After three rain delays and nearly five hours, Monmouth maintained a tie with Lake Forest for the top spot in the Midwest Conference South Division with a 59-14 win over Illinois College.
The Scots and Blueboys slugged it out in the first quarter as Monmouth jumped ahead on an 11-yard TD run by Hayden Nelson before Austin Hite hauled in a Nelson pass for 10 yards and a score. IC got on the boards with a 65-yard TD run by Greg Cross before lightning delayed the start of the second quarter.
Monmouth took the first snap after the initial weather delay and turned it into points when Nelson hit Jacolby Maxwell for a 40-yard TD strike. The Scots then scored five more TDs – two by Yansay Williams who blocked a punt for a TD and hauled in a Nelson pass for another – and added a Joey Biel field goal to race to a 59-7 lead in the final quarter.
Wright rushed for 168 yards, averaging more than 11 yards per carry while Nelson passed for 115 yards and three scores. Kyle Schultz led the Monmouth defense with 10 tackles and two interceptions as Monmouth picked off IC four times and recovered a pair of fumbles.
The Scots play at Cornell next weekend in a 1 p.m. kickoff.
