SO CLOSE… MEMORABLE GRID SEASON ENDS JUST SHY OF REPEAT PLAYOFF BERTH By Barry McNamara
T
he Fighting Scots accomplished quite a lot during the 2018 season. Coach Chad Braun’s squad defeated a nationally ranked opponent, posted eight straight victories, won the Bronze Turkey game for the 20th consecutive time, and played for the Midwest Conference championship.
But for all those accomplishments, the season ended just short of a third straight NCAA playoff berth, as the Scots fell 10-7 to St. Norbert in the MWC title game. The Scots dug an early hole in the championship battle, when a picksix gave the host Green Knights a 7-0 lead less than two minutes into the contest. St. Norbert tacked on a field goal eight minutes later. Monmouth chopped into the 10-0 lead late in the third quarter, when the offense sprung its only play of the game longer than 15 yards—an 82-yard TD pass from Hayden Nelson to Yansay Williams. A pair of Monmouth drives to tie or take the lead stalled around midfield in the fourth quarter, both thanks to interceptions. For the game, St. Norbert won the turnover battle 6-2. “We had a good offensive game plan going in, we just didn’t execute,” said Braun. “The six interceptions was really an anomaly. Hayden had only thrown seven going into the game. What people don’t know is he played on an injured foot. He hadn’t practiced all week, and we weren’t even sure he’d suit up until game time. I’ll go into a game any day of the week with a guy like that. He’s our guy, and we were going to let him go as long as he could. We wouldn’t have been playing for the title without him.” St. Norbert’s narrow, low-scoring victory was reminiscent of the 2017 championship game, when the Fighting Scots prevailed 9-6 in overtime to advance to the NCAA playoffs. Monmouth’s second game of the season was also against an NCAA playoff squad called the Knights, as the Scots rallied to defeat Wartburg 24-18, evening their record at 1-1. DeAndre Wright ran for 165 yards and two TDs vs. Wartburg, and Williams set up the go-ahead score in the third quarter with a 77-yard kickoff return. (Continued on page 30)
28
MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE
SCOT SPORT
