Monmouth races to early lead, tops Wagner 23-6

Published Nov. 9, 2013 3:17 p.m. ET

foxsports

Julian Hayes ran for two first-quarter touchdowns as Monmouth raced to an early lead and beat Wagner 23-6 on Saturday.

Hayes' first touchdown was set up by Darren Ambush, who took a lateral from Lavon Chaney on the opening kickoff and ran 56 yards to give Monmouth (5-5) the ball on the Wagner 30-yard line. Hayes then ran for a 29-yard score on Monmouth's second play from scrimmage.

Hayes had a 1-yard touchdown run on the ensuing Monmouth possession that was set up by a 65-yard pass from Brandon Hill to Michael McLafferty to put the Hawks up 13-0. McLafferty finished with four receptions for 119 yards.

Hill also tossed a 13-yard touchdown pass to Elijah Phillips midway through the fourth quarter to extend Monmouth's lead to 23-6.

Wagner (2-8) struggled to run the ball, rushing for a total of just 69 yards on 34 carries.