Scot Sports

SO CLOSE…

MEMORABLE GRID SEASON ENDS JUST SHY OF REPEAT PLAYOFF BERTH

By Barry McNamara

The 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.

DeAndre Wright explodes for a 32-yard touchdown run in the third quarter against Wartburg, bringing Monmouth within one point of the No. 13 nationally ranked team. The Scots would go on to win the game 24-18.

Photo by Kent Kriegshauser

While the offense had different heroes, the defense was a constant. After the Wartburg game, the Scots allowed the following point totals during their win streak: 0, 0, 0, 13, 0, 3, 7. After the NCAA playoffs were completed, Monmouth led the nation in scoring defense for the second time in three years.

The final score in their streak was a 40-7 victory at Knox, when the Prairie Fire avoided the shutout with a touchdown with 13 seconds left. During the game, standout defensive lineman Thomas Lesniewski broke Monmouth’s all-time sacks record, which now stands at 34.5. He finished the season with 12 sacks and 18.5 tackles for loss. (See story, next page.)

Other defensive standouts included linebacker Clark Gaden (a team-high 89 tackles) and linemen Lamar Watson and Levi Oliveto (a combined 25.5 tackles for loss).

On the other side of the ball, Nelson threw for 1,793 yards and 22 TDs. Maxwell caught 12 of those scores among his team-high 59 receptions, which were good for 821 yards. Wright ran for 866 yards and 10 touchdowns, finishing his career second on Monmouth’s all-time rushing list with 3,918 yards.

The Scots also had a standout on special teams, as kicker/ punter Joey Biel made 43 PATs and six field goals while averaging 40.6 yards per punt.

The Scots were all over the All-Midwest Conference team, including nine first teamers: Biel, defensive back Mason Castricone, Gaden, offensive lineman Joe Krall, Lesniewski, Maxwell, Nelson, Watson and Wright. Lesniewski was named the league’s top defensive lineman, while Wright earned his fourth consecutive All-MWC honor.

Named to the second team were Oliveto and defensive back Nick Miyler.

Biel, Castricone, Gaden, Krall, Maxwell and Miyler will return for the Scots next season; the other five All-MWC selections are seniors.

In all, Braun graduates 18 seniors who have been with him since he took over the head coaching duties in 2015. All they’ve done is post a 35-7 record, winning two Midwest Conference titles and advancing to the MWC title game twice. The group bookended their careers with 8-2 records as freshmen and seniors. In between, the team posted 10-1 and 9-2 marks.

“They averaged almost nine wins per year,” said Braun, who was named the South Division’s Coach of the Year all four seasons. “That’s really, really hard to do. We had an incredible senior class that did a lot for the program, the coaches and the families. We had great fan and family support. We talk about our football family, but these seniors and this team lived it.”

Chad Braun, who holds a 35-7 record after four seasons as Scots head coach, addresses his players following a 51-0 romp over Cornell.

Photo by Kent Kriegshauser