Story by Kadin Rogers.
The Monmouth-Roseville Titans football team was back in action on Friday night, taking on TRAC-West division opponent Orion in a huge game in the Titans season. Sitting at 3-4 on the season, Monmouth-Roseville needed a win to keep their IHSA postseason playoff hopes alive. A win that the Titans would secure 49-35, pushing their record to 4-4 overall, and set them up for a win and in scenario in week 9.
Monmouth-Roseville’s offense would take the field first after Orion won the opening coin toss and differed to the second half. After a great opening return by junior Payton Thompson set the Titans up inside Orion territory, M-R punched the ball in from 6 yards out on a run from Thompson to put the Titans up 7-0 early. A three an out on their first drive would lead to a punt from Orion, before the Titans fumbled on their first play of that ensuing drive, giving the ball back to the Chargers at midfield. The Chargers were unable to do anything with that opportunity as well, and Monmouth-Roseville drove back down the field for the second time on the night, ultimately scoring on a 4 yard keeper from quarterback Andy Myers (PAT good, 14-0 Titans lead). Orion’s third punt of the quarter would lead to another quick score by M-R, as Thompson took in his second touchdown from 45 yards out to extend the lead to 21-0. The first quarter would end with the Chargers driving down to midfield.
To start the second quarter, Orion converted on a big 4th down before quarterback Kale Filler found Bainbridge from 11 yards out to put the Chargers on the board 21-7. The ensuing Monmouth-Roseville drive almost ended on another fumble, but after recovering the ball, the Titans would strike on a 20 yard passing touchdown from Myers to senior receiver Darrion Smith to add another touchdown onto M-R’s lead. Another Orion punt would pin the Titans inside their own 20, where Monmouth-Roseville was unable to do anything with their final offensive drive, as the Titans would take a 28-7 lead into the first half.
Orion’s offense would begin the first half with the ball looking to cut into Monmouth-Roseville’s lead. Facing a 4th and 1, Filler would be stuffed on a QB sneak, giving the ball back to the Titans with 6 minutes to play in the third quarter. After M-R’s ensuing drive ended up going nowhere, the Chargers would score on a 10 yard touchdown run from Maddox Anderson to cut the Titans lead in half in the third quarter. The quarter would end with Monmouth-Roseville’s offense moving the ball down the field to try to extend their lead. Starting the fourth and final quarter, the Titans coughed up their 2nd fumble of the game, giving the ball back to Orion with 11 minutes to go in the game. Off of the turnover, the Chargers would drive all the way down inside the Titans ten yard line, and on a 4th down and 4, Orion would score on a 6 yard touchdown pass from Filler to Owen Voorhees to bring the game to just 28-21 with 9 minutes to play.
After Orion’s touchdown however, the Titans would answer in a big way, as Payton Thompson ran for his third score of the game, this time from 54 yards out to put the Titans back up by two touchdowns. In a quick response from the Chargers, Orion would drive down the field once again, and on 4th and 13 Cale Filler would find Voorhees for the second time in a row, bringing the Titans lead to just 35-28. On the pivotal following drive for M-R, the Titans would once again drive right down the field, capitalizing on a 5 yard touchdown run from senior Tyler Finnicum to push the lead back to 42-28 (successful PAT from Avendano). With just 3 minutes to play, Orion’s drive would end on a turnover on downs at the 40 yard line, and the Titans would punch in their 7th touchdown on a goal line score from Finnicum to push the score to 49-28 as the fourth quarter wound down. The final offensive drive of the game for Orion would end in another touchdown connection between Filler and Bainbridge, and the Titans would take one knee to reach the final score of 49-35, and give M-R their 4th win of the season.
In the stat book for Orion, Aiden Fisher led the way in rushing with 13 yards on 12 attempts, while Kale Filler completed 34 passes on 55 attempts for 344 yards and 5 touchdowns. Jake Bainbridge hauled in 10 of those passes for 118 yards and 2 scores. For the Titans, Andy Myers completed 1 of 2 passes for 20 yards and a score to Darrion Smith, as the Titans had big rushing performances from Payton Thompson (248 yards and 3 touchdowns) and Tyler Finnicum (72 yards and 2 touchdowns) to secure their 4th win. The Titans will finish regular season play next week in Sherrard, needing one more win to get into the IHSA playoffs for the third straight season.
For the replay of the WMOI radio broadcast of the game, click HERE
