Monmouth College has been playing football several decades longer than the pros, but the Fighting Scots’ list of walk-off scores is far shorter. The list grew by one last Saturday, though, when Kyle Wantland caught a five-yard touchdown pass from Alex Tanney to lift Monmouth to a 26-23 overtime victory in its Homecoming game against Illinois College. It was the Scots’ first walk-off TD since Kevin Matarelli turned the trick in 1994.

The Scots trailed three times in the game, with their final deficit coming when Conner McMakin’s 39-yard field goal staked the Blueboys’ to a three-point lead in overtime. In reality, though, that score was a victory for the Scots, who held IC to just three yards on three plays from the 25-yardline.

"We did a really nice job on second down," said Monmouth coach Steve Bell of the defensive stand. "That was the key. It put them in a third-and-long situation."

Nate Palkovic had already booted a school-record 46-yard field goal, so it figured that as long as the Scots didn’t go backward on their turn from the 25, they could do no worse than force a second OT.

The first play set the tone, as Tanney found Bobby Gibbs on a bootleg pass for 14 yards. A Jeff Davis run got the ball down to the 5 and, one play later, Tanney again rolled out and found Wantland in the back of the end zone.

"At first, their cornerback stayed with Kyle," said Bell. "Then Kyle kind of backed off and slipped into the back of the end zone. Alex pressed the line of scrimmage and right at the last second threw it to Kyle."

While the Scots had control in overtime, it was a different story in regulation. The Blueboys took leads of 7-0 and 13-10, and they worked themselves into good position at the end of

regulation. Starting from their own 19, they marched 58 yards to get within striking distance as the clock moved to under one minute remaining.

Cole Norman then made the Scots’ defensive play of the game, picking off a pass at the 1-yardline to preserve a 20-20 tie. Norman, who had another interception in the game and also forced a fumble, was named the Midwest Conference Defensive Player of the Week.

The Scots did not have an offensive nominee after a performance that Bell called "inconsistent."

Referring to four third-quarter drives that Monmouth started from between the MC 40 and midfield, Bell said, "We only got three points out of those and just didn’t make the plays to keep the drives alive.We had an opportunity to go up two or three touchdowns." In the first half, the Scots actually got zero points off of two drives that started in IC territory.

Tanney finished the game 27-of-42 for 200 yards, including a 35-yard TD pass to Nick Wright, and Davis rushed for 67 yards on 18 carries. Wright caught nine balls for 87 yards, including the only pass that went for more than 16 yards for the Scots. He also scored a touchdown on a fake field goal, putting the Scots up 17-13 on a one-yard run.

"He’s our holder, and he ran the ball, with the option to pitch to Nate," said Bell.

That special team success was part of a solid day for the unit, as Palkovic added a 27-yard field goal and two PATs to his record-breaking kick, which surpassed his previous best boot by a yard. Matt Shepherd had kickoff returns of 44 and 41 yards.

The Scots will now try to end their season on a three-game winning streak when they visit Galesburg to play Knox at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Speaking of streaks, Monmouth has won all seven Bronze Turkey games under Bell, and the overall streak stands at eight games. Knox’s last win was a 28-20 triumph in 1998.

"It is what it is," said Bell of the rivalry game. "We’ve got a lot riding on it. We’re shooting for a seven-win season and finishing second in the conference again. It’s definitely a great game to play in. I’ve enjoyed it every year I’ve been here, and I want the kids to have a passion to play in it."

The Prairie Fire are also streaking, having lost three consecutive games by an average score of 47-17. The last four trophy games have been even more one-sided, with Monmouth winning by an average margin of 39 points. Included in that run was a 48-0 victory the last time the Scots visited the Knox Bowl. Tanney’s older brother, Mitch, had his signature performance in that game, completing 21 of 23 passes for 405 yards and five TDs.

"We’re still going to try to run the ball," said Bell, who has seen the Scots throw for 19 touchdowns in the last four Bronze Turkey games. That included four aerial strikes last season,

when many fans thought that the success of the teams would be determined by first team All-MWC running backs Dante Daniels and Kevin Megli.

"If you look at our running and passing attempts, we’re very balanced," added Bell. "Against IC, we ran 38 times and passed 42. In my rathers, I’d rather run the ball and have a 300-yard running game than a 300-yard passing game. And that’s saying something, coming from a former quarterback."

Both Daniels and Megli are gone, but the Fire still feature a ground-based attack led by another 2006 all-league pick, Aaron Willits, who has 648 yards on 139 carries. Willits, however, missed Knox’s last game, and Bell did not know his status for Saturday.

Two other backs have rushed for more than 200 yards, and quarterback George Nicholson has added 266 yards and is averaging around four yards per carry on his non-sack carries.

Besides Willits, the Fire feature five other All-MWC players, including offensive linemen Brad Becque and Will Becque, linebackers Tyler Hill and Kevin Corley and defensive back Zack Lomonaco.

However, if the Scots have their way, this figures to be a contest that is decided far before the final play is run.