Monmouth earned their first back-to-back conference titles since 2008 and 2009, claiming their 13th Midwest Conference Championship with a 9-6 overtime win over St. Norbert.
The Fighting Scots and Green Knights battled for 60 minutes, finishing regulation locked in a 3-3 draw. As they had on the opening coin toss, the Scots won the toss and preferred to go on the defensive end first.
Starting at the Monmouth 25-yard line in overtime, the Green Knights moved to the 16 before the Scots’ defense forced a fourth-and-one. St. Norbert took the early lead on a 33-yard field goal off the foot of Spencer Thompson-Meyers.
On Monmouth’s possession, DeAndre Wright’s run moved the ball to the 17 before the Scots eventually faced a third-and-nine from the St. Norbert 11. Hayden Nelson then found Konnor O’Keefe for his second catch of the day, moving the ball to the one-yard line. Nelson plunged in for the win on the next play, giving the Scots the league crown and an automatic berth in next weekend’s NCAA Playoffs.
St. Norbert had taken a 3-0 lead on Thompson-Myers’s 41-yard field goal in the second quarter. Monmouth came back to tie the game on Joey Biel’s 39-yard field goal with just 6:09 left in regulation.
It will be an historic game for Saturday’s first round of the NCAA football playoffs when Monmouth College (9-1) travels to Angola, Ind., for a noon (ET) kickoff with Trine University.
Saturday’s contest will mark the first meeting between the Scots – champions of the Midwest Conference – and Trine – winners of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. A familiar Monmouth foe awaits the winner the following weekend as Wartburg – Monmouth’s Week 2 opponent – hosts Franklin with the winners of this weekend’s games to meet in the second round on Nov. 25, also at noon local time.
