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Alex Tanney gets ready for the snap
in front of a packed house at April Zorn Memorial Stadium. |
With a victory Nov. 1 over
Illinois College, the Monmouth Fighting Scots clinched the Midwest
Conference football title and the automatic NCAA playoff berth that goes
with it.
Although the win over the Blueboys sparked the celebration, the key
victories in the Scots’ season came on back-to-back Saturdays in
October. Both were accomplished in dramatic fashion, as Monmouth rallied
from second-half deficits to defeat perennial league power St. Norbert
31-22 and Ripon 38-35. Both opponents entered the showdowns against the
Scots undefeated in league play.
Now, only the Scots can make that claim, but it wasn’t easy. Host St.
Norbert took an early 10-0 lead and was still ahead at halftime. Kyle
Tuor’s 36-yard field goal gave Monmouth a 24-22 third-quarter lead, and
a two-yard TD pass from Alex Tanney to Mike Blodgett – the duo’s third
scoring play of the day – sealed the outcome.
That play came with 10:07 left in the fourth period, but Tanney & Co.
waited even longer before sending a crowd of 3,200 Homecoming fans happy
vs. Ripon. His 31-yard pass to Matt Shepherd with 1:45 remaining capped
a 10-point rally in the final eight minutes. It was Tanney’s fourth TD
pass of the game and his second to Shepherd.
Heading into this Saturday's Bronze Turkey Game vs. Knox,
Monmouth is 9-0 on the year and 8-0 in league play. The Scots have
entered the national poll conversation and are ranked 16th in the
American Coaches Football Association poll.
