It ended with a kneel down. As the clock trickled toward zero, senior Genevieve Fara spiked the football and leapt into the arms of head coach Jim Kelly, with the rest of the Montclair State University flag football team right behind. The Red Hawks moshed near the home sideline, embracing the euphoria after a 7-6 upset victory over nationally-ranked Eastern University on Thursday.
With its lone loss coming at the hands of the Eagles just last month, Montclair State marched onto Sprague Field looking for a response.
“We've been waiting for this moment since March 17,” Montclair State's Maya Anico said. We have been literally dreaming about this. I couldn't sleep last night.” Tim David | The Montclarion
“We’ve been waiting for this moment since March 17,” said junior Red Hawk Maya Anico. “Like 6:30 PM, the second that game ended. We said they’re coming to Jersey, baby, and that’s exactly what they did. And we beat them. We have been literally dreaming about this. I couldn’t sleep last night.”
The Red Hawks opened the scoring on their second offensive play, with freshman quarterback Haddiyah Bell’s deep ball finding its way to a wide-open Serenity Muhammed, who was behind the Eastern secondary. Montclair State converted its one-point attempt to take a 7-0 lead under four minutes in.
The ensuing 51 minutes featured a defensive standoff. Both teams combined for 14 scoreless drives, some short, some long.
“Just get stops,” said Anico, describing the Red Hawks’ mentality throughout the evening. “Swat the ball out of the air. Don’t try to make big plays, [or] try to intercept it, just swat the ball down. Every play counts.”
Midway through the fourth quarter, the game turned. Bell fired a pass over the middle that was picked off by Eastern’s Jeriyah Johnson, granting the Eagles possession at the Montclair State 10-yard line.
Though the Red Hawks responded by forcing a fourth down and goal, Eastern quarterback Kira Green delivered a dart to the corner of the end zone, where Molly Schellpeper hauled in her only catch of the night. It was a big one, and Eastern was an extra point away from a tie game. It was the first time the Red Hawks allowed a score since their previous loss to the Eagles, ending a streak of three consecutive shutouts.
But Montclair State had a chance to hold its advantage, now trimmed down to a point. The one-point attempt, it appeared as though Eastern converted on a run to the far boundary, but once again, Muhammed came through.
Her hand shot toward the sky, holding a flag at the one-yard line. The officials signaled no good, and the Red Hawks retained their lead. Eastern never saw a chance to have the final say, as Montclair State used its rushing attack to drain the remaining clock.
As Kelly was mobbed by his team, gratitude crossed his mind.
“I’m so proud of the staff, proud of every player, everyone,” said Kelly of the moment. “What they’ve done, in the early stages of this season, our inaugural season. I was so proud, just happy for them. They deserve this because they’re working hard, and all the little things seemed to fall in place on our last drive.”
Montclair State flag football has now won its last five games, allowing twelve points in that span. Tim David | The Montclarion
Eastern was ranked twelfth in the latest WCFFB Top 25 rankings. Montclair State has yet to grace the list. With the win, the Red Hawks believe they are officially on the radar.
“We just got put on the map,” Anico said following the win. “Everyone’s gonna know who Montclair State is. We just beat Eastern. So I wonder what that’s gonna do, but it definitely put us on the map. People are gonna know who we are.”
Kelly typically allows a 24-hour window for celebration. This win was the biggest in the young program’s history. But with three games on deck in the coming week, his mind is already on tomorrow. He shared a simple message.
“Anything’s possible,” said Kelly. “Don’t become complacent. Let’s get better every time we come to practice.”
