Scots have plenty to play for in 116th meeting with Knox

Release Date: November 2, 2004

MONMOUTH, Ill. — Although the Fighting Scots hope it’s not so, Saturday’s Bronze Turkey game against Knox College at 1 p.m. at Bobby Woll Memorial Field could mark the last time in a Monmouth College uniform for 14 seniors, including 10 starters.

Those seniors have compiled an impressive 29-10 record in their careers, and a victory in the 116th Monmouth-Knox game would make them part of just the sixth MC squad in history to win nine games. Monmouth reached nine wins or more in the 1906, 1931, 1972, 1987 and 1988 seasons.

There is a chance that the seniors’ careers could be extended beyond Saturday. That would happen if Monmouth won a three-way for the Midwest Conference title and was awarded an NCAA playoff berth. To accomplish that, Monmouth would have to be leading after every quarter against Knox, and Lake Forest would have to lead in every quarter of an upset win over five-time defending champion St. Norbert. Stranger things have happened, but not much.

MC coach Steve Bell is not focusing on what it will take for the Scots to reach the playoffs. Rather, he is looking at how Monmouth can close out the season with a win and improve to 5-0 against Knox under his direction.

“Throw it all out the door,” he said, when asked about the Prairie Fire’s 1-7 record. “Knox is a very capable football team, as they showed Saturday (in a 13-10 win over Illinois College). IC expected to walk in and beat them, but Coach (Andy) Gibbons had them ready to play. We’ve got to play our game on Saturday and worry about Monmouth and how we execute.”

That execution was near flawless in the final three quarters of last Saturday’s 39-24 victory over Carroll. The only real blemishes were a slow start, which led to an early 3-0 deficit, and a late fourth-quarter flurry by the Pioneers, which resulted in two TDs in a 13-second span in the final 1:03.

“We did a nice job of matching Carroll’s intensity early,” said Bell. “In the second half, we made some adjustments after we got a feel for what they were trying to do.”

Bell has credited defensive coordinator Chad Braun for some nice play calling during the Scots’ recent shutout streak, but he needs to take a bow himself for coordinating Monmouth’s offense in the second half against Carroll. He started his impressive game management with a call to throw a deep ball to Evan Haffner late in the first half which led to a go-ahead TD with 33 seconds to play. The momentum continued in the second half, as Monmouth didn’t have to punt and scored three TDs.

“That was a turning point,” said Bell of the 52-yard pass to Haffner, which took the ball down to Carroll’s 4-yard line. “We went to our best receiver, and their kid overplayed an out route.”

The hitch-and-go was followed one play later by Ed McCracken’s scoring run.

Bell was right on again in the third quarter, sending reserve running back Bobby Gibbs onto the field to start a series from the Carroll 35. On the first snap, reserve quarterback Shane Gordon threw in the flat to Gibbs, who sprinted to the end zone for a 32-10 lead.

“Bobby Gibbs is a terrific athlete, but it’s tough to get him on the field other than special teams,” said Bell. “We wanted to get him a touch. It was just one play, but it was big play. I think you saw what he can do.”

Gibbs’ touches have been limited because he plays behind two senior tailbacks, McCracken and Todd Sabean. Entering what could be their final games, Sabean has rushed for 2,495 yards for the Scots in his career, while McCracken has 1,409 yards, including a team-high 777 this year.

Other senior starters for Monmouth include 80 percent of the offensive line – Ryan Ferry, Paul Murphy, Marshall Price and Dan Wingler – tight end T.J. Gordon, linebacker Greg Monn and defensive backs Tyler Yarde and Matt Floming. Other seniors on the team are Scott DePue, Josh Estrada and Mike Fair.

Haffner, a sophomore, will enter the Knox game with several season records within reach. He is currently tied for the most TD receptions in a season with nine, and he will break yardage records with 150 receiving yards, 59 return yards and 108 all-purpose yards. His current average of 22.5 yards per reception is tied for the school record.

Knox’s top offensive weapon is running back Kevin Megli, who has rushed for 827 yards this season, including 117 in last week’s win.

“Based off previous games that we’ve seen, they want to get him off and get him his yards,” said Bell. “But this is the Monmouth-Knox game, so who knows?”

All that is certain is that the rivalry is the second-longest west of the Allegheny Mountains, the fourth-longest in Division III and the sixth-longest in the nation, and that Monmouth leads the series 55-50-10. The College Football Hall of Fame plans to highlight the storied rivalry in an upcoming exhibit.

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