Fighting Scots 2008 Football Game Summaries

Nov. 29, 2008
NCAA Second-Round Playoff Game
Monmouth vs. Wartburg College, Monmouth, Ill.
Wartburg 30, Monmouth 28 (11-1)
With just seven seconds remaining on the clock, quarterback Nick Yordi connected with wide receiver Justin Vetter to allow Wartburg College to complete a 30-28 come-from-behind victory over Monmouth College in round 2 of the Division III playoffs.
 
 “I was at a loss for words--I didn’t know what to say,” said Wartburg head coach Rick Willis shortly after the game. “We talk all the time about playing 60 minutes and keep battling and it doesn’t get any better example of a team battling than that. It was a great job of our team hanging in there.”
 Monmouth, which came into the game with a 14-game winning streak, led the entire contest, after jumping out to an early 14-0 lead in the first quarter. Sophomore quarterback Alex Tanney threw touchdown passes to Kramer Matzen at 10:42 and two Kyle Weyeneth at 0:58. A missed field goal by Spencer Herzber at 7:46 preserved Monmouth’s shutout.
 
 Early in the second quarter, running back Alex Boom brought the Knights closer with a two-yard run, but less than five minutes later, Caleb Pratt punched the ball in for the Fighting Scots, giving them a 20-7 lead, after the extra point by Kyle Tuor failed.
 
 In the second half, the Knights effectively shut down Tanney’s passing attack while mounting their own dogged offensive campaign. Monmouth took the opening kickoff, advancing from its own 17 to the Wartburg 36. On third and eight, Wartburg’s Jake Braun recovered a Scots fumble. Nine plays later, the Knights cut the lead to 28-21.
 
 In the first play of the fourth quarter, Wartburg punted, backing the Scots up to their own 2-yard line.
 
 On the ensuing play, the Scots fumbled, setting up a Knights’ field goal, bringing Wartburg to within four.
 
 Monmouth started its final drive with 5:53 remaining in the quarter. Tanney was efficient, completing passes to Steve Zidow, Matt Shepherd and Mike Blodgett, setting up a first-and-10 on the Wartburg 20, and forcing Wartburg to take a timeout with 1:49 remaining. A six-yard rush by Caleb Pratt took the Scots to the 17-yard line, and Wartburg took its final timeout at 1:42.
 
 A false start by Monmouth, followed by an incomplete pass to Shepherd, set up a fourth-and-6 at the 16-yard line and a delay of game penalty pushed the Scots back to the 21. On fourth-and-11, Tanney threw an incomplete pass, allowing Wartburg’s Yordi to begin his victory march up the field with 1:34 remaining on the clock.
 
 With the Scots playing a zone defense to protect against a big play, Yordi got the Knights to their own 40-yard-line before throwing two consectuitve incomplete passes. On third-and-10, however, he got loose and rushed for 19 yards to the Monmouth 41. Two more completions set the Knights up on the Monmouth 23-yard  line with time winding down.
 
 On third and 10, Yordi threw to the end zone, with Vetter making a game-winning leaping grab.
 
 “I wasn’t really worried,” said Yordi, whose 276 passing yards made him the career top-passing quarterback in Wartburg history. “We do two-minute once or twice a week to prepare for situations like this. Obviously it’s hard with no time outs to throw a ton of balls down the middle, but the team did a great job, the line protecting all the way down. The clock was ticking there and Justin made a heck of a play.”
 
 Vetters, who had dropped two key passes earlier in the game, felt relieved. “It feels great,” he said. “I really still can’t believe it. After I dropped that one earlier I was kind of down in the dumps. It was a roller-coaster ride. I just had to push those out of my mind and then on that last play I saw the ball in the air and I went and got it.”
 
 Monmouth coach Steve Bell, who was seconds away from seeing his team win its second playoff game ever, was philosophical about the loss, defending his decision to loosen the defense during Wartburg’s final drive. “What we did was the right thing to do,” he said. “The kid made a heck of a catch, so you’ve got to give credit on that one.”

Nov. 22, 2008
NCAA First-Round Playoff Game
Monmouth vs. Aurora University, Monmouth, Ill.
Monmouth 42 (11-0), Aurora 13
The Fighting Scots enjoyed hosting their first-ever NCAA playoff football game so much that they’re going to do it again next week. With both gridiron teams looking for their first-ever NCAA playoff win, Monmouth defeated Aurora on the strength of five touchdown passes by Alex Tanney and a defense that forced four turnovers from a Spartan team that led the nation in turnover margin entering the game. The Scots were up 35-0 at one point, but if a second-quarter play had gone the Spartans’ way, the game could have been close for a lot longer. Monmouth had opened the scoring by going 66 yards on 14 plays on its second drive. A 4-yard pass from Tanney to Mike Blodgett gave the Scots a 6-0 lead with 4:31 left in the first quarter. Aurora responded with a solid drive and had moved just outside the red zone early in the second quarter when a pass by Nate Peterson was tipped by linebacker Danny Weiden and intercepted by Kyle Harmon, who returned it 34 yards. The Scots then drove 62 yards for a touchdown, with Blodgett catching two balls for 49 yards, including a 17-yard scoring strike on a fourth-down play. The Spartans’ fumbled the ensuing kickoff and, after the teams traded punts, Monmouth scored again on an 11-yard slant from Tanney to Kyle Weyeneth for a 20-0 lead with 4:02 left in the first half. The Scots received the kickoff to start the second half and were at their absolute peak efficiency, taking just four pass plays to four different receivers to complete a 60-yard scoring drive. The final 15 were covered by Steve Zidow, who topped Monmouth with 107 receiving yards. On Aurora’s first drive of the half, Anthony Goranson sacked Peterson and forced a fumble, which was recovered by Marc Wozniak in the Spartans’ territory. A 39-yard pass to Zidow put the ball on the 1-yard line, and Caleb Pratt punched it in for a 35-0 lead. Peterson had a 1-yard TD run in the third quarter and a 4-yard scoring pass to Cory Cowan in the fourth. In between was Blodgett’s third TD catch of the day from Tanney, who completed a collegiate-best 31 passes in 45 attempts for 366 yards. Matt Shepherd caught eight balls for 74 yards and Blodgett added six catches for 68. Marc Artozqui had a team-high 12 stops and Weiden added 10. Both of Goranson’s tackles came in the backfield.

Nov. 1, 2008
Monmouth vs. Illinois College, Jacksonville, Ill.
Monmouth 78 (9-0, 8-0), Illinois College 17
The Fighting Scots put an exclamation point on their Midwest Conference title-clinching win at Illinois College. Monmouth rolled up a school-record 50 first half points on the way to a 78-17 win over the Blueboys, clinching their second MWC crown since 2005. The 78 points was the most points scored since an 81-0 win over Iowa Western in 1900 and their 11 TDs tied the school record set in 1992. The Scots, who scored on their first three possessions, got a team-high three touchdowns from freshman back Caleb Pratt. Nick Wright hauled in seven passes for 177 yards, including an 89-yard TD reception from Alex Tanney to begin the second quarter as the Scots cranked out 579 yards of offense. Monmouth's defense held IC to just 31 yards rushing and didn't allow Illinois College to get any closer than the Scots' own 48 in the second half. Willy Mason picked off two IC passes, returning one 38 yards for a score near the end of the first quarter to give Monmouth a 29-10 lead. 

Oct. 25, 2008
Monmouth vs. Lake Forest, Monmouth, Ill.
Monmouth 56 (8-0, 7-0), Lake Forest 2
Monmouth's offense racked up 28 first quarter points and the defense allowed Lake Forest to cross midfield just twice over the entire game as the Scots stayed unbeaten with a 56-2 win over the Foresters. Monmouth scored on five of their first seven possessions to open up a 35-0 halftime lead. In the first four minutes of the game, Alex Tanney hit Nick Wright with a 45-yard scoring strike and Clay Bricker hauled in an 18-yarder as the Monmouth remained atop the Midwest Conference standings. Bricker added his second TD of the afternoon with a one-yard run to make it 21-0. Wright opened the second half scoring with his second TD reception of the day, an 11-yard catch-and-run to cap a nine-play, 54-yard drive. Sean Gillen scooped up a Forester fumble late in the fourth quarter to end the scoring for the Scots. Willy Mason picked off two passes as the Monmouth defense recorded two sacks on the way to holding Lake Forest to just 94 yard of offense.

Oct. 18, 2008
Monmouth vs. Ripon, Monmouth, Ill.
Monmouth 38 (7-0, 6-0), Ripon 35
Alex Tanney hit Matt Shepherd with 1:45 left in the game for Shepherd's second TD reception as Monmouth pulled out a 38-35 come-from-behind win over Ripon to take sole possession of first place in the Midwest Conference. In the battle of conference co-leaders, Ripon's Joshua Kraemer took the  opening kick 84 yards to put the Red Hawks up 7-0 just 12 seconds into the game. The Scots came back with three unanswered scores - Shepherd's first TD reception, a Kyle Tuor 20-yard field goal and Clay Bricker's pounding seven-yard run. Ripon, trailing 24-22 at halftime, charged out of the gate with three second half TDs and led 35-25 with eight minutes left. Bricker picked up 17 of his career-high 158 yards on the Scots next possession and Tanney found Kyle Weyeneth with a 25 yard scoring strike capping the 72-yard drive to trim the deficit to 35-32 with 5:25 remaining. The Scots elected to kick long on the ensuing kickoff and kept Ripon inside their own 20 on the return. The defense held Ripon to three-and-out, setting up the late heroics. Tanney completed 31-of-53 passes for 348 yards. Mike Blodgett had eight catches for 108 yards. Marc Artozqui led the defense with 17 tackles. 

Oct. 11, 2008
Monmouth vs. St. Norbert, DePere, Wis.
Monmouth 31 (6-0, 5-0), St. Norbert 22
The Fighting Scots put themselves firmly in the driver's seat in the Midwest Conference race with a 31-22 come-from-behind win at St. Norbert. Monmouth's win coupled with Ripon's 30-0 win against Beloit set up another battle of conference unbeatens next week. St. Norbert looked as if they were ready to continue their record 29-game conference unbeaten streak by jumping out to a 10-0 first quarter lead. The Scots responded with 10:03 left in the first half when Alex Tanney found Mike Blodgett for the duo's first of three scoring hookups on the day. After Tanney hit Matt Shepherd with a scoring pass on the Scots' first possession of the second half to take a 21-15 lead, the Green Knights' countered with Dante Sims' 19-yard TD run to regain the lead for St. Norbert 22-21. The Scots quickly answered, capping a 10-play, 54-yard drive with Kyle Tuor's 36-yard field goal to take the lead for good, 24-22. After a series of three-and-outs by both teams, the Scots tacked on an insurance score on Blodgett's third TD reception of the afternoon. Marc Artozqui continued to lead the Scots defense with 12 tackles. Sean Wells and Cole Norman added 10 each and Anthony Goranson added nine tackles with two sacks. St. Norbert rolled up 400 yards of offense - 243 on the ground. Monmouth racked up 393 yards - 329 through the air. Monmouth handed St. Norbert their last conference loss in 2005.

Oct. 4, 2008
Monmouth vs. Grinnell, Grinnell, Iowa
Monmouth 69 (5-0, 4-0), Grinnell 0
Monmouth scored on 11 of its 16 possessions en route to a 69-0 blowout of Grinnell to stay unbeaten on the year. Alex Tanney hit Matt Shepherd with a 24 yard TD pass in the first three minutes of the game to begin the onslaught as the Scots' 35 second quarter points set the school record for single-quarter scoring. Clay Bricker picked up two touchdowns to go with his team-high 99 yards rushing and Casey Orwig added two rushing scores of his own. Tanney threw for five touchdowns, each to a different receiver as Monmouth rolled up 571 yards of offense - 327 through the air. Led by Marc Artozqui's 10 tackles and Wes Levy's nine, the Scots limited the Pioneers to less than 200 yards as Grinnell was only able to crack the red zone once. The win sets up a Midwest Conference showdown next week when the Scots travel to DePere, Wis., to meet defending league champion St. Norbert who is also 4-0 in conference play.

Sept. 27, 2008
Monmouth vs. Carroll, Monmouth, Ill.
Monmouth 41 (4-0, 3-0), Carroll 20
The Scots took advantage of back-to-back turnovers in the second half to break a 20-20 deadlock and cruise to a 41-20 win over the Pioneers. Kramer Matzen recovered a botched punt return to give Monmouth the ball at the Carroll four yard line. Alex Tanney then promptly hit Kyle Wantland for the touchdown as the Scots went up 27-20. MC's Cole Norman picked off a Chris Casper pass on the first play after the ensuing kickoff and returned it 34 yards to the Pioneer 15. Two plays later, Tanney found Steve Zidow in the end zone to open up a two TD cushion. Tanney's six TD passes tied his brother Mitch's 2004 record for most TD passes in a game. Marc Artozqui's 11 tackles led the Monmouth defense and Anthony Goranson added two more sacks to his team-leading total. Goranson, Danny Weiden and Sean Wells each tallied seven stops.

Sept. 20, 2008
Monmouth at Beloit, Beloit, Wis.
Monmouth 51 (3-0, 2-0), Beloit 3
Monmouth's Matt Shepherd set the tone early, running back the opening kick 99 yards for a touchdown as the Scots cruised to an easy 51-3 win at Beloit. Shepherd's long TD return is second only to Ray Brooks 100-yard scamper against Carlton in 1951 and the first kickoff returned for a TD since Shepherd turned the trick last October against Lake Forest. Alex Tanney threw for five touchdowns and found seven receivers for 303 yards, completing 27 of 35 attempts while getting intercepted once. Kyle Wantland hauled in nine passes for 94 yards and two touchdowns and Nick Law had four carries to net 80 yards. After one Beloit trip to the Scots' 39 on their second possession, Monmouth's defense kept the Bucs at bay and didn't allow them any closer to the end zone than the Monmouth 42 until early in the fourth quarter. Marc Artozqui and Anthony Goranson led the defense - Artozqui with 10 tackles and Goranson with six solo tackles, five for losses. 8

Sept.13, 2008
Monmouth vs. Lawrence at Monmouth, Ill.
Monmouth 47 (2-0, 1-0), Lawrence 2
Monmouth reeled off more than 400 yards of offense on a soggy field and the defense wasn't scored upon in a 47-2 win at the Scots' new April Zorn Memorial Stadium. Matt Shepherd's 31-yard punt return to the Lawrence one set up Monmouth's first score - an Alex Tanney to Shane LaDew pass and the Scots were on their way. Three second quarter scores made it a 27-2 lead at halftime after a Monmouth fumble in their end zone resulted in a Vikings safety. Noah Roseland's first collegiate touchdown gave Monmouth a 13-0 lead and Caleb Pratt's debut TD posted the Scots  to a 20-2 lead before Mike Blodgett hauled in a Tanney pass for a TD after Kyle Harmon picked off a Lawrence pass with less than a minute left in the first half. Roseland and Pratt picked up two more second half TDs. Danny Weiden and T.C. Olsen led a stingy Monmouth defense that allowed just 82 yards. The tanden recorded eight tackles apiece andWeiden also intercepted a pass.

Sept. 6, 2008
Monmouth at Loras, Dubuque, Iowa
Monmouth 24 (1-0), Loras 17
Monmouth rebounded from a 17-9 halftime deficit to post a 24-17 win over Loras. The Scots trailed 7-0 midway through the first quarter, but tied the game when Alex Tanney hit Shane LaDew with a three yard scoring pass. Anthony Goranson's stop of Loras' Vaughn Gesing in the Duhawk endzone gave the Scots a 9-7 lead just eight seconds into the second quarter. The Duhawk's TD to make it 17-9 just two minutes before halftime would be the last score for Loras. The Scots stifled Loras in the second half and after recovering a Duhawk fumble on the Loras one yard line, Casey Orwig's one yard run and a Tanney to Kyle Wantland two-point conversion made it 17-17 midway through the third quarter. Converted QB Steve Zidow hauled in a Tanney pass for a five yard TD to give the Scots a 24-17 lead with 1:49 left in the quarter. After the Scots took the lead, the defense didn't allow the Duhawks to get any closer than the Monmouth 44. That drive was thwarted with Goranson's sack of Gesing for a 14 yard loss.