Scots cut down the Foresters

by Ian Van Anden
Asst.Sports Editor

The Fighting Scots traveled to Farwell Field to take on the Lake Forest Foresters on Saturday, Oct. 1. The fifth game of the Scots season proved to be the easiest; although the game did not start off that way. In the end, the Scots brought home a victory, crushing the Foresters 34-0.

Coming into the game, Lake Forest had a decent 3-1 record and were looking to upset the leaders of the Midwest Conference. The Fighting Scots defense was having none of it. For the first time in the young season, the Scots defense seemingly outplayed the very potent Scot offense.

The game started out slow as neither team was able to put any points on the board. However in the second quarter, the Scot’s put 21 points on the scoreboard while blanking the Foresters. In the quarter, senior linebacker Justin Zigler broke the Scot’s scoring drought with a 30 yard interception return. This proved to be the catalyst the Scots needed to take over the game

On the Scots’ next offensive possession, they found the endzone again. They capped off an eight play, 47-yard drive with touchdown by junior transfer Dante Daniels. The Scots’ scoring streak did not end there as they took full advantage of the momentum they had built up. On their third drive of the quarter, senior quarterback Mitch Tanney found junior wide receiver Aaron Hogan open in the endzone for a five yard TD pass.

The Scots’ defense got the second half scoring off to a bang as senior defensive back Ryan Bast intercepted a pass and returned it for a score. At this point, Monmouth had put the game out of reach and they were simply dominating.

For the final score in the game, Tanney hooked up with his favorite receiver for a 38-yard strike, as junior Evan Haffner pulled in the pass to end a four play 42-yard drive. This final score of the game put the Scots up 34-0.

The Monmouth defense yielded only 152 yards on 53 plays to the Foresters. The defense forced three turnovers. Zigler recovered a fumble that junior linebacker Phil Kleckler forceD. Later,  Zigler also picked off the Lake Forest quarterback and returned the INT for MC’s first touchdown of the game. When Bast wasn’t drilling Lake Forests’ receivers as they came over the middle of the field he caught MC’s second interception of the game. Bast then scampered to a 29 yard touchdown return.

Zigler has led the defense so far with some incredible play. Zigler added ten tackles to his team leading 57 tackles on the year. Zigler has been a menace on the defensive side of the ball for the Scots. He leads everyone in the Midwest conference in tackles for loss, as he has tallied 12 tackles behind the line of scrimmage. After the game this week, Zigler received two special distinctions for his play on Saturday. First, he was named Defensive Player of the Week for the Midwest Conference, and then he was named to the Football Gazette Team of the Week.

Monmouth’s offense got off to a slow start, but by the end of the game they were imposing their will on the Lake Forest defense. Daniels had yet another impressive game as he racked up 132  rushing yards on only 24 carries. Daniels also scored on a nine yard touchdown run his seventh of the year.

Tanney had another terrific game as he completed 77.8 of his passes. Of his 27 pass attempts, Tanney completed 21 finding six different receivers. This year, Tanney’s accuracy has been incredible as he has completed 75.4 of his pass attempts in the season. This is by far the best completion percentage in the Midwest conference.  

Haffner has been paying with an injured shoulder for the past few weeks and it showed this past week. Although Haffner still had his shifty open field moves, his pass-catching ability has suffered due to this nagging injury. In the game, Haffner was able to pull in four catches for 71 yards and a touchdown. MC fans should just be happy that it’s Haffner’s shoulder ailing him and not his legs as he has turned many short receptions into big time games with quick moves to avoid defenders.

With Haffner ailing, Tanney has looked to some other wide receivers to get his passes to. Junior Dan Morrison and Hogan both stepped up in this game. Each receiver pulled in seven catches; as Morrison tallied 68 yards, while Hogan had 62 yards and a touchdown.

Tanney and Haffner have been an unstoppable duo this year as the two have hooked up for 548 yards and seven touchdowns. These two have hooked up for touchdowns in the Scots’ past nine games. This streak obviously includes all five of this year’s games as well as the last four from last year’s season.  The pair has hooked up for scored in all but two of the games in the past two years.

On Saturday, Oct. 8 the Scots will visit Grinnell College and see if they can continue their five game winning streak. Last year, the Fighting Scots shut out Grinnell, defeating them 24-0. Grinnell has only won one game this year, but is 0-3 in the Midwest Conference. Currently, the Scots are the only undefeated team in their Conference. All the other schools in the Midwest Conference have at least two losses.