Red Hawks Prey on Cougars in Homecoming Win

Homecoming Day, the biggest event at Montclair State, wrapped up with the Homecoming football game at 5 p.m. on Saturday, October 3. The Red Hawks hosted the Kean University Cougars at Rick Giancola Sprague Field.

WMSC was on the call with Jeremy Rodriguez on play-by-play and Earl Spence and Shayan Malik as color commentators. Phillip Baskerville hosted the panel, with Taylor Lancenese, Tajir Guinn, and Steven Mulvihill as panelists. Chris Cirone ran the board to keep the crew on air, and Meghan Lipscomb provided research and analytics during the game.

First Half

The first half was a defensive battle for both the Red Hawks and Cougars. For the first five minutes of the first quarter, defensive backs and defensive linemen had the advantage. Five minutes later, the Cougars scored the first touchdown of the game. Quarterback Ty Kline was able to get past the Red Hawks defense and scamper for a 37-yard run to put Kean on the board first.

The second quarter was more back-and-forth for the Cougars and Red Hawks. Montclair State’s Diante Wilson turned it on in the second quarter. He was able to score a touchdown with five minutes remaining in the quarter due to a flurry of offensive linemen helping him get past the Kean defensive line. In true Red Hawk fashion, Wilson was not going to end the quarter and half tied with Kean. With one minute remaining, he would score another touchdown to give the Red Hawks the lead at the end of the first half. Montclair State kicker Mike Firetto wanted to push the lead even further, so he attempted a 48-yard field goal with five seconds left. The kick was successful, and Montclair State would lead Kean 17-7 at the end of the first half.

Second Half

The second half began with a Kean team looking to cut into Montclair State’s lead. Five minutes into the third quarter, they would do just that, with Ty Kline floating a pass to Jason Marasciulo from Montclair State’s 18-yard line for the score. With the extra point, the Cougars cut the deficit to three. Montclair State would look to respond, and Diante Wilson would score a touchdown from the one-yard line with four minutes remaining in the quarter. At the end of the third quarter, Montclair State led the Cougars 24-14.

The fourth quarter was a dominant one for Montclair State. Wilson scored his fourth touchdown of the game to extend the Red Hawks’ lead. Ali Lee Jr. later hauled in an eight-yard touchdown from Luke Henrich, and Christopher Arnold ran in the two-point conversion. Firetto then attempted a 20-yard field goal. The kick was successful, and Montclair State would go on to win its Homecoming game 42-14 over the Kean Cougars. This marked the first time Montclair State won its Homecoming game since 2023, which was also the last time the Red Hawks scored more than 40 points.

Moving Forward

The Red Hawks advanced to a 3-1 overall record and 1-0 in the NJAC. They followed it up on Saturday, October 10 with a 42-0 shutout of William Paterson University at home, improving to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the NJAC. Luke Henrich ran for 227 yards and TJ Kachala added 181 on the ground. Montclair State hosts Christopher Newport on Saturday, October 17 at noon.

The Cougars dropped to 1-2 overall and 0-1 in the NJAC after Homecoming, then lost 31-20 to Christopher Newport on October 10.