Fighting Scots stomp out the Prairie Fire

Monmouth wins eighth straight Turkey Bowl trophy, 41-6

By: Mike Wozniak
Contributing Writer

On Saturday, Nov. 4, Monmouth College defeated the Knox College Prairie Fire 41-6 in the 118th Turkey Bowl. With this victory, the Scots laid claim to their eighth straight “Bronze Gobbler.”

In Monmouth’s final game of the season, senior Evan Haffner stole the show on offense. Haffner had nine catches for 124 yards and three touchdowns. Haffner’s first two scores came 33 seconds apart. Haffner’s first score came on a 12-yard pass from freshman Jared Mundt.

In the Scots’ first defensive play in the game, sophomore Wes Levy broke through and sacked Knox’s quarterback Logan Schroeder from behind, forcing a fumble. Senior Adam Troll recovered the loose ball for the Scots.

On the ensuing drive, Monmouth wasted no time, scoring on the first play. Mundt faked the ball to senior Dante Daniels, rolled to his right and found Haffner wide open in the end zone for a 32-yard score.

Mundt had his best game of the year, after struggling mightily in previous starts. Mundt, according to Monmouth’s head coach Steve Bell, “was very decisive in his throws. He did a great job in getting the ball to our play makers.”

Against Knox, Mundt completed 14 of his 25 pass attempts for 143 yards and four touchdowns. The offensive line gave Mundt all day to throw, as he was rarely pressured and was not sacked by the Prairie Fire.

Senior Shane Gordon had an eventful afternoon. Gordon had a case of the drops early in the game, which is not something seen out of the senior very often. MC’s tight end caught two passes, one for a touchdown.

Gordon also attempted two passes; the first off a bubble screen. He dropped the backwards pass from Mundt, scooped up the ball and then threw the ball down field with three Knox defenders hanging all over him; the pass was incomplete. Gordon’s other pass was also incomplete; both times he was under severe pressure but the receivers were wide open. Of the plays, Bell said, “Shane came in as a quarterback, we just wanted to give him a chance to complete some passes. It was just fun.”

Daniels had a successful day on the ground with 98 rushing yards and a score. Daniels’ touchdown came in the second quarter and was sandwiched by two Nate Palkovic field goals. The junior was two for three on the day hitting from 42 and 35 yards but missing from 41 yards. His lone miss came in the face of a strong wind from the south. The two he made came with the wind at his back.

The Scots’ defense was the story of the game. Even without senior starting defensive tackle Zach Kirchner, the Scots’ defensive line dominated the trenches. Levy had one and a half sacks and a forced fumble. The sophomore had eight total tackles for the day.

Sophomore Anthony Goranson took over for the injured Kirchner at defensive tackle and played very well. Goranson was a disruptive force in the middle with nine tackles, two and a half tackles-for-a-loss and a half a sack.

Senior linebacker Phil Kleckler led the way for the MC defense with his team-high 12 tackles. The Scots’ defense recovered four Knox fumbles and also had one interception.

Monmouth ended the game with a tradition they have come to call “senior victory.” In the final two plays of the game, the Scots marched every senior they could onto the field so they could celebrate and get their last snap together. Of course, this creates some interesting line-up situations, for instance in the last snap of the game Haffner was lined up at right guard.

Unfortunately, due to injury, Kirchner could not get his pads and jersey on. So, in honor of Kirchner, Daniels adorned the defensive tackles number 90 jersey. As Shane Gordon received the final snap of the Fighting Scots 2006 season, the crowd came to its feet with a roaring applause of “thank you.”

The win secured at least a tie for second in the Midwest Conference for the Scots. Illinois College also won their final game finishing with the same record as MC. The Scots beat the Blue Boys earlier in the season.