The Monmouth College football team got in position for a game-winning score but fell short on fourth down in a 20-14 loss to St. Norbert in the Cousins Subs Lakefront Bowl on Saturday. The Fighting Scots (8-3) were attempting to “Three-Peat” at the Lakefront Bowl after winning the first two installments of the game in 2022 and 2023.
Monmouth got the ball to start the game but went 3-and-out, punting the ball to the Green Knights. The punt return covered 34 yards as SNC started on the Monmouth 35 and scored in just six plays to take a 7-0 lead. Nate Wrublik (Lemont, Illinois) picked up a first down on the ground to start Monmouth’s second drive but SNC picked off Brayden Deem (Andalusia, Illinois) and started their second drive on the Monmouth 29. A missed field goal gave the Scots the ball on their own 23 but again, a 3-and-out forced a punt
The Scots got the ball back on their own 13 after the first Green Knights punt of the game. Wrublik ran for 28 yards on the first four plays and later added an 11-yard run for a first down. Deem hit Chase Newman (Morrison, Illinois) for seven yards and a first down and then found Nate Thornton (Peoria, Illinois) for 16. Deem hooked up with Thornton again for a 22-yard touchdown pass, Thornton’s 20th scoring reception of the season. Cody Szelc (Riverview, Florida) drilled the extra point for a 7-7 tie.
St. Norbert punted on their first drive of the second quarter but Deem threw his second interception of the game, deep in Monmouth territory. The Green Knights started the drive on the MC 12 and scored on the first play for a 14-7 lead. Deem hit Newman for 17 yards on the next drive but the Scots had to punt again, this one traveling into the end zone. After the teams traded punts, SNC kicked a 36-yard field goal to lead 17-7.
Monmouth went 3-and-out on their next drive and Szelc hit a 34-yard punt. The Green Knights returner fumbled at midfield and the ball bounced right to Tevin Baker (Kewanee, Illinois). The Midwest Conference Defensive Line MVP caught the ball in stride and returned it down the sideline 50 yards for a touchdown. Szelc’s extra point cut the SNC lead to 17-14 at halftime.
The third quarter was largely a series of punts. Both teams had three first downs in the quarter and Monmouth punted on the first play of the fourth quarter. The Green Knights used a 9-play drive to kick a 29-yard field goal for a 20-14 lead.
After another series of punts, Monmouth got the ball on their own 14 with 4:27 to play. A 14-yard run from Deem and a 28-yard pass to Newman got the Scots across midfield. Deem found Jackson Bergren (Monmouth, Illinois) for three yards and Lucas Kessinger (Cambridge, Illinois) for 19 yards. With 2;00 to play and the ball on the SNC 20, Deem hit Gabriel Zeigler-Harris (East Peoria, Illinois) for 10 yards. Wrublik lost a yard on 1st and goal and Deem threw incomplete on 2nd and goal. After a timeout, Deem was forced out of the pocket and threw incomplete in the end zone for Kessinger on 3rd and goal. Down to the final play, Deem rolled right but his pass went through the end zone, incomplete to give the ball back to SNC with 42 seconds left. The Green Knights took a knee to end the game,
Deem completed 13-of-34 passes for 152 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Wrublik ran 28 times for 116 yards, his third straight 100-yard game.. Thornton caught five passes for 50 yards and a touchdown while Newman caught four passes for 61 yards.
Defensively, Ethan James (Carthage, Illinois) had 10 tackles while Brant Baltes (Lisbon, Iowa) had nine tackles with three TFL. Anthony Cikauskas (Oswego, Illinois) had a sack and two TFL while Baker had a TFL and a fumble recovery for a touchdown. Nick Harris (Winter Haven, Florida) had six tackles and a pass break up while Derek Chandler (Monmouth, Illinois) had five tackles and one TFL.
MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Thornton finishes the season with a record 20 touchdowns … He ranks third with 1015 yards, giving him three of the top five seasons in MC history (2nd, 3rd, 5th)…For his career, Thornton ranks first in touchdowns (47), first in yards per reception (17.3), second in receiving yards (3562), second in points (282), third in receptions (206) and second in games played by a WR (43).. … Baker passed Korbyn Personett for fourth on the Monmouth career list with 49.5 TFL … Harris tied Baker for fourth on the career PBU list with 24 … Szelc tied Nate Palkovic for second in career kicking points with 247 … He also tied his single-season career high with 75 points from 2022 … Deem threw for the seventh most yards in a season (2646) and the fourth-most touchdowns (36) … The Scots had won three in a row against SNC dating back to the 2018 MWC Championship Game … Five of the last six meetings have been decided by one possession … The Scots are 5-2 in the last seven against SNC … The 2025 season kicks off at Wartburg on Saturday, Sep. 6.
***Courtesy of Nathan Baliva, Monmouth College***
