Lake Forest stumped, will Grinnell be next?

Release Date: October 5, 2004

MONMOUTH, Ill. — Every football team that plays the Monmouth College Fighting Scots starts with “0,” but very few teams finish with that score. In fact, each of Monmouth’s last 110 opponents had posted points entering last Saturday’s game at Bobby Woll Memorial Field.

But try as it might, visiting Lake Forest could not find the end zone or even kick a field goal. The Foresters fell 14-0 to the Scots, in the process watching their chances of an unbeaten season crash to the ground beneath a flurry of red-shirted Monmouth defenders.

“The biggest thing with how our defense played was that we played with a ton of energy,” praised MC head coach Steve Bell. “You could just see that in the way our guys were flying around. When they did catch it, we were there to make the tackle.”

Catching it, though, was a problem for the Foresters, who attempted 52 passes. A staggering 33 of them fell to the ground incomplete, including several that were knocked away by the likes of defensive lineman Tyler Dihle and cornerback Ryan Bast.

Forester ballcarriers also dropped to the ground at an alarming rate. Linebacker T.J. Scruggs was in on 12 total tackles for the Scots. Scruggs had two sacks, including one that turned the ball over on downs on one of the Foresters’ few advances into Scots’ territory. Right behind was linebacker Justin Zigler, who was in on 11 stops and was “outstanding,” according to Bell.

“We really limited their big-play opportunities,” said Bell. “It was catch-tackle, catch-tackle. Maybe they moved the chains a few times, but it’s tough to go all the way down the field without breaking off a big play.”

The Foresters had just four plays over 20 yards, and they entered the “red zone” only once, failing to gain a yard in four plays from the Monmouth 17 late in the third quarter. They went three-and-out on four possessions, including two times in the final period.

Bell said that despite the hype generated by two teams who had each scored 45 points the week before, he knew points would be at a premium.

“It’s always going to be a low-scoring game against them,” he said. “Early in the game when I saw how well our defense was playing, I knew we had a good chance.”

On the offensive end, Monmouth was just good enough, getting two first-half TD passes

from Mitch Tanney and a 100-yard game from Todd Sabean, who carried the ball 34 times.

“Todd really did a nice job handling the load,” praised Bell, who generally plays at least two different tailbacks during the course of a game. “He was pretty much the main and only ballcarrier. We got exactly what we needed out of him.”

Bell noted that Sabean’s senior running mate Ed McCracken could have played in an emergency, but Sabean’s workmanlike effort allowed McCracken time to heal for Monmouth’s Homecoming opponent this Saturday, the Grinnell Pioneers.

“Grinnell has good skill kids,” said Bell, referring to players such as Nate Wineinger, who leads the conference with 144.5 rushing yards per game, and Sean Pfalzer, who tops the league with 263.8 passing yards per contest. “They’re so multiple on offense that they’re really tough to defend. We need to manage their big-play opportunities like we did against Lake Forest. One way to do that is to keep their offense off the field.”

Last year’s quarterback, Trey Raney, is one of Pfalzer’s top receivers, as are Matt Teeters and Chris Villa. Wineinger is also a receiving threat, and he currently leads the Midwest Conference in all-purpose yards per game.

When Monmouth has the ball, it will have to account for standout defensive lineman Delwin Pinkins, who Bell said is “tough to block.” Pinkins leads the MWC in sacks per game.

Grinnell isn’t the only team with statistical leaders, though. The Fighting Scots lead the conference in kickoff return average, passing efficiency, pass defense efficiency and PAT accuracy. In the latter department, Nathan Palkovic is a perfect 20-for-20, to go with a solid punting average of 38.1, good for second in the league.

Concluded Bell, whose team is now 4-1 overall and 3-1 in the MWC, “We’re getting better every game. The key is to keep the momentum going. This far into the season, we expect to be playing our best football. You should play better every week.”

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