Best-ever passing game highlights seventh-straight ‘Bronze Turkey’ win

Release Date: November 9, 2005

Mitch Tanney

MONMOUTH, Ill. — Mitch Tanney was already thinking about it in the huddle. Coach Steve Bell was shouting it – quietly – from the sideline.

“It” wound up being the perfect symbiosis of head coach, quarterback and receiver and the perfect marriage of game sense and execution.

“It” was the last pass that Monmouth College quarterback Mitch Tanney would throw in a regular season college football game, and “it” was his best.

“I’m not kidding you, that’s the best ball that I’ve ever seen any of my quarterbacks throw,” said Bell, who has served as a head coach or assistant for the past 14 years. “That was a laser.”

Tanney’s 66-yard touchdown pass to Matt Hammer was his fifth scoring strike of the day and accounted for the final points in Monmouth’s 48-0 Bronze Turkey win over Knox, the Scots’ seventh straight win in a rivalry that dates back to 1888. It finished off a day that saw the senior complete 21-of-23 passes for a school-record 405 yards. His 91.3 percent accuracy tied an NCAA Division III record set in 1995.

With the Prairie Fire sitting in a Cover 3 scheme, Tanney noticed the free safety had been starting from the left hash, rather than the middle of the field. Although Hammer wasn’t the primary receiver on the play, Tanney made sure to tell him in the huddle to keep his route “skinny” or vertical.

As inconspicuously as possible, Bell voiced the same “Keep it skinny” message to Hammer as he lined up wide right.

The result was a 35-yard strike down the middle that hit Hammer in stride and split the free safety and cornerback. Hammer never slowed as he continued his slant across the field and dived into the end zone.

“Mitch was on,” said Bell of the record-setting performance. “I could tell in warmups that he was throwing the ball well. During the game, you could tell that he was seeing things very clearly.”

The touchdown to Hammer wasn’t the only time that Tanney switched off the primary receiver and wound up with a score. It also occurred on a 36-yard strike to Evan Haffner with just 21 seconds to play in the first half.

The Scots had a 21-0 lead with under two minutes to go, and the Haffner score came in the midst of a devastating three-touchdown surge in three minutes. Blake VonHolten started the scoring blitz with a 75-yard interception return with 1:41 left in the half. Haffner’s TD gave the Scots a 35-0 halftime lead, and Tanney then hit Dan Morrison for an 86-yard touchdown on Monmouth’s second play of the third quarter.

“You don’t ever throw the perfect ball – although the last one to Hammer was about as good as you can get – but Mitch always put the ball in an area where our guys can make the catch,” said Bell. “He throws a very catchable ball.”

“I have to say, I’m glad I don’t ever have to coach against Mitch Tanney again,” said Knox’s head man, Andy Gibbons. “That guy is so good, it’s scary.”

Indeed, Tanney can now lay claim to one of the top ratings ever for an NCAA quarterback. His 21 completions pushed him past the 325 needed for a career to qualify for the pass efficiency record. With only the playoffs ahead of him, Tanney has a career rating of 179.56, good for fourth all-time in Division III and fifth among all divisions.

He returned to the No. 1 spot for the season in DIII passing efficiency at 192.86, and that mark is good for second among all divisions. His completion percentage this fall of 74.4 would be the DIII record if the season ended today.

“I had no idea I had a day like that,” Tanney told reporters following the game. “But if I did, it was because of our offensive line. They just did a great job all day and gave me all the time I needed to throw the ball.”

The line includes senior Matt Woods, juniors Tony Russo and Joe Freitag and sophomores Brad Reinhart and Tom Fabian.

Linemen can get overlooked during the course of a season, and so can a team’s defensive unit. With the exception of linebacker Justin Zigler, Scots’ defenders have been flying under the radar all year, but they turned in another strong effort Saturday, holding the Prairie Fire to three yards per carry and forcing them into a 9-of-28 passing day. While Tanney compiled a mind-blowing 310.9 efficiency rating for the day, the defense held Knox to a rating of 35.9.

“Our defense did a tremendous job,” praised Bell, who saw Monmouth’s lead in the all-time series grow to 57-50-10.

Leading tackler Jason Goldsworthy, who had missed Monmouth’s last two games, returned to the lineup and “filled holes like a rocket,” said Bell. “He was really seeing things out there. He had four tackles for loss, and none of them were on blitzes.”

VonHolten picked off two passes, and Aaron Payette had the team’s other interception. Ryan Bast did not pick off a pass but broke up two plays and added a key 31-yard punt return to set up the Scots’ final score of the first half.

The Scots are idle this Saturday, and Bell believes Monmouth’s open week comes at a great time. The Scots will use the break for several purposes, including letting some injuries heal and working on correcting some “fundamental mistakes.” Bell said those flaws are in danger of being exposed by a playoff-caliber team, so the extra week of practice will be used “to make us better.” Monmouth’s staff might also possibly watch some area games on Saturday that might feature their first-round playoff opponent.

That foe will be announced Sunday on ESPNews at noon Central time, shortly after the news at the top of the hour.

Whoever it is, the Scots will be in for a hard battle. But that opponent will also have to deal with a talented Monmouth defense and an offense that features red-hot Mitch Tanney, the top-ranked quarterback in Division III.

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