Late-Game Surge is Not Enough as Football Falls to Monmouth
By D’Juan Conley | September 21, 2026
The University at Albany men’s football team suffered its first conference loss to the Monmouth Hawks by a score of 28-20 on Saturday, September 19th.
“Our kids fought, never once did they waiver," said Great Danes Head Coach Tom Perkovich.
On the opening drive of the game, Great Dane quarterback Kai Colon’s pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown by Hawks Linebacker Ryan Russo at the 14:11 mark of the first quarter. This gave the Hawks an early 7-0 lead.
The Great Danes saw their next drive stall out following a 19-yard pass attempt off the fingertips of running back Rashon La Mons, on the second down and a sack by Monmouth’s Mounir Keshen.
Monmouth started their last drive of the first quarter with good field position starting at their own 41 yard line. On the first fourth down attempt of the game, Hawks running back Nazir Treadwell came up with the one yard necessary for a crucial first down.
On the next play, Hawks quarterback Frankie Weaver threw a 46-yard touchdown to wide receiver Gavin Nelson. With about 4:30 remaining in the first quarter the Hawks were up 14-0.
The next Great Danes drive started with four straight runs from standout running back Joey Koch, gaining 20 yards and two first downs.
The momentum was slowed by a holding penalty on the Great Danes, but the team quickly got back on track with a 13-yard completion to wide receiver Daniel Growney and a converted fake punt to end the first quarter.
At the start of the second quarter, Aiden Semo came into the game for two rushes and a nine yard pass to BJ Norman. Two plays later, Colon came back in and punched it in for the first Great Dane touchdown of the game. This touchdown cut the lead to 14-7.
The first Monmouth drive of the second quarter was a four play touchdown drive, after a 60 yard touchdown pass to the middle of the field to Hawks receiver Tra Neal. This response by the Hawks put them back up 21-7.
During the first Great Dane drive of the second quarter, the Hawks committed a face mask penalty moving the Danes up to Monmouth’s 42 yard line.
The drive ended with a pooch punt by quarterback Colon, resulting in Monmouth taking the field at their own two yard line.
The final Great Dane drive of the half seemed promising. The Danes got all the way to the Monmouth 18 yard line, assisted by back-to-back passes to BJ Norman. However, Kai Colon threw his second interception of the half.
The Great Dane defense stiffened for the final 1:47 of the half and didn't give up any points off the turnover, thanks to tackles from Dorian Royal, Sekou Roland, and Drew Buckley. Monmouth led 21-7 at the half.
The Hawks opened the second half on offense, and on the first play Hawks quarterback Frankie Weaver threw a 21-yard pass to receiver Tra Neal.
Once in the red zone, Monmouth ran the ball six straight times to end the 20-play drive with a rushing touchdown for running back Nazir Treadwell, putting the Hawks up 28-7.
The first Great Dane drive of the second half was a rushing onslaught from running back Rashan La Mons, as he carried the ball five times for a total of 46 yards.
The drive was capitalized with a deep 21-yard pass into the endzone by quarterback Kai Colon to receiver Matthew Iuvara for his first touchdown as a Great Dane, bringing the score to 28-14.
The final drive of the third quarter for Monmouth started with a 21-yard run from Hawks running back Kenny Smith Jr but was followed up with a seven-yard tackle for loss by Great Danes Dominic Jones and Rich Benege on the following play.
Monmouth gained two more first downs and made it all the way to the Great Danes 24-yard line, before pressure from Cole Sisson forced Hawks quarterback Frankie Weaver to throw an errant pass picked off by Donny Jones.
Unfortunately for the Danes, this drive stalled after a deep incompletion for Colon and a sack and a fumble .
On UAlbany’s next drive, quarterback Aiden Semo completed a screen pass to running back Joey Koch which turned into a 24-yard gain, which followed another screen pass from quarterback Kai Colon to receiver BJ Norman for 26 yards.
These gains brought the Great Danes down to Monmouth’s 33 yard line and the Great Danes went for it, gaining the first down on a rush by La Mons. La Mons continued his rushing prowess finding the endzone just two plays later.
Kicker RJ Kocan missed the extra point despite having been perfect on point after touchdowns up until that point. This missed kicked left the score at 28-20 with just over five minutes left in the game.
Monmouth saw a penalty to begin their penultimate drive of the game. The Great Dane Defense once more showed resilience when Jeremiah Pruitt came up with a pivotal interception.
With 4 minutes left at the Monmouth 3 yard line the Great Danes could not come away with a touchdown. La Mons lost a yard on the first play. Aiden Semo threw an incompletion on 3rd down. The final play was a QB keeper by Colon which resulted in a loss of 4 yards and turnover on downs.
With just one timeout and the two minute warning, the Great Danes could not give up a first down if they wanted any chance to comeback. Monmouth running back Kenny Smith Jr. ran for 14 yards securing the win for the Hawks.
Knees were taken and the Hawks left Albany with the 28-20 victory.
“Yeah, it's definitely frustrating,” said quarterback Kai Colon. “Our defense came through for us, and we have to finish and we got to do a better job at that."
Perkovich seemed optimistic despite the outcome, saying he's “excited for that part of it” as a first-year head coach.
UAlbany dropped to 2-2 overall ,and 1-1 in conference play with the loss.
The Great Danes are back in action on Saturday, Sept. 26 when they take on the Princeton Tigers.They are back home on Oct. 3 for their homecoming match up against the Delaware State Hornets.
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