|
Scots could clinch title with win
Release Date: Oct. 29, 2009
MONMOUTH, Ill. —
There’s a lot riding
on the outcome of Monmouth College’s 1 p.m. game this Saturday
against Illinois College at April Zorn Memorial Stadium.
Ranked No. 10 by
both the D3football.com and American Football Coaches Association
polls, the Scots – 8-0 overall and 7-0 in Midwest Conference play –
could clinch the league’s automatic NCAA playoff berth with a win
over IC (5-2 in MWC). For the Blue Boys’ part, they’re in position
for a top-three finish and looking for redemption from last year’s
78-17 loss to Monmouth in Jacksonville.
“We’re going to be
facing a highly motivated team,” predicted Scots’ coach Steve
Bell. “They’ll be motivated for two reasons. Because of last
year’s game and their offense has been exceptional. They are playing
very well right now. They can put up a lot of points.”
Points? Illinois
College has scored more than 30 a game, but still lags behind
Monmouth’s 48.9 point per game average.
IC’s junior
quarterback Mitch Niekamp has thrown for more than 2,300 yards and
27 touchdowns. Senior wide out Mike Jennings has been on the
receiving end of 11 of those and is closing in on 1,000 receiving
yards. Averaging more than 100 yards per game, Jennings would need a
slightly-better-than-average game to reach the milestone against the
Scots.
“He’s a terrific
receiver,” praised Bell of IC’s all-conference receiver. “Niekamp
does a very good job of getting the ball in his hands.”
Monmouth isn’t
hurting for a passing game, either. Junior quarterback Alex
Tanney has already broken numerous career records and he had a
hand in another broken record last week. Junior wide out Mike
Blodgett replaced Evan Haffner as the all-time reception
leader with 153. Right behind is classmate Matt Shepherd with
147.
The Blue Boys have
added another dimension to the pass in hard-running freshman
Demetrious Baylis. The 5-foot-10, 205 pounder has been the workhorse
out of the backfield, gaining 651 yards on 150 carries. He’s also
scored all five of IC’s rushing touchdowns.
“Baylis is a very
physical runner,” said Bell. “The offense is still predicated to the
pass, but they can run. They’ll be tough to defend. We’ll have our
hands full.”
The Scots have been
very good against the run, holding opponents to less than 95 yards
per game. The pass defense has been solid as well. Opposing offenses
have only gained a little more than 160 yards per game through the
air and defensive end Anthony Goranson leads Monmouth’s sack
attack. The senior is just three sacks from tying the team’s
all-time mark set by Greg Bennett from 1987-90. The Scots
have 18 sacks on the year and 12 different Scots have picked off 15
passes and broken up 40 more.
On the flip side, the
Blue Boys have given up nearly 28 points and 380 yards per game.
Junior Ricky Padilla – a 5-foot-11, 224 pound linebacker – leads the
Blue Boy defense with 69 tackles. Safety Erik Beimfohr has collected
three of the Blue Boys’ 10 interceptions. Defensive ends Travis
Davis and Justin Gerstner along with linebacker Jake De Fauw account
for more than half IC’s 16 sacks. Only Davis didn’t take the field
last year when the Scots rolled up 579 yards of offense.
The Blue Boys defense
will be put to the test. Monmouth is coming off a 51-14 win over
Lake Forest in which they racked up 613 yards of offense and scored
on five of their first six possessions. Two of their first three
scoring drives took just 64 seconds…combined.
Illinois College may
be hoping to erase the memory of last season’s meeting, but the
Scots are riding a 12-game win streak dating back to 1997. As
important as this weekend is to the Scots, the Blue Boys appear to
have been prepping to break the string for the last 364 days.
Instead of listing Saturday’s opponent on their Web site as
“Monmouth,” it simply refers to the Scots as “The Team Up North.”
The Scots have taken
a slightly different approach to what could be their title-clincher.
“We’ll treat this
like any other game,” said Bell. “Our kids will come ready to play.
There is no extra motivation other than this one seals the deal for
the conference title.”
Football
Homepage
|
