MONMOUTH, IL (10/17/2019) Monmouth College (2-2) will restart its football season in earnest Saturday as part of the college’s Homecoming Festivities, hosting Midwest Conference South Division rival Illinois College (4-1) in a special 2 p.m. start time at April Zorn Memorial Stadium.
Coming off their second bye week of the season last week, Chad Braun’s Fighting Scots are anxious to return to the field. Now in divisional play, the remaining games will determine the division champion to play for the overall league title.
“Last week was a little different than our first bye week,” reported Braun. “We had Fall Break coming up, so we cut the guys loose a day earlier on Thursday to give them time to go home and be with their families. It was the same practice formula, almost like a camp week. We did a lot of film and working on ourselves.”
The Scots came out of their last bye week with a convincing win over previously ranked St. Norbert. Braun would like to see a similar performance, but warns against counting on history repeating itself.
“You’re always worried and never really sure what you’re going to get after a week off,” said Braun. “We need to stay sharp and games help us do that. It’s something that’s always a concern. Fortunately, last time our guys showed up, got off to a fast start and played well. That’s an ideal situation, but each time is a new experience and you never really know until game day. We’re going to face a really good opponent in IC. It IS Homecoming and there’s a lot at stake already, so I would think we’d be fired up and ready to play.”
Braun’s team will again resume play with a dangerous opponent. The Blueboys literally ran past Cornell last week 56-17, rushing for more than 400 yards. Freshman running back Trevor Smalls battered the Rams, rushing for 240 yards and five TDs. Three of the scores were on runs of more than 30 yards. Smalls’ yardage last week accounted for more than half his season total. He combines with sophomore back Trevor Nott (248 yards, three TDs) for a serious 1-2 punch.
“Smalls reminds me a lot of (two-time 1,000-yard rusher) DeAndre Wright,” said Braun. “Smalls and Nott are really, really good and their offensive line does a terrific job.”
If the Scots can stop the run, they’ll face a dangerous arm in quarterback Drew Chance. The junior has thrown for over 800 yards in the first five games, completing over 50 percent of his passes for seven touchdowns. His favorite target has been junior wideout Allen Smith (19 catches, 380 yards, four TDs), but defenses can’t look past Bryce McKinney (14 catches, 158 yards) or tight end Seth Vaughn (11 catches, 113 yards). Chance is also capable of running when the opportunity occurs, as he’s rushed 42 times this season as IC’s third-leading ball carrier.
“The new offensive coordinator has done a terrific job,” reported Braun. “They’re much different than they were last year. Their mentality now is to be physical up front and run the ball. They can hurt you with the pass and the run. Our goal is to make them one-dimensional. Chance makes the right reads and is very good. He knows where to go with the ball and does a great job spreading it around.”
The Blueboys also present a problem on the defensive side where they’ve intercepted 11 passes and recovered eight fumbles.
“They’ve got one of the top scoring defenses in the conference and win the turnover battle more often than not,” warned Braun. “They’ve always been a great turnover team and this year is no different. (Defensive end) Jaylin Swan is seemingly always in the backfield creating havoc. Then their linebackers and secondary are really good. (Strong safety) Carter Hilley is really active and physical. They’ll be tough to move the ball on.”
Can the Scots explode for 31 first-quarter points as they did in their last opening game following a bye week? Braun would be more than happy if they did, but he’s keeping the game plan simple.
“We’ve got to win the turnover battle and take care of the ball,” simplified Braun. “We also have to be more efficient throwing the ball than we were our last time out. The final thing is, we’ve got to eliminate penalties. We’ve had way too many to this point of the season. IC is a high-powered offense and we’ve got to keep the ball away from them and limit their touches.”
