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One down, eight to go
for Fighting Scots
Release Date:
September 18, 2008
MONMOUTH, Ill. —
Monmouth College football coach Steve Bell wasn’t
pleased with his team’s offensive performance in a 24-17 win over
Loras in Week 1. He’s pleased, but not satisfied, with the unit
after the Fighting Scots’ 47-2 win over Lawrence in Week 2 as his
team strives to run the table in the Midwest Conference and assure
themselves an NCAA post-season berth.
"I’m pretty pleased with putting 47 points on the board," said
Bell. "BUT, we can get better. There’s a whole lot of improvement we
can make. We did run the ball better, but there are some
improvements we need to make before we can say we’re clicking."
The Scots’ defensive unit clicked, yielding just 82 yards of
offense, which marks the stingiest total in more than 10 years.
Monmouth’s defense has kept opponents scoreless over the last six
quarters.
"Overall, we had a very solid defensive effort," praised Bell.
"We strive to get 11 guys to the ball on every play. We didn’t do
that, but we didn’t let them have any huge plays."
Monmouth will face a tough test this weekend at Beloit. The
Buccaneers fell 10-0 to Carroll in the conference opener last week
for both teams.
Beloit trailed 3-0 for most of the game and held Carroll
– picked as
one of the top teams in the league
– in check
until a rash of turnovers midway through the second half gave the
Pioneers enough opportunities on a short field to punch in the
game’s only touchdown.
"Beloit has a very experienced group," said Bell. "They’ve played
a lot of younger guys in previous years and now those guys are
veteran juniors and seniors. They’re definitely going to be a
formidable opponent. No doubt about it."
The Bucs are combining those upperclassmen with younger players
to present a multitude of challenges for Bell’s squad. The Scots
will have to prepare for a varied offensive attack from the
Buccaneers, who are averaging more than 200 yards per game this
season. They’re led by sophomore quarterback Matt Davis. He has
connected on 45 percent of his passes. Another underclassman,
freshman Terrance Steward, leads the ground game with 39 carries
through two games for 145 yards.
Beloit’s 4-3 defense has steadily improved in the first two
weeks. Sophomore linebackers Tony Baratti and Valde Raizys,
sophomore defensive lineman Eric Ritts and freshman defensive back
Vince Salucci anchor the unit and have combined for more than half
the team’s tackles. The Bucs have also picked off three passes.
The Scots know each game in the MWC is crucial if they want to
advance to the NCAA post-season for the second time. The Midwest
Conference isn’t a league liable to gain an at-large berth come
November, so a 9-0 or 8-1 league mark would be the best bet to
advance.
With the lofty goal of making the post-season, Bell’s offensive
and defensive strategies for Saturday’s matchup are simple: "We just
have to make sure we’re in position to make our plays."
Football
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