Football improves to 2-0 in MWC
Monmouth plays strong against Beloit College, winning 45-0

By: Ian Van Anden
Editor-In-Chief

The Monmouth College Fighting Scots captured their second win in the young 2007 football season by beating Beloit College 45-0 on Saturday, Sept. 15.

Junior running back Jeff Davis had a statement game for MC as he rushed for 175 yards on 25 carries. The junior also found pay dirt two times.

Fellow MC running back, sophomore Clay Bricker, had 58 yards on only nine carries and also found the endzone on one of his carries. Monmouth’s third string back, junior Casey Orwig, came in for cleanup duty in the fourth quarter and made the most of his time on the field.

Orwig had several shifty runs on the Scots’ final scoring drive with less than two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Orwig had a 32-yard carry, which included a highlight reel spin move that broke the junior into the open field. The run ended on the seven; from there Orwig and the offensive line finished the drive with a 7-yard touchdown run.

Freshman quarterback Alex Tanney continued his assault of opposing defensive secondaries against Beloit.

The freshman completed 24 of his 35 passes for 316 yards and a touchdown. Tanney did make one big mistake, as he threw an interception in the redzone. The pick is the one blemish on Tanney’s impressive MC resume.

His favorite target in the game was sophomore Kyle Wantland, who caught eight passes for 95 yards. Nick Wright had a big game as he had four receptions for 112 yards and a touchdown.

Wright’s touchdown came on an 82-yard bomb from Tanney in the fourth quarter. This was the Scots’ longest play from scrimmage in the 2007 season.

Since the departure of one of Monmouth’s most prolific special teams’ players, Evan Haffner, the team has been in search of a replacement to return kicks and punts. Freshman Matt Shepard made a big case for himself against Beloit.

In his only punt return, Shepard made a dazzling run down the MC sideline bringing the ball back 39 yards and setting up the Scots deep in Beloit territory. The return brought  the entire Monmouth cheering section to their feet.

Despite Monmouth’s new style of offense, the no-huddle, the Scots’ offense controlled the ball for nearly half of the contest, just over 28 minutes. The new look offense scored double digits in every frame with the exception of the first quarter where they scored just seven points.

There was a record set by Monmouth’s senior kicker Nate Palkovic. Palkovic became Monmouth’s all-time leading scorer after connecting on the extra point following Wright’s 82-yard touchdown pass.

Palkovic had opportunities throughout the contest to break the record but failed on two attempts in the first half. With no time remaining in the first quarter, the senior missed from 35 yards out; he then missed from 37 yards just over four minutes later. He did find his accuracy in the third quarter when he connected on a 32-yard field goal.

The senior kicker broke a record that had stood since 1987, which had been set by Mark Reed, who played at MC from 1984-1987. Reed is still the points leader among Monmouth College quarterbacks.

While the scoreboard said the offense dominated the game, it was the goose egg the defense posted that was most impressive. The Monmouth defense allowed only 141 yards to Beloit. The Scots only allowed 59 yards on the ground and 82 yards through the air.

Next on Monmouth’s schedule is their biggest conference challenge thus far in the 2007 season. The Fighting Scots will travel to Waukesha, Wis., to face Carroll College on Saturday, Sept 22.

The Scots will attempt to solve Carroll’s explosive running attack that is headed by senior Bryce Crocker. In just three games Crocker has run for 389 yards and seven touchdowns. Against Monmouth’s last opponent, Beloit, Crocker rushed for 202 yards and four touchdowns; he was named a Midwest Conference performer of the week.

In last year’s contest against Carroll, Monmouth dominated, winning 38-7. The Scots’ stout run-D held Crocker out of the end zone, all though the back did tally 109 yards on the ground.