Defense, Special Teams Lead Scots Past Pioneers on Senior Day

by Nathan Baliva

MONMOUTH, Ill. (11/08/2026) — The Monmouth College football team scored the final 20 points of the game and held another team to single digits with a 34-7 Senior Day win over Grinnell on Saturday. The Fighting Scots (7-2, 7-0) can complete a perfect Midwest Conference season next Saturday in the Turkey Bowl at Knox.

"Our defense was excellent all around today," said head coach Chad Braun. "We were tough in the red area most of the day and did a really nice job."

Grinnell won the coin toss and took the ball but quickly went 3-and-out. Gabriel Zeigler-Harris (East Peoria, Illinois) caught a booming punt at his own 30 and sped past all the Pioneers defenders for a 70-yard punt return touchdown. Aiden Sensabaugh (East Moline, Illinois) drilled the extra point for a 7-0 lead.

"Incredible job by Gabe who has had a very nice year and a great career," said Braun. "Super happy for him to get that play and get us going out there and we needed it."

The teams traded punts and Monmouth got the ball back with 5:52 to play in the quarter. Nate Wrublik (Lemont, Illinois) ran for five yards before Silas Braun (Monmouth, Illinois) hit Jeremiah Williams-Gregory (Oviedo, Florida) for 37. However, a penalty negated that play and Braun found Zeigler-Harris for 29. Wrublik ran for seven, nine and six before finishing the drive with his 15th touchdown of the season.

The Scots led 14-0 in the second quarter when a sack by Monmouth natives Dame Thouibou and Nick Huston forced a punt. Wrublik ran for nine and 14 down to the Grinnell 25 but three straight incompletions led to a turnover on downs. The Pioneers drove into Monmouth territory but turned it over on downs when KJ Perry (Jacksonville, Florida) broke up a fourth-down pass. Grinnell got an interception off a tipped pass and started their next drive on the Monmouth 13. Three plays later they scored for a 14-7 halftime lead.

Monmouth started the second half with the ball and Wrublik ran for four. Williams-Gregory picked up 18 on a catch and Braun found Chase Newman (Morrison, Illinois) for 12 yards. A pass to Williams-Gregory moved the chains on fourth down but the Scots missed a 24-yard field goal.

On the second play of the next Grinnell drive, Gavin Carpenter (Coal City, Illinois) stepped in front of a pass in the middle of the field and ran down the Scots sideline 29 yards for a pick six. Monmouth missed the extra point and the lead was 20-7. On the very next drive, the Grinnell quarterback threw an interception to Carson Strating (Morrison, Illinois). Strating returned the ball for another pick-six but a holding penalty during the return brought the ball back to the Pioneers 27. Hudson Ault (Fairview, Illinois) ran for nine and Braun hit Da'Von Patterson (Ponte Vedre, Florida) over the middle for an 18-yard touchdown.

"Great job by the linebackers in coverage there in the third quarter and both of those guys are having great years," said Braun. "They had some interceptions last home game too and are playing really good ball."

The Scots led 27-7 into the fourth quarter when Perry had another pass break up on fourth down. A penalty stopped the next Monmouth drive and forced a punt. The Pioneers turned the ball over on downs near midfield and Wrublik ran for 13 yards. A pass to David Gerber (Chana, Illinois) picked up 10 and Wrublik scored his 50th career rushing touchdown on a 17-yard run.

"Definitely not our best on offense today but we got a win and we are happy to learn from a win," said Braun. "Our guys will do a good job of flushing it and getting back to work on Monday and doing what they need to do to get ready for next week."

Wrublik ran 18 times for 147 yards and two scores. Braun completed 7-of-21 passes for 111 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 31 yards. Williams-Gregory caught two passes for 32 yards, Newman caught two for 22 and Zeigler-Harris had 29 yards on one catch.

Strating led the Scots with 10 tackles and added an interception. Jeremiah Hardnett (O'Fallon, Illinois) had seven tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. Huston also had seven tackles while Kaden Foglesong (Ipava, Illinois) added a tackle for loss.

MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Wrublik's 1393 rushing yards rank fourth on Monmouth's single-season list ... He tied his total from last season with 16 touchdowns which is also tied for fourth on the single-season list ... Wrublik is the second player in school history with 50 rushing touchdowns (Trey Yocum - 60) and the second player with 300 points (Yocum - 374) ... Wrublik has rushed for at least 147 yards in all seven conference games and is averaging 149.9 yards per conference game this season ... Zeigler-Harris also had a punt return for a touchdown last year against Lawrence ... The 70 yard return is the longest of his career on a punt return though he had an 81-yard kick return against Cornell this season ... The Scots had six tackles for loss ... The Scots are 52-21-3 all-time against Grinnell with 12 straight wins ... Monmouth is 10-0 against the Pioneers under coach Braun ... The Scots have held five opponents to seven points this seasonThe Scots honored seniors from football, cheer, dance and band in a pre-game ceremony ... There were 26 football players honoredMonmouth finishes the regular season at Knox next Saturday ... Kickoff for the Turkey Bowl is scheduled for Noon.