The Monmouth College football team avenged last year’s only conference loss with a convincing 44-24 Homecoming Day win over Illinois College on Saturday. The Fighting Scots (3-1, 3-0) forced two turnovers, blocked two punts and used a balance offer to knock off the defending Midwest Conference champions.
“I thought we played a physical, smart and complete game on both sides of teh ball and on special teams,” said head coach Chad Braun. “We did a good job of keeping them off balance on offense and we ran the ball well while hitting some big plays in the passing game.”
The Blueboys got the ball first and moved to the Monmouth 41 before lining up to punt. Derek Chandler (Monmouth, Illinois) blocked the punt and the Fighting Scots started on their own 37. Brayden Deem (Andaluisa, Illinois) completed passes to Nate Thornton (Peoria, Illinois) and Jackson Bergren (Monmouth, Illinois)to move the ball inside the five. McKade Brooks (Astoria, Illinois) scored on a 1-yard run and Cody Szelc (Riverview, Illinois) kicked the extra point for a 7-0 lead. IC tied the game and the teams both punted on their next possession. The first quarter ended with Monmouth completing a pass to Thornton down to the IC 29.
Brooks ran for 11 yards down to the 18 to start the second quarter. Deem hit Bergren for an 18-yard touchdown and Szelc’s extra point put Monmouth up 14-7. THe Blueboys moved the ball inside the Monmouth five but their quarterback fumbled on the 1-yard line and Kevins Soivilien (Miami, Florida) recovered in the endzone for the Scots. Monmouth took advantage with a 15-yard pass to Bergren, an 8-yard pass to Thornton and a 7-yard run by Nate Wrublik (Lemont, Illinois). Deem hit Bergren at the 38 and the senior wideout sprinted down the sidelines for a touchdown and a 21-7 lead. IC went 3-and out and lined up for another pun which was blocked. Damian Brown (East Peoria, Illinois) recovered on the IC 18. Brooks ran three times in a row before a pass interference on IC gave the Scots the ball at the 1-yard line. Brooks ran up the middle for the touchdown but the extra point was blocked. IC moved the ball down the field with time running out and they kicked a 32-yard field goal with 39 seconds on the clock.
“Our punt unit came up with two huge blocks that really changed field position,” said Braun. “We also cleaned up our penalties from a couple weeks ago,”
Leading 27-10, Monmouth got the ball to start the second half but they went 3-and-out and punted. The Scots got the ball back quickly as Rockyen Spinks (Galesburg, Illinois) intercepted a pass and returned it to the IC 45. Seven plays later the Scots led 34-10 as Deem hit Bergren for a 5-yard score. After alternating turnovers the Bluboys punted and Monmouth ran the ball on seven straight plays to go from their own 28 to the IC 6-yard line. The drive took over six minutes off the clock and ended with a 19-yard field goal by Szelc for a 37-10 lead.
The visitors scored on their first drive of the fourth quarter but Monmouth answered. The big play came when IC was called for roughing the punter on 4th and 11, giving the Scots a first down at the IC 49. Three plays later, Deem hit Thornton for a 44-yard catch-and-run touchdown for a 44-17 lead. The Blueboys scored with 2:10 left but Monmouth couldn’t run out the clock and had to punt with less than a minute to play. IC ran three plays before the clock expired with a 44-24 Monmouth win,
“Getting those turnovers helped change momentum,” said Braun. “I thought our defense did a great job of limiting the big play today.”
Deem completed 14-of-29 passes for 261 yard with four touchdowns and an interception. Bergren cough eight passes for 167 yards and three touchdowns while Thornton caught six passes for 94 yards and a touchdown. Brooks an 21 times for 82 yards and two scores while Wrublik ran 12 times for 37 yards.
Soivilien led the Scots with nine tackles while Chandler and Ethan James (Carthage, Illinois) had eight. Soivilien had a fumble recovery and split a sack with James while Tevin Baker (Kewanee, Illinois) had a sack. Baker also had two TFL and three pass break ups. Spinks had an interception and two pass break ups.
MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Thornton broke a tie with Evan Haffner for second on the career touchdowns list with 31 … Bergren has 100 career receptions and ranks 12th on the career list … He moved into 16th in career receiving yards and into a tie for 11th in receiving touchdowns … Baker is now 5th on the career list with 21 pass break ups … Szelc reached 200 career points, the ninth to do so … He passed Ron Baker and Jon Nelson for seventh on the career scoring list, three points behind Mark Reed … Monmouth was 10-for-16 on third down and held IC to 5-of-14 on third down … Monmouth had just five penalties for 35 yards … Chad Braun has 71 career coaching wins at Monmouth, moving into a tie with Kelly Kane for third most in school history … Monmouth is 47-14-2 all-time against IC and 8-1 under coach Braun, an IC alum … Monmouth is 42-0 under Braun when scoring at least 40 points … The Scots are 32-2 under Braun in October … The Scots play at Grinnell next Saturday with a 1 p.m. kickoff … The next home game is Oct. 26 at 1 p.m. against Beloit.
***Courtesy of Nathan Baliva, Monmouth College***
