Story by Kadin Rogers.
The Monmouth-Roseville Titans football team was back in action on Friday night, returning to Coach Dobry Field in Monmouth for a Three Rivers Conference battle with a longtime rival in the Kewanee Boilermakers. Coming off of a 2-0 start to the season with dominant wins over Mercer County and Orion, the Titans were looking to keep their undefeated season going, which would mark their best start to a season in program history.
A four play drive for M-R was all it took to open the game with the first points, as senior running back Payton Thompson would add another touchdown to his season log, this time from 51 yards out to start the Titans up 7-0. A quick three and out from Kewanee would lead to another impressive drive from the Monmouth-Roseville offense, as junior Andrew Way cashed in on the goal line to add onto the Titans early lead. Needing to keep up with the quick M-R start, Kewanee put their first points on the board midway through the first, as star Boilermaker running back Alex Duarte helped Kewanee cut the lead in half with a 64 yard score. The first quarter of play would end with the Titans driving all the way to the goal line.
Starting the second quarter on the goal line, the Titans needed just a few more yards for their 3rd touchdown of the game, however Kewanee’s defense would make a huge stop, forcing a Titans turnover on downs in the red zone. A quick scoring drive from Kewanee, highlighted by a long reception from Marquelle King and second touchdown run from Duarte would tie the game at 14-14, while a solid Titans offensive drive stalls in Kewanee territory, giving momentum and the ball back to the Boilermakers. As the second half wound down, Kewanee took their first lead of the night on a 32 yard strike to from quarterback Colson Welgat to Ben Taylor with just 59 seconds left in the half. The Titans would however make the best of the final minute of the first half, as a big kick return from Payton Thompson set up Monmouth-Roseville with a field goal from placekicker Ivan Godina cutting the lead back down to 21-17 at the break.
After differing on the opening coin toss, Kewanee opened up the second half with the ball, however they were unable to push their lead any further as the Titans defense forced an opening half punt. M-R’s ensuing offensive drive unfortunately would end in a fumble in Kewanee territory, marking the first turnover of the Titans season. The Boilermakers would go on to eat up the entire rest of the third quarter, taking their long 8+ minute drive into the Monmouth-Roseville red zone heading into the final quarter of play. In a tense final quarter of play, Kewanee’s long potential game sealing drive was stopped in the Titans red zone, as M-R’s defense forced a big time turnover on downs to get the ball back on their own 16. The Titans offense would take advantage of the huge stop from the defense, piecing together an 80+ yard drive deep into Kewanee territory, setting up a crucial fourth down goal line touchdown run from Nick Huston with 3:36 to play, giving the Titans back the lead. Now finding themselves trailing, the Boilermakers offense needed one final scoring drive to sneak out the road win, however a huge sack from defensive lineman Nick Huston and Dame Thioubou set the Boilermakers back to a 4th and 20 with under a minute to go, and Welgat’s final prayer was batted down, sealing a hard fought 24-21 win for Monmouth-Roseville.
In the stat book for the Titans, for the third straight game M-R’s offensive output came entirely from the run game, with Payton Thompson leading the way tallying 179 yards and a score on 21 carries. Andrew Way and Nick Huston each added 50 yards and a score to help push the Titans to a 3-0 record. Monmouth-Roseville football will look to keep their undefeated season alive next Friday night at Mendota, before returning home on September 27th for a huge homecoming showdown with undefeated state ranked Princeton.
For the full replay of the WMOI broadcast, click HERE:
