Devin Lawrence
rushed for 165 yards, but none were bigger than his 25-yard run on the
first play of overtime in Monmouth’s 21-20 win over the University of
Chicago to take sole possession of first place in the MWC South.
Tied at 14-14 at the end of regulation, the Maroons won the coin toss
for the overtime period and chose to play defense first. Lawrence got
the call on the first play and broke tackles on his way to the endzone
for his third TD of the day. Joey Biel’s PAT made it 21-14 with UC’s possession upcoming.
Chicago ground out a first down and eventually scored from the seven to
pull within one at 21-20. The Maroons elected to go for the two-point
conversion and the win, running a play-action pass away from the pursuit
to a pass-eligible lineman. The play nearly worked, but was stopped
when Connor Graeff undercut the receiver at the three and Nick Miyler – who recorded a team-high 11 tackles – forced the ball loose at the pylon to preserve the lead and give the Scots the win.
The teams traded scores in the first half, Monmouth scoring on
Lawrence’s first TD to cap a 68-yard drive with 8:51 left in the half.
Chicago completed an 83-yard drive with 24 seconds left in the first
half on a 27-yard pass play, but missed the PAT to trail 7-6.
The Scots hit paydirt in the third on another 68-yard drive finished off
by Lawrence’s one-yard run for a 14-7 lead. The Maroons countered
midway through the fourth quarter with an 11-play, 69-yard drive and
then converted a two-point PAT to tie it at 14-all.
Monmouth had a last-second chance to win in regulation after the Maroons
were forced to punt on a fourth-and-six at their own 12 with seconds
left. The punt gave the Scots the ball at the UC 39 with five seconds
left in regulation for an unsuccessful Carter Boyer Hail Mary into the endzone.
Monmouth can clinch the South title outright with a win at home on Nov. 9
when they host Knox in the Battle for the Bronze Turkey. The Scots lead
the series 70-50-10. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
