West Long Branch, N.J. - Junior Michael Walser's (Thornville, Ohio / Sheridan) 36-yard field goal with 47 seconds left lifted the Robert Morris University football team to an emotional 20-17 victory over Monmouth Saturday at Kessler Field. The win came without 14th-year head coach Joe Walton, who did not make the trip due to the death of his wife, Ginger, earlier in the week. The victory, the sixth straight on the road for the Colonials, improved the club to 1-1 overall on the 2007 campaign, including 1-0 in Northeast Conference play.
The 36-yard field goal from Walser capped a seven-play, 14-yard drive that used 3:05 off the fourth-quarter clock and was set up by a solid stand by the Robert Morris defense. Monmouth started its drive with 7:55 to play at its own 15-yard line, but after the Colonials gave up one first down Hawks signal caller Brett Burke was sacked twice, forcing MU back to its own four-yard line. The sacks came courtesy of sophomores Mark Szymanski (Cadogan, Pa. / Ford City) and Nathan Argenta (Greensburg, Pa. / Greensburg Central Catholic), with Argenta's takedown a 10-yard loss on 3rd-and-22. Forced to punt from the back of the end zone, Jack Daniels of the Hawks punted the ball to the 50-yard line, and senior Mario Hines (Ecorse, Mich. / Ecorse) scampered 17 yards down to the Monmouth 33-yard line to set RMU up with good field position. Robert Morris then used excellent time management, rushing the ball six straight times and forcing the Hawks to use their final two timeouts of the game. Walser then came on and booted his 36-yarder to give the Colonials the win.
Monmouth looked as if it was going to have its way with Robert Morris in the first quarter, putting together two solid drives that were capped by touchdown runs from David Sinisi to take a 14-0 lead with 5:15 left in the first quarter. The Hawks marched 70 yards after the opening kickoff to take a 7-0 lead when Sinisi scored from a yard out to cap a 12-play drive. After the Colonials went three-and-out, MU again went to work, going 63 yards in just six plays and taking a 14-0 advantage after a two-yard score by Sinisi.
The Colonials couldn't get their offense going until the second quarter, when two long pass plays put RMU on the board. Faced with a 2nd-and-eight from their own six-yard line, junior quarterback Erik Cwalinski (Jacobsburg, Ohio / Shadyside) hooked up with Hines for a 51-yard completion to the Hawk 43-yard line. On the next play, Cwalinski connected with a streaking Julian Ellison (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Carrick) down the sideline, who caught the ball in stride and hopped into the end zone for the touchdown, closing RMU's deficit to 14-7.
Robert Morris knotted the score at 14 by opening the second half with a 10-play, 70-yard drive that was capped by a three-yard touchdown run from freshman fullback Jeff Link (Cumberland, Md. / Allegany). Key plays during the drive for the Colonials were a fumble recovery by Cwalinski on a miscue from freshman halfback Myles Russ (Boca Raton, Fla. / West Boca), as Cwalinski scampered 18 yards after the fumble recovery for a first down, a 15-yard rush from sophomore Raphael Johnson (Clinton, Md. / Charles H. Flowers) and a 20-yard strike from Cwalinski to junior tight end Regis Flowers (Irwin, Pa. / Norwin). RMU took its first lead of the game, and season, when Walser capped a 10-play, 31-yard drive with an 18-yard field goal, the first of his career, with 3:24 remaining in the third quarter.
Monmouth battled back to tie the score thanks to a 42-yard field goal from Fred Weingart with 10:11 to play, but Robert Morris snapped its four-game losing streak to the Hawks thanks to Walser's kick with just 47 seconds to go.
Cwalinski finished 8-for-15 passing for 154 yards, a touchdown and an interception, while Russ, making his first collegiate start, rushed for 86 yards on 24 carries. Johnson added 51 yards on the ground on just eight rushes, an average of 6.4 yards per carry. Hines had another solid all-around game, racking up 186 all-purpose yards thanks to two receptions for 58 yards, 36 yards on three punt returns and 92 yards on four kickoff returns.
The defense was led by a quartet of Colonials, as seniors Mike Niklos (Columbus, Ohio / Bishop Watterson) and Chad Wengert (Kempton, Pa. / Kutztown) and Szymanski and sophomore Adam Lawrence (Dubois, Pa. / Big Run) each tallied six stops.
Robert Morris looks to make it two in a row Saturday, Sept. 18, when it welcomes in-state rival Saint Francis to Joe Walton Stadium for a 1:00 p.m. league contest.
