian's Patrick Morgano (2009-12).
• Reighard currently leads the Big South all-time now with 31 punts as the Salem, Va. native added a 51-yard punt in the third quarter.
• Jack Chambers tied his career-high for completions on Saturday as his 24 equaled the mark set back on October 5 against Savannah State
• Darin Smalls recorded his second interception in as many games and his team-leading third of the season in the first quarter.
• Alex Usry moved into a tie with Tyler Tekac (12, 2018) as the redshirt sophomore placekicker drilled his 11th and 12th field goals of the season. Usry is currently four field goals behind CSU single season record-holder John Paglia (16, 2009).
• Usry has also made his last 10 field goal attempts dating back to October 5 against Savannah State.
• Chambers' 10-yard completion to freshman wide receiver Ben Harris marked the 18th different receiver to catch a pass for the Bucs in the 2019 season.
• Two Buccaneer defensive players notched career-high games on Saturday as redshirt senior linebacker J.D. Sosebee had a career-high 14 tackles, while freshman Cody Cline recorded his first double-digit tackle game with 10.
• Shaundre Mims' three sack game put him in a five-way tie for the second-most sacks by a CSU player in a single game. The mark was last achieved by Will Hunt back on October 5, 2013, when he recorded three sacks against North Greenville.
• Charleston Southern falls to 1-3 all-time in the series against Monmouth with the loss.
• The Bucs fall to 22-30 all-time against current Big South opponents.

Record-Setting Performance

A 53 yard boot from @colteverday secures the @BigSouthSports record for 50+ yard punts#JoinTheSiege pic.twitter.com/iUHktBz5YK

— Charleston Southern Football (@CSUFB) October 26, 2019

Up Next
Charleston Southern heads back to the road next weekend as CSU travels to Ernest W. Spangler Football Stadium and Gardner-Webb University for a Saturday matchup against the Runnin' Bulldogs. Kickoff on November 2 is set for 1:30 p.m. on ESPN+.