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Back on track: Daniels’ big day
lifts MC past Lawrence 49-6
Release Date: September 12, 2006
MONMOUTH, Ill. — After being
blanked to start the season last week, the Fighting Scots offense
got rolling en route to 49-6 victory over Lawrence University in the
Midwest Conference opener for both teams.
In particular, Dante Daniels got rolling, as the senior speedster
rushed for 205 yards and four TDs, including a 71-yard score. His
big day ranks fifth on Monmouth's all-time single-game honor roll,
trailing only legendary Hall of Famer Ron Baker, who had four games
of 206 yards or better in the mid-1970s. Daniels also tied the
single-game TD record set by Barry Frakes in 1953 and equaled by
Baker in 1975.
The tailback, who now has 306 rushing yards in two games, told a
newspaper reporter that he used his track background to help him on
the 71-yard TD that is his longest run in a Monmouth uniform.
“On that play, I looked over and saw a dude coming on an angle, and
I was scared he was going to catch me,” he said. “But I started
thinking about some track stuff – getting my knees up – and I saw
the guy fade back.”
That defender’s sinking feeling has been shared by many sprinters
around the Midwest during the track season, who have seen Daniels
pull away en route to 100- and 200-meter dash victories. He is
Monmouth’s record-holder in the 100 and is third-best in the 200.
While Daniels’ performance led to headlines such as “Dante’s Peak”
and earned him the MWC Offensive Performer of the Week honor, coach
Steve Bell said the first thing that came to his mind when reviewing
the game was the job turned in by Monmouth’s defense.
“Our defense is what put us in those situations,” he said, referring
to the fact that four of the Scots’ seven scoring drives started in
Lawrence territory, including three that covered 23 yards or less.
“If you look at the game film, we were playing on the short field
almost the whole game. And when you hold their running game to just
49 yards, that definitely says a lot about the defense. They were
really flying around.”
The flustered Vikings committed six turnovers on the day, including
five fumbles. Sophomore linebacker Danny Weiden forced one of the
fumbles and recovered two others. Other defensive stars were junior
Doug Stichter, who had an interception, and sophomore Anthony
Goranson, who had a team-high seven tackles, including 2.5 behind
the line of scrimmage.
Sophomore quarterback Steve Zidow also shared the offensive
spotlight with Daniels, completing 10-of-13 passes for 157 yards and
three TDs. Seniors Evan Haffner and Shane Gordon and junior Jess
Miller each had one of the touchdown grabs, and Haffner finished
with a team-high 79 yards through the air and 141 all-purpose yards.
The special teams also had a solid contribution, as junior Nate
Palkovic drilled all seven PATs to give him 99 for his career, which
ties the school record.
The only breakdown of the game occurred in the third quarter, when
the Scots surrendered a 99-yard TD. Lawrence’s Aljay Wren, who
formerly burned the Monmouth defense as a member of St. Norbert’s
team, turned a short toss into the longest pass play in LU history.
That cut the Scots' lead to 28-6, but Daniels answered with his
fourth score, a 37-yard dash with 6:10 left in the period. His other
scores came on runs of one and 20 yards.
“We made a big improvement from Week 1 to Week 2,” said Bell. “Our
execution was a lot better, and we were more correct than we were in
the first game. We definitely made a big jump in that area.”
Up next for the Scots is a road trip to Beloit, Wis., where the
Scots will face a Buccaneer team led by first-year coach Chris Brann.
The Homecoming game will start at 2 p.m.
“First and foremost, this is a much-different Beloit team,” said
Bell, alluding to the fact that the Bucs are no longer coached by Ed
DeGeorge, who led the program for nearly 30 years. “Their offense is
new, but it’s similar to ours, so that will help us get a bead on
it. They’re also much better defensively than they have been.
They’ll be very sound.”
Beloit is off to a 1-1 start. The Bucs opened the year with a 10-0
win over Macalester before falling 29-0 to Carroll last Saturday.
The Pioneers kept star running back Lee Rankinen in check, holding
him to just 11 yards on 14 carries. Rankinen ruhed for 1,434 yards
last year and 1,196 yards in 2004. He had three TDs in last year’s
56-30 Monmouth victory.
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