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See Scots run, see Scots win; tough
Carroll is up next
Release Date: September 19, 2006
MONMOUTH, Ill. — The book on Steve
Bell when he arrived on campus in 1999 to take over the Monmouth
College football program was that he was a run-oriented offensive
coordinator who had coached some big-time running backs at MacMurray
College.
However, blessed with the arms and talent of quarterbacks Rob Purlee
and Mitch Tanney for five full seasons, Bell’s Fighting Scot offense
quickly became known as an aerial show, with Purlee throwing 83
touchdown passes and Tanney eclipsing the NCAA single-season
completion percentage record. Tanney, in fact, brought such talent
to the table that he will participate in a workout for the
Philadelphia Eagles today.
So Saturday’s 31-0 victory at Beloit marked a return to Bell’s
roots, as Dante Daniels eclipsed the 200-yard mark for the second
straight week, breaking Ron Baker’s 33-year-old school record by
gaining 229 yards on 29 carries. The big day gave Daniels his second
straight Midwest Conference Offensive Performer of the Week honor,
and it moved him up to fourth in the nation in rushing at 178.3
yards per game.
“I’d rather run the ball,” said Bell, when asked about his
preference between a 200-yard rushing day from a back or a 300-yard
passing performance from his QB. “If you run the ball well, you can
still get the big chunks of yardage in the passing game. But if you
just rely on throwing the ball, you’re one-dimensional, and you’re
easier to defend.”
The Scots were one-and-a-half dimensional against Beloit, rushing
for 291 yards and 6.8 yards per carry, and passing for a relatively
low 113 yards. They did break off one big chunk of yardage through
the air, though, capping the game’s scoring in the third quarter
when Jared Mundt found Dan Morrison on a 44-yard TD connection.
Most of the rest of the Scots’ 404 yards came from Daniels, who had
“honestly, one of the most quiet 200-yard games I’ve ever seen,”
said Bell. “I’ve had guys gain 290 or 270 yards, and you knew they
had a big day because of some big-time runs. But I didn’t think
Dante had 200 yards until I saw the stats. He just had a lot of 10-
and 12-yard runs. It was very quiet.”
Indeed, Daniels didn’t break a run longer than 23 yards, but he did
have one of those to go with a pair of 22-yarders, including a
second-quarter quarter TD run. A dozen of his runs went for eight
yards or more.
“We could’ve played better up front, but we got Dante into space
enough times for him to pick up some yards,” said Bell. “I wasn’t
pleased with our multiple holding calls, and I say multiple, because
it was multiple.”
The Scots were penalized eight times for 104 yards, and another
century mark that irked Bell was 122 rushing yards accumulated by
Beloit’s Lee Rankinen.
However, the MC coach had to acknowledge a strong shutout effort by
a defense that was so dominant that the Buccaneers never got inside
the Monmouth 40.
“Other than a few plays, I’m pretty happy with the way we played
defensively,” he said.
The tackle leader was linebacker Marc Artozqui, who was in on nine
stops. Anthony Goranson had a sack and broke up a pass and Aaron
Payette picked off a pass and returned it 53 yards for a touchdown
to give the Scots a 24-0 halftime lead.
Another strong effort came on special teams from Nate Palkovic, who
made a field goal and four PATs, in the process breaking the school
record for conversion kicks. He now has 103. The junior also punted
six times for a 43.8-yard average, including a 55-yarder.
The Scots will need to be solid in all three phases of the game as
they face their stiffest test since the season opener this Saturday.
The opponent at 1:30 p.m. at Bobby Woll Memorial Field will be a
Carroll College team that is right on the fringe of becoming a huge
factor in the MWC.
“Athletically, they’re very good. Schematically, they’re very good,”
said Bell of the Pioneers, who are also 2-0 in the league after 29-0
and 49-14 victories over Beloit and Grinnell, respectively.
“They played a CCIW team in their season opener, and they should’ve
won that one, too,” said Bell, referring to a tough 10-6 loss
against Carthage. “They’re a good football team.”
And it promises to be a good football game, as the Pioneers have
scored 24 points or more against Monmouth in each of the last four
meetings, twice playing the Scots within a touchdown.
“Carroll has always matched up well against us,” said Bell. “I
expect the same type of game with them as we’ve had in the past.”
Carroll has been led this year by running back Bryce Crocker, who
has gained 282 yards rushing and another 138 through the air.
Quarterback Chris Rogers has passed for 463 yards and five scores.
On the other side of the ball, two linebackers lead the way, as
Jeremy Winter has three sacks and Christopher Albanese has made five
of his team-high 21 tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
“I’m glad we’re playing them at home,” concluded Bell. “It’s going
to be a challenge.”
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