New-and-improved Lawrence presents challenge for Scots

MONMOUTH, Ill. — Forget everything you think you know about Midwest Conference football. The 2003 season looks like it will mark a changing of the guard, at least among the teams not named St. Norbert.

The four-time defending champion Green Knights were nearly made painfully aware of the new order, hanging on for a 28-24 victory on Saturday against a Lawrence University team that won a total of three MWC games from 2000-02. The teams actually scored an equal amount of touchdowns, but St. Norbert was 4-for-4 on PATs, while Lawrence sandwiched two missed kicks around a pair of unsuccessful two-point conversions.

LU’s Vikings are headed to Monmouth next weekend, and Fighting Scot coach Steve Bell knows that his squad will have its hands full. The Vikings feature the league’s top receiver, Zach Michael, and its top running back, Justin Berrens. Michael, who had 279 receiving yards and three TDs the last time he came to town in 2001 – including a 96-yarder – torched St. Norbert for 220 yards and four scores last week en route to winning the conference’s Offensive Performer of the Week honor. He leads all MWC receivers with 33 catches and 590 yards.

The hard-running Berrens gained 215 yards against the nationally-ranked Green Knights, upping his season total to 714 on 149 carries. He’s more than 200 yards ahead of the next-closest back, Grinnell’s Adam Wallace.

“Lawrence looks good,” said Bell. “They’ve got some players. They’ve got a great running back and a great wide receiver. That showed in the St. Norbert game. They’re playing with a lot of confidence. We better be prepared.”

Linebacker Scott Caroen and defensive back Ned Connors lead the MWC in total tackles per game with 11.4, while defensive back Jacques Haquebord is also in the top 10 with 10.0 stops.

As the aforementioned PAT woes indicate, Lawrence’s Achilles heel is its kicking game. Jeff Wiswell is just 3-for-8 on PATs, and he doesn’t have a field goal.

While Lawrence nearly staged an upset for the ages last weekend, the Vikings do own a pair of league wins over Carroll and Beloit. Both are quality Ws, especially when you consider the fact that Carroll, another previously down-and-out league squad, topped previous power Ripon earlier this month, and Beloit is a perennial upper division program.

What all the MWC topsy-turvyness means is that Monmouth is now the league’s second-place team. What it also means is that all four of Monmouth’s remaining games are up for grabs, and the Scots can ill afford a repeat of last week’s shaky performance in a 30-20 win over Grinnell.

“We better get our game in gear,” said Bell. “If we play like we did against Grinnell, we’re going to be in trouble. We’d better get improved play up front on both sides of the ball.”

Bell noted that “brutal” weather conditions dominated the second half of the game, but still, he said, “We did not play up to the level of our expectations. We need to shore up a few things. (Quarterback) Rob (Purlee) wasn’t on his game, but part of that was because he wasn’t able to practice much. He’s fine now. Football is really a game of inches. We were 18 inches from a blowout. He was six inches away, six inches away and six inches away on three passes that just went off receiver’s fingertips. One would have been an 89-yarder and another would have been 65. We were that close to having a big game.”

As it was, the big game belonged to Todd Sabean, who ran for three TDs and gained 126 yards. Running mate Oscar Scott totaled 134 yards on 16 carries.

If Monmouth can win out against Lawrence, Illinois College, Carroll and Knox – all currently between fourth and eighth in the MWC – and St. Norbert stumbles against Lake Forest later this fall, the Scots could claim a share of the league title.

“Like I said last week, these last five games (including Grinnell) are going to be extremely competitive,” said Bell. “All five teams are playing better.”

While Lawrence brings the league’s top receiver to town, the No. 2 man resides in Monmouth, and he can also be called No. 1. Although senior Nathan Gaskill is currently second to Michael in catches (28) and receiving yards (477), he recently eclipsed a pair of Fighting Scots’ career receiving marks. Gaskill now has 103 catches in three-and-a-half seasons for 1,835 yards, breaking the old standards of 101 (Mike Hurckes) and 1,677 (Andrew Tyra).

“Nathan’s a tremendous athlete,” said Bell. “He can run, he’s strong and he’s tall. Every year, he’s become more complete as a receiver. His routes are better, and his maturity and understanding of the game are the best that they’ve been. He runs good routes, he blocks and he gets good yards after the catch. Any honors he gets will be well-deserved.”

Purlee currently leads all MWC signal-callers with 1,426 passing yards, an average of 237.7 per game. He also has a league-high efficiency rating of 153.8, completing 90-of-156 passes with 14 TDs and eight interceptions.