Fighting Scots 2002 Football Game Summaries

#10 - Nov. 9 vs. Knox College, Monmouth, IL
Monmouth 27, Knox 23 (5-5, 5-4)
The streaks are alive! Monmouth defeated Knox for the fourth straight seasons, giving the team's 11 seniors an unbeaten record against the Prairie Fire in their Fighting Scot careers and lifting Monmouth's lead in the all-time series to 54-50-10. The win was also MC's fifth straight this year, pulling the team up to a respectable .500 finish after a disappointing 0-5 start. Monmouth won the game by seizing control in the final three minutes of the first half and the first two minutes of the second. After Knox had taken a  17-10 lead with 3:02 to play in the second quarter, the Scots embarked on a 9-play, 79-yard drive that ended with Jason Killion's 20-yard catch and run with 17 seconds to play. Knox fumbled the ensuing kickoff, giving Monmouth the ball at the KC 40-yard line. Quarterback Rob Purlee threw a 32-yard pass to Tyler Snyder, and the clock expired during the play. However, the Fire were flagged were a facemask call, giving Monmouth the opportunity to send out its field goal team for a 21-yard kick. The boot was good for a 20-17 halftime lead, and Monmouth then went ahead by 10 points by driving the ball 52 yards in six plays to start the second half. Ed McCracken did the scoring honors, taking the ball to paydirt from 22 yards out. Purlee finished the game 15-of-27 for 256 yards, with Ryan Wood catching four passes for 70 yards. McCracken had 71 yards rushing on 17 attempts, and the defense was led by Rob Rogers, who had a team-high 12 tackles and the Scots' lone sack.

#9 - Nov. 2 vs. Carroll College, Monmouth, IL
Monmouth 35, Carroll 24 (4-5, 4-4)
Now the Fighting Scots can talk turkey. Coach Steve Bell did not want his team looking past Carroll to next week's season finale for the Bronze Turkey against arch-rival Knox and, for the most part, the Scots didn't, although they did hit a lengthy lull after taking an early 21-0 lead. That big advantage came thanks to scoring drives of 73, 75 and 94 yards in the game's first 20 minutes. Carroll made a game of things by scoring with 10 seconds left in the half. While the Pioneers were pesky throughout the final two quarters, Monmouth made enough plays to hang on for its fourth straight victory, including a smashing 68-yard TD run by Ed McCracken and a 16-yard TD reception by Jason Killion. Both players had two touchdowns on the day. Quarterback Rob Purlee led a balanced offense, completing 14-of-23 passes for 246 yards, including four for 74 yards to Nathan Gaskill. Monmouth ran for 255 yards, with McCracken gaining 141 on 19 attempts and Todd Sabean adding 79 on 16 tries. For Carroll, Tony Salvage had 106 yards on 16 carries and quarterback Brad Dement was 14-of-34 for 162 yards and one TD. Rob Brester, who had 126 all-purpose yards, had all three Carroll scores. Andy Stumpf led Monmouth's defense with two sacks and two other tackles for loss, while Adam Kujath had 10 tackles and a fumble recovery for Carroll.

#8 - Oct. 26 at Illinois College, Jacksonville, IL
Monmouth 28, Illinois College 7 (3-5, 3-4)
The Fighting Scots continued their rise back to the .500 mark with their third straight victory. Monmouth's defense recorded seven sacks, helping to keep the Blueboys at just 14 rushing yards on the day on 33 attempts. Offensively, two big plays were the story, as Todd Sabean's 73-yard run gave the Scots a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter and, shortly, before halftime, Rob Purlee and Nathan Gaskill hooked up on the second-longest pass play in Monmouth history, a 90-yard TD strike. The play gave the Scots a 21-0 halftime lead and, after a 25-yard TD pass from Jason Killday to Dan Holden tightened the gap a little, Monmouth sealed the win when Sabean's 2-yard plunge capped an eight-play, 50-yard drive in the fourth quarter. The Scots' initial score was a 31-yard pass from Purlee to Matt Hammer. Sabean led the Scots with 153 yards on 23 carries, Gaskill had three catches for 120 yards and Purlee was 9-of-22 for 246 yards. For IC, Killday was 22-of-41 for 234 yards, with 121 going to Dustin Devening on 11 catches. The Scots' held IC return man B.J. Harvey to a 3-yard punt return and a 27-yard kickoff return. He had entered the game ranked in the top 10 in the nation in both categories. The defenses were led by Rob Rogers' 10 tackles for Monmouth and Brian Short's nine stops for IC. Jake Hushka had two sacks for the Scots.

#7 - Oct. 19 vs. Lawrence University, Appleton, WI
Monmouth 42, Lawrence 14 (2-5, 2-4)
The Fighting Scots staged a coming-out party for transfer receiver Jason Killion at host Lawrence's expense, with the junior catching TD passes of 24, 33 and 21 yards from Rob Purlee. His final scoring grab early in the third quarter put Monmouth ahead 28-14, and the Scots secured the victory from there with a pair of fourth-quarter scores, including Purlee's fourth TD pass of the game, a 5-yarder to Adam Chorazy, and a 51-yard run by Ed McCracken, who led the Scots with 117 yards on just 11 carries. Killion finished with seven catches for 117 yards, Tyler Snyder added six grabs for 119 yards and Purlee was an efficient 16-of-28 for 262 yards as Monmouth outgained the Vikings 462-255. Lawrence stars Justin Berrens (107 yards rushing) and Zach Michael (6 catches, 126 yards) had their normal big games, but the rest of their teammates accounted for just 22 yards on 15 touches. All-American candidate Matt Lerner led Monmouth's defense with seven stops, while Andy Kazik was in on a team-high 10 tackles for Lawrence.

#6 - Oct. 12 vs. Grinnell College, Monmouth, IL
Monmouth 37, Grinnell 20 (1-5, 1-4)
The Fighting Scots finally found the winning formula from a year ago, using a pounding running attack, well-timed passes and a stingy defense to crack into the win column for this first time this season. Monmouth took advantage of turnovers early on, with a Luke Jackson interception leading to a 39-yard field goal by Andy Full and a fumble recovery by Tobias Dickerson setting the stage for a 15-yard scoring pass from Rob Purlee to Jason Killion. A 40-yard pass from Purlee to Nathan Gaskill set up Todd Sabean's 1-yard scoring run on the next play for a 17-7 Monmouth lead with 6:42 left to play in the first half. After two Ed McCracken runs for 31 yards, Purlee hit Ryan Wood for a 35-yard and a 24-14 MC lead early in the third quarter, and the Scots extended the margin to 37-14 on Purlee's first collegiate rushing touchdown and a 30-yard Sabean score. On the day, Purlee was 9-of-14 for 203 yards, with Gaskill catching two for 71 yards. Sabean gained 140 yards on 31 totes and McCracken added 48 yards on eight carries. The leading tackler for the Scots was Matt Lerner with six solos, including three for loss.

#5 - Oct. 5 vs. Lake Forest College, Monmouth, IL
Lake Forest 27, Monmouth 3 (0-5, 0-4)
Not much went right for a Fighting Scot team that is now wondering if it's first win of the season will ever come. Monmouth, which committed seven turnovers and was penalized 12 times for 76 yards, actually outgained the Foresters 300-297. Field position due to turnovers was the story, though, as four of LFC's scoring drives started in Fighting Scots' territory. Trailing 14-0 at halftime, Monmouth came out strong in the second half, driving 55 yards to the LFC 10-yard line. But the drive stalled, and the Scots were forced to settle for a 32-yard field goal by Andy Full to cut the deficit to 14-3. Turnovers then ended the next five Monmouth drives, and the Foresters scored after three of them on a 34-yard touchdown pass and two 37-yard field goals. Monmouth's defensive effort was actually solid, limiting the Foresters to 65 yards rushing, but the offense did not pack its big play wallop of previous games in coach Steve Bell's regime. Only two pass plays covered 20 yards or more, and the longest run from scrimmage was an eight-yarder by Jared Donley. Purlee finished 23-of-38 for 208 yards, including 76 yards to Jason Killion on six completions. Rob Rogers led the defense with nine tackles. For the Foresters, Casey Urlacher, who was playing in front of his brother, Bears' linebacker Brian Urlacher, had nine tackles and scored on a 3-yard TD run.

#4 - Sept. 28 at Beloit College, Beloit, WI
Beloit 44, Monmouth 28 (0-4, 0-3)
One of Monmouth's three first-half fumbles led to a backbreaking Beloit touchdown with just two seconds left before intermission. The Bucs had just snapped a 14-14 tie on a 45-yard TD pass with 58 seconds remaining in the second quarter, and Monmouth coughed up the ball on its first play from scrimmage, giving Beloit at the ball at the MC 46 with 47 seconds to play. Beloit was able to squeeze off eight plays, with the final one being a 10-yard TD pass for a 28-14 lead. The Scots fought back in the game to trail 31-28 thanks to the hard running of Todd Sabean, who finished with a career-high 193 yards on 27 carries, but Beloit sealed the deal with two fourth-quarter scores. Quarterback Rob Purlee, who has two 300-yard passing games this season, was just 7-of-16 for 105 yards, although he did throw TD passes to Matt Hammer and Jason Killion. The Scots' other scores were a 42-yard run by Ed McCracken and a 20-yard return of a blocked punt by Rob Rogers. Scott Stanton had the block. Justin Oertle was in on 19 tackles for the Scots and Jake Hushka contributed 15.

#3 - Sept. 21 vs. St. Norbert College, Monmouth, IL
St. Norbert 28, Monmouth 21 (0-3, 0-2)
The Fighting Scots took an early 14-0 lead and gave the three-time defending league champions all they could handle before falling a touchdown short in their home opener. Monmouth won the first and final thirds of the game, but St. Norbert, which entered the game ranked No. 14 in the nation, completely dominated in the middle, scoring on four of their five possessions in the second and third quarters. The Knights hit paydirt on drives covering 73, 92, 62 and 70 yards as they edged the Scots in total yardage, 403-392. The Rob Purlee-to-Nathan Gaskill connection was the story in the rest of the game, as the pair hooked dup on scoring plays of 26 and 76 yards in the first half. The latter play came with 12:39 left in the second quarter and put the Scots up 14-0. The dangerous duo struck again late, with Gaskill catching a 31-yard pass to set up his diving 12-yard TD catch four plays later with just 4:23 remaining in the game. That catch might have been for the tying score if Purlee hadn't been intercepted in the end zone late in the third quarter on a third-and-goal play from the SNC 2. Joe Masciopinto had the crucial interception, and he led the Knights with 10 total tackles. Gaskill finished with seven catches for 209 yards as Purlee was 19-of-36 for 343 yards. Gaskill's three TDs tied a school record. The Scots' defense was led by Rob Rogers, who had 12 total tackles. Although Monmouth was much better this week in stopping the run (152 yards on 43 carries for the Knights), the Scots failed again to generate much of a ground attack, as running backs produced just 77 yards on 32 carries.  

#2 - Sept. 14 at Ripon College, Markesan, WI
Ripon 41, Monmouth 7 (0-2, 0-1)
At first glance, the Fighting Scots' 34-point loss in the season opener looks like a blowout. However, Monmouth did some good things, but made some critical mistakes to allow their hosts to coast to victory. The mistakes started early, as Monmouth took over on the Ripon 17 following a botched punt. But the Scots coughed up the ball on the very next play, and the ball was returned 31 yards, leading to a Ripon field goal. Rob Purlee was then intercepted on his second attempt of the game, setting the Red Hawks up at the MC 22. Five plays later, Ripon was ahead 10-0. The Scots missed a 36-yard field goal on their next possession, and Ripon answered by driving 80 yards in six plays to go up 17-0. Monmouth reached the Red Hawks' 41 on its ensuing drive, but Purlee was sacked to forced a punt and Ripon marched down the field, getting a 46-yard field goal to increase its lead to 20-0. The Scots were forced to punt again, and a 45-yard pass play set up a 23-yard Ripon touchdown run for a 27-0 lead. The Scots finally solved Ripon's defense, and it was fitting that Nathan Gaskill did the honors. Gaskill, who returned four kickoffs for 130 yards (32.5 average), ran a kickoff back 49 yards to the Ripon 47, and he scored seven plays later on a 25-yard pass from Purlee. To show it wasn't Monmouth's day, though, Ripon returned the ensuing kickoff 88 yards to paydirt to go up 34-7 at halftime. Purlee finished 17-of-36 for 195 yards, with Gaskill making six grabs for 70 yards. The ground game didn't produce much, netting just 64 yards, including 34 for Todd Sabean. Defensively, the Scots surrendered 185 yards on the ground and 237 through the air. David Wyffels led the team with nine total tackles and Justin Zigler and Rob Rogers added eight apiece.

#1 - Sept. 7 at Loras College, Dubuque, IA
Loras 40, Monmouth 23 (0-1)
During last season's four-game winning streak to end the season, the Fighting Scots' defense allowed opponents just 38, 33, 18 and -9 yards, respectively, on the ground. The host Duhawks gained all that combined and then some in the 2002 opener, rushing for 249 yards and passing for another 202. Still, thanks to some offensive fireworks of their own, the Scots found themselves in the game after Tyler Snyder caught his second TD of the game from Rob Purlee to make the score 26-23 early in the fourth quarter. In fact, the Scots then had the ball with a chance to take the lead, but they remained pinned in their own territory, and Loras broke their backs with a 68-yard scoring pass on its next drive. The loss spoiled the fun for Purlee, who broke the school-record for passing yards in a game (353), throwing for 383 on 25-of-43 accuracy. The 25 completions is also a new record, breaking his father Dave's record of 24. Snyder hauled in 10 of the passes for 168 yards, and Ryan Wood had five catches for 91. The Scots passed because they didn't run well. Fullback Oscar Scott, who had 10 yards, was the team's leading ballcarrier. Todd Sabean did have a 12-yard scoring run to give the Scots a brief 8-7 lead early on. The Duhawks reclaimed the lead and were ahead 19-16 at halftime. Justin Oertle led the defense with 11 tackles and Matt Lerner made three tackles for loss.