Fighting Scots 2005 Football Game Summaries

Game 11 -- Nov. 19, 2005
NCAA First-Round Playoff Game
Monmouth vs. Saint John's University, Collegeville, Minn.
Saint John's 62, Monmouth 3
Following a Doug Stichter interception on the second play of the game that led to a 29-yard field goal by Nathan Palkovic, not much went right for the Fighting Scots in their NCAA postseason debut. SJU running back Mike Lofboom scored five touchdowns, including three on plays of 30 yards or more, and half of quarterback Alex Kofoed's eight completions went for scores. Kofoed hit Lofboom with a four-yard scoring pass, set up a by a 53-yard run by Corey Weber, to put SJU ahead 7-3, and Lofboom then completed a quick four-play, 80-yard drive with a seven-yard run. The Johnnies then used big plays to post their next four scores, including TD passes of 60, 43 and 30 yards and a 58-yard Lofboom run with 8:56 left in the third quarter. The Scots were outgained 555-115, and a whopping 12 quarterback sacks left them with negative rushing yards on the day. When quarterback Mitch Tanney was able to stay on his feet, only short passes were available, so his 20-of-30 passing day accounted for just 118 yards. His longest completion was a 15-yarder to tight end Shane Gordon. Perhaps the only good news for Monmouth was that Tanney broke the Division III record for completion percentage in a season. His 73.6 mark tops the record of 72.9 percent set by Mount Union's Jim Ballard in 1993. Jason Goldsworthy led the Scots' defense with 12 tackles and Ryan Bast also picked off a pass. For Saint John's, Kevin McNamara had 8.5 tackles for loss, including 6.5 sacks.  

Game 10 -- Nov. 5, 2005
Bronze Turkey Game
Monmouth vs. Knox College, Galesburg, Ill.
Monmouth 48, Knox 0
Fueled by the greatest passing performance in the 117-year history of Monmouth College football, the Fighting Scots rolled to their seventh straight Bronze Turkey Game victory. Mitch Tanney was nothing short of remarkable, completing 21-of-23 passes for 405 yards and five touchdowns. Tanney broke assistant coach Rob Purlee's single-game record of 383 passing yards, and the only MC quarterback to throw more than the five TDs was Tanney in last year's Bronze Turkey win. With less than two minutes to play in the first half, Tanney was having a decent game, and the Scots were enjoying a comfortable 21-0 lead, but the game completely unraveled for Knox in the span of the next three minutes. Blake VonHolten picked off a pass and returned it 75 yards for a TD with 1:41 left in the half. Monmouth then got the ball back, and Tanney hit Evan Haffner for a 36-yard score with just 21 seconds to play. Haffner would finish with 11 catches for 166 yards and two TDs. Following halftime, Monmouth received the kickoff and Tanney and Dan Morrison hooked up on an 86-yard TD on the Scots' second play. The senior quarterback would throw only two second-half passes, and his other also went for six, as he hit a slanting Matt Hammer over the middle for a 66-yard catch and run. Knox's best scoring chance also came on the second play of a half. After receiving the opening kickoff, Kevin Megli dashed 74 yards for a TD, but the score was called back due to a late clipping penalty. The Prairie Fire would not advance past the Monmouth 21-yardline for the rest of the game. Jason Goldsworthy had 14 tackles, including four for loss, to lead the defense, which picked off three Knox passes. Justin Zigler was in on four stops to set the new single-season tackle mark at 113.

Game 9 -- Oct. 29, 2005
Monmouth vs. Carroll College, Waukesha, Wis.
Monmouth 35, Carroll 27
Monmouth clinched its first conference title since 1976 and the national playoff berth that goes with a victory that looked to be a blowout early. The Fighting Scots put three scores on the board in the first period on TD passes of 30 and 33 yards from Mitch Tanney to Dante Daniels and Bobby Gibbs, respectively, and a Jacob Mueller two-yard run sandwiched for a lead. Gibbs added another rushing touchdown just before halftime to make the score 28-7. Tanney's 40-yard TD run with a minute to go in the third quarter helped the Scots stave off a furious second half rally by the Pioneers, who put 20 points on the board after the intermission. Justin Zigler continued his defensive assault on the record books, piling up 18 tackles and two sacks, while freshman defensive lineman Anthony Goranson added a team-high three sacks.

Game 8 -- Oct. 22, 2005
Monmouth vs. Illinois College, Monmouth, Ill.
Monmouth 45, Illinois College 0
Mitch Tanney threw for three TDs and ran in another as the Fighting Scots jumped out to a 35-0 halftime lead and cruised to their 15th straight victory. T.J. Scruggs' interception and 19-yard return allowed the Scots to start their first drive in IC territory, and Tanney capped it three plays later with a 33-yard run. Monmouth's next two possessions ended with Tanney finding Evan Haffner for touchdowns. The scoring plays covered 21 and 12 yards and improved the pair's TD total to 11, matching last year's record number of scoring receptions for Haffner. The star receiver then set up the Scots' next scoring drive with a 21-yard punt return into Blueboys territory. Seven plays later, Tanney connected with Matt Hammer for an 18-yard TD. Monmouth was stopped for the first time on its next drive after reaching the IC 2, but the Scots kept the Blueboys pinned back, eventually taking over on IC's 26 and scoring five plays later on Dante Daniels' four-yard run. In the second half, Nathan Palkovic booted a 39-yard field goal and Bobby Gibbs scored on a seven-yard run. Tanney was an efficient 22-of-28 for 212 yards, and he added 68 yards on the ground. IC's star running back, Jarid Crain, was held to 40 yards on 17 carries as the Scots outgained the Blueboys 395-162. Anthony Goranson had six tackles for the Scots, including 2.5 sacks, while IC's Michael Miller was in on 23 tackles. Monmouth improved to 8-0 on the year and 7-0 in Midwest Conference play.

Game 7 -- Oct. 15, 2005
Monmouth vs. Lawrence University, Monmouth, Ill.
Monmouth 41, Lawrence 13
Don't let the score fool you -- it wasn't easy, but the Fighting Scots improved to 7-0 with a 28-point win over the visiting Vikings. Monmouth and Lawrence were even in most categories but scoring as the Scots outgained the Vikings 361-356, the teams were even in first downs and the Vikings had a 13-minute advantage in time of possession. The Scots took a 10-0 first-half lead on a Mitch Tanney to Shane Gordon touchdown pass and Nathan Palkovic's 36-yard field goal. Monmouth struck again with 1:10 left in the half when Tanney found Dan Morrison with a 17-yard scoring pass to give the Scots some breathing room at halftime, 17-0. The Scots came out firing in the second half, as Dante Daniels scored three touchdowns in the first eight minutes on runs of 7, 30 and 2 yards as Monmouth led 38-0. Lawrence's Nick Korn took a P.J. Hilbert pass 86 yards for a score to put the Vikings on the board, and Palkovic countered with a 38-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter. Late in the game, the Vikings' Ron Jacques hit Dominique Lark with a 31-yard TD pass to round out the day's scoring. Justin Zigler totaled 17 tackles, just three shy of the Monmouth record, before leaving the game in the fourth period.

Game 6 -- Oct. 8, 2005
Monmouth vs. Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa
Monmouth 69, Grinnell 14
The Fighting Scots' offense was back in a headline-grabbing frame of mind, scoring more than 40 points in the first half for the third time this season and eventually running up the fourth-highest scoring total in Monmouth history and the second-highest since 1904. Quarterback Mitch Tanney, in particular, had a very good day at the office, actually improving on his season completion mark of 75 percent by going 17-of-21 for 237 yards and four touchdowns. Tanney also found the end zone with his feet, racing 42 yards to open the scoring just 3:38 into the game. Tanney's season-long partner in crime, wide receiver Evan Haffner, also starred, catching scoring strikes of 10 and 42 yards and improving Monmouth's lead to 55-7 with an 81-yard punt return, the seventh-longest in school history. Running back Dante Daniels reached the 100-yard for the third straight game, gaining 120 yards on 20 tries and scoring once. Other Monmouth TDs came from receivers Dan Morrison and Aaron Hogan and running backs Jason Myers, Bobby Gibbs and Ben Hunter. Myers' score came after a Josh Schaver interception return set the Scots up at the Grinnell six-yardline. The defense was denied its bid to post a second straight shutout when Grinnell quarterback Sean Pfalzer threw a touchdown with two seconds left in the first half. Trailing 62-7, Pfalzer added an 85-yard TD pass in the fourth quarter and finished 17-of-37 for 200 yards. 

Game 5 -- Oct. 1, 2005
Monmouth vs. Lake Forest College, Lake Forest, Ill.
Monmouth 34, Lake Forest 0
There's an old adage that "offense wins games, defense wins championships." If that's the case, then the Fighting Scots are in good shape. The defense picked off two Lake Forest passes and ran them both back for touchdowns in a convincing victory over Lake Forest. Justin Zigler intercepted a Matt Mahaney pass and returned it 30 yards to open the Scots' scoring in the second quarter. A Dante Daniels nine-yard run and a Mitch Tanney to Aaron Hogan five-yard pass gave the Scots a 21-0 halftime lead. Ryan Bast collected his 11th career interception midway through the third quarter and returned it 29 yards for a score. Tanney, who completed 21 of 27 passes for 215 yards, hit Evan Haffner early in the fourth quarter for a 38-yard scoring strike to account for the final score. Daniels finished with 129 yards rushing, his second straight game of over 100 yards. Led by Zigler's 10 tackles, the Scots limited the Foresters to just 149 yards while the Scots racked up 380 total yards. The win puts the Scots at 5-0 overall and 4-0 in league play.

Game 4 -- Sept. 24, 2005
Monmouth vs. Beloit College, Monmouth, Ill.
Monmouth 56, Beloit 30
A first half that was historically perfect fueled the Fighting Scots to their fourth straight win to open the season and their 11th consecutive triumph dating back to last year. Monmouth scored every time it touched the ball in the first half en route to a 49-8 lead. Those 49 points equaled the school-record output for one half by the Scots, who also turned the trick in 1971 while beating Carleton 63-6. The shortest of the seven scoring drives really wasn't a drive at all, as Evan Haffner returned a punt 55 yards to paydirt. Haffner was also on the receiving end of two first-half TD passes from Mitch Tanney that covered 15 and 17 yards. Tanney was nearly perfect in the opening two quarters, completing 12-of-13 passes for 225 yards and four scores. Dan Morrison had the other two TD receptions, which covered 11 and 23 yards. Dante Daniels also got into the scoring act, reaching the end zone twice on runs of one and 11 yards and finishing with 165 yards on 29 carries. Midway through the third quarter, Tanney threw his fifth and final TD pass of the game, a six-yarder to Matt Hammer. Tanney wound up with 238 passing yards for his ifth straight 200-yard passing game. Beloit upheld its status as the nation's highest-scoring winless team, producing four TDs. Lee Rankinen had three scores and rushed for 116 yards, while quarterback Nate Skelton got the majority of his 83 rushing yards on a 76-yard TD scamper. Another Buc standout was linebacker Adam Neiffer, who was in on 19 tackles.

Game 3 -- Sept. 17, 2005
Monmouth vs. St. Norbert College, DePere, Wis.
Monmouth 28, St. Norbert 20
The Fighting Scots control their own destiny after a 28-20 win over defending Midwest Conference champion St. Norbert. The win breaks the Green Knight's eight-game win streak over Monmouth dating back to 1996 and puts the Scots atop the Midwest Conference. Monmouth trailed at halftime 20-7, but shut down the St. Norbert offense in the second half. Mitch Tanney put the Scots on the board in the second quarter, scoring from one yard out and Nathan Palkovic's extra point kick gave Monmouth the lead 7-6. St. Norbert responded with two more scored in the second quarter to take the lead. Tanney then found Evan Haffner with a 72-yard scoring strike in the third period and followed that up with a TD toss to Jason Myers to retake the lead 21-20. Tanney added an insurance score with 5:59 left in the game, taking the ball in from the one yard line for his second rushing TD of the day. Haffner ended the day with 16 receptions, shattering the previous high mark at Monmouth of 12 set by Terry Schneider in 1968. Tanney's 32 completions bested the old Monmouth mark of 26 set by Rob Purlee in 2003. The Scots defense limited St. Norbert in the second half as Monmouth outgained the Knights 413-301.

Game 2 -- Sept. 10, 2005
Monmouth vs. Ripon College, Monmouth, Ill.
Monmouth 48, Ripon 34
For the second straight week, a late-game scoring flurry by the opponent stole some of the luster from a dominant Fighting Scots victory. But make no mistake, the Scots did dominate, serving notice that they mean business in the Midwest Conference by racing to a 48-0 third-quarter lead against the Red Hawks. The Scots failed to score on their first drive, then reached the end zone on seven straight possessions. After Mitch Tanney found Jason Myers for a 16-yard scoring pass late in the first quarter, the Scots went to the station for some high octane, reeling off 34 second-quarter points. Tanney finished the day 17-of-25 with four TD passes, including two to Evan Haffner, who racked up 146 receiving yards. Dante Daniels added three rushing touchdowns en route to a 61-yard day. Justin Zigler led the defense with 13 tackles and he also picked off a pass and returned it 27 yards, setting up the Scots' final first-half TD.

Game 1 -- Sept. 3, 2005
Monmouth vs. Concordia (Wis.) University, Monmouth, Ill.
Monmouth 40, Concordia 26
In their 2005 season opener, the Fighting Scots picked up where they left off from a year ago, riding an efficient passing attack, a solid ground game and a stingy defense to their eighth straight victory. Last year's season finale saw quarterback Mitch Tanney throw six touchdown passes at Bobby Woll Memorial Field, and he was at it again vs. CUW, hooking up with Matt Hammer on scoring strikes of 35 and 20 yards. Tanney then made the Falcons pay for a pair of third-quarter fumbles, adding TD throws to Evan Haffner (20 yards) and Dan Morrison (46 yards) on the first play following the turnovers. His fourth and final touchdown pass made the score 37-6 with 2:24 remaining in the period, and Nathan Palkovic boosted the lead to 40-6 when he connected on a Monmouth College-record 45-yard field goal. Concordia made a game of it early, answering the Scots' Dante Daniels' 16-yard TD run with a 41-yard scoring pass from Justin Kammler to Jon Collier. Palkovic hit a 26-yard field goal to make the score 10-6 midway through the second period, and Hammer's first touchdown gave the Scots a 17-6 halftime lead. For the day, Tanney was 20-of-29 for 237 yards, with Haffner making a team-high nine catches for 94 yards. Daniels (42 yards) and Jeff Davis (46 yards) split most of the backfield duties for the Scots. The first-team defense was very solid, and it was led by senior linebacker Justin Zigler, who was in on 15 tackles. In the process, he surpassed Justin Oertle's career-record tackle total of 259. Kyle Cantwell added two fumble recoveries for MC, and Ryan Bast had an interception. For Concordia, Manny Mills rushed for 122 yards on 17 carries, and reserve quarterback Justin Lewis came into the game in the fourth quarter and broke off a 73-yard scoring run. The Falcons added a 12-yard TD pass from Trey Senney to Taylor Siolka with two seconds remaining.