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Scots face unfamiliar foe Release Date:
Nov. 19, 2008
MONMOUTH, Ill. —
The sign on Monmouth
College football coach Steve Bell’s door lists “Get to the second
round of the playoffs” as the team’s No. 1 goal in 2008 – a
reflection of the team’s early exit from their first playoff
experience in 2005.
In order to
achieve their goal, the No. 15-ranked Fighting Scots will have to
shut down an Aurora University team they haven’t faced this century.
Monmouth and Aurora have met on the gridiron only once and most of
the current players weren’t even born when the Scots won that game
42-27 in 1987.
Unlike the
regular season, the teams had no idea who they would play next until
Sunday afternoon. That short turnaround time didn’t affect the
Scots’ preparation.
“It’s no
different than normal,” said Bell of this week’s game prep. “The
only thing is, we didn’t know until Sunday who we would be playing,
so we obviously didn’t have the film exchange until Sunday night.
We’re really on the same schedule as any other week. The hard part
was not knowing.”
The Scots and
the Spartans had similar seasons, especially down the stretch. Both
teams posted blowout wins in their last three games – Monmouth
winning by an average score of 63-10, Aurora by a 46-6 margin. They
also share a common opponent as each defeated Lake Forest. Aurora
clipping the Foresters in the season-opener 35-13 and Monmouth
rolled to a 56-2 win over their conference opponent in Week 8.
Facing an
unfamiliar opponent doesn’t mean the two teams are total strangers.
Spartans quarterback Nate Peterson was recruited by Bell. Peterson’s
brother, Tim, played for Bell when the Scots’ coach was an assistant
at MacMurray College in the ’90s. MacMurray also faced Aurora while
Bell was on the Highlanders’ staff.
“Aurora is just
the way I remember them,” reported Bell. “They’ve got tough,
physical kids and they create a lot of turnovers.”
Those turnovers
– 30 interceptions and recovering 10 of 20 opponent fumbles – has
the Spartans ranked No. 1nationally in turnover margin, just ahead
of Monmouth at No. 2. They’ve also recorded 30 quarterback sacks and
have held opponents to a low 26 percent conversion rate on third
down.
Monmouth’s
top-ranked scoring offense will be tested by the Spartans’
“athletic” defensive unit, which is ranked No. 2 in the nation
(Monmouth is No. 4) and led by linebacker Mike Budzinski (67
tackles), defensive back Matt Meyer (9 interceptions) and defensive
lineman Pat Funk (7.5 sacks). That unit will have their hands full
trying to stop the Scots’ impressive passing game. Forty-two of the
Scots’ 68 touchdowns have come through the air and four receivers
have 30 catches or more. The Spartans post impressive numbers
against the pass and are ranked third nationally in pass defense.
However, more than 80 percent of the touchdowns Aurora has yielded
have been via the pass.
As far as the
Scots defending the Spartans, MC’s staff is keenly aware of
Peterson’s abilities.
“He’s athletic
enough to buy time when the protection breaks down,” said Bell.
“That puts pressure on our secondary and on our defensive line.
We’ll need to keep him contained.”
The Spartans
present the Scots with a “controlled” passing game, but don’t be
surprised if Aurora goes long. Ten of the Spartans receivers have
catches of at least 20 yards and three are over 40. Peterson’s
favorite target – Cory Cowan – has hauled in nearly twice as many
passes (31) as the next-closest receiver.
For their part,
the Scots’ defense has been stingy against the pass, recording 19
interceptions and 25 sacks. Monmouth’s biggest threats to the
Spartans’ passing game could be defensive end Anthony Goranson (10.5
sacks) and defensive back Willy Mason (6 interceptions). The Scots
aren’t bad against the run, either. Led by linebacker Marc Artozqui
(89 tackles), the Scots have held opponents to an average of under
100 yards per game on the ground.
Aurora’s ground
attack has been potent and completes its one-two punch, averaging
nearly 200 yards per game compared with 162 passing yards. That
means the Scots need to prepare for both. That’s something they have
done well this season while yielding just 15 touchdowns, three fewer
than the Spartans.
“If we had to
classify them, we’d say they’re a running team,” said Bell. “They’ve
got some good backs that can run. That doesn’t mean they can’t
stretch the field with vertical passing, too. Peterson can
definitely get the ball out there. They’re a little different from
what we’ve seen because of how they present their offense with their
formations. We’ll approach it the same way we do every week – we’ll
try to get 11 guys on the ball.”
Four of the
current Scots were in the playoffs in 2005 and three saw action.
Goranson and defensive back Cole Norman recorded tackles in the game
at St. John’s, wide receiver and then-backup quarterback Steve Zidow
took some snaps late in the game and linebacker Danny Weiden also
made the trip to Minnesota. That experience has helped the Scots
remain focused and even-keeled heading into the weekend.
“We have great
senior leadership,” praised Bell. “You don’t just come up with a
magic formula to prepare for a week like this. This preparation of
how you handle a situation like this begins on Day 1.”
The overall
game plan for the Scots is simple – take care of the ball, have
great special teams, stop the run and get some explosive plays on
offense. The end result could be achieving their No. 1 goal.
Football
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