After knocking St. Norbert out of a share of the conference lead with a 31-22 win last week, the Scots (6-0, 5-0) will face Ripon (5-1, 5-0) in Saturday’s battle for sole possession of first place.

The Red Hawks, who put together a late drive last season to nip the Scots 27-20, needed no last-minute heroics in last week’s 30-0 blanking of Beloit. Ripon led only 9-0 at halftime, but exploded for 21 second-half points in front of their Homecoming crowd while causing four Buccaneer turnovers.

Meanwhile at DePere, Wis., the Fighting Scots’ defense held the Green Knights to less than half their season scoring average and the offense went about business as usual in ending SNC’s league-record 29-game winning streak. Despite that success on both sides of the ball, it was the punt unit that turned the tide.

With the Scots nursing a 24-22 lead late in the third quarter, freshman Shane Reschke nailed a career-best 62-yard punt to pin the Green Knights at their own 5-yard line. Without gaining a single yard, St. Norbert went three-and-out and was forced to punt, giving Monmouth the ball near midfield.

Quarterback Alex Tanney then marched his team down the field, completing all six of his passes, while tailback Clay Bricker was grinding out 10 of his 75 yards on six carries during the 13-play, 54-yard drive. The Scots capped the drive when Tanney found Mike Blodgett in the back of the end zone for the sophomore receiver’s third TD grab of the day to give the Scots their nine-point margin of victory.

"There were a lot of crucial plays, but that punt was huge," said coach Steve Bell. "It dramatically changed field position. It pinned them back and forced them to have to drive the field.

"Clay did a great job," continued Bell. "It won’t show up with great stats and he didn’t have a ton of yards, but he did what we needed him to do in that game situation."

The Scots will face a similar, yet unfamiliar situation when they host Ripon Saturday at 1 p.m.

Like last week’s game, it will be a battle of two teams still unbeaten in conference play. Similar to St. Norbert, Ripon prefers to run the ball. Ironically, Ripon runs an option attack much like the Scots did under Kelly Kane from 1984-99.

"It’s a little difficult to prepare for," said Bell. "It’s not the type of offense you see that often in college ball and they are very efficient with it."

Ripon’s double-slot option offense has rolled up an average of more than 300 yards per game – more than 240 of it on the ground. They’ve attempted just 62 passes this season, a stark contrast to the Scots, who passed 43 times last week.

The Red Hawks’ offense is led by quarterback Matt Miller. The sophomore stepped into a leading role when senior Tygh Walters was sidelined after the first game of the season with an injury. Walters had gained 161 yards in the Red Hawks’ 14-13 loss to UW-Oshkosh. In Walters’ absence, Ripon has spread the ball around. Four players have between 252 and 388 yards, with Miller getting the majority of the carries.

"We need to put them in predictable circumstances," said Bell. "Their offense is built around running the ball, getting it to their fullback, the quarterback making good decisions and only throwing when they want to. Our job is to make them throw when they don’t want to. That means we’ve got to put them in third-and-long situations. First and second downs will be crucial."

Crucial for the Red Hawks will be to stop, or at least control, the Monmouth offense. The Scots have the MWC’s top yardage and No. 2 scoring offense. Ripon’s three-man front alignment has been proficient, holding opponents to around 250 yards and 10 points per game.

"They are very athletic, especially in the defensive backfield," reported Bell. "We’ll have to throw the ball well. This will be a big test."

There’s one other test the Scots will need to pass. Can Monmouth avoid a letdown after last weekend’s big win? Bell is confident his team is focused on Ripon and not concerned about an emotional letdown or the extra distraction of Homecoming.

"Our guys know we have one task at hand and that’s to play our best football to have a chance to succeed against Ripon," said Bell. "The players understand this is one step in the process. It’s in the same context as last week’s game with St. Norbert."

Bell is also hoping it’s in the same win-loss column as last week.