Football Wins Home Opener 39-6 over Chicago

Baker racks up four sacks, big plays carry Monmouth

by Nathan Baliva

MONMOUTH, Ill. (09/10/2023) — The Monmouth College football team dominated the second half en route to a 39-6 win over the University of Chicago in the Midwest Conference opener on Saturday. The Scots (1-1) led 18-6 at half and scored the final 21 points of the game while racking up six sacks and 431 total yards.

Both teams punted on their first drive of the game and Monmouth started their second drive on their own 22. On the second play of the drive, McKade Brooks (Astoria, Illinois) took the handoff and ran 74 yards down the visiting sideline for a touchdown. Cody Szelc (Riverview, Florida) made the extra point for a 7-0 Scots lead.

The Scots turned Chicago back on 4th and 2 from the Monmouth 20 on the next drive as Jermaih Glenn-Louis Charles (Bloomington, Illinois) made the play to turn back the Maroons and secure possession for Monmouth. Carter Boyer (Carthage, Illinois) completed three passes on the next drive but the Scots were stopped on 3rd and 4 on the Chicago 4. Szelc drilled a 21-yard field goal to put the Scots on top 10-0. The Maroons had to punt and the Scots ended the first quarter with the ball and a 10-point lead.

On the second play of the second quarter, Boyer went deep for Nick Obsaint (Naples, Florida). The senior hauled in the pass and sprinted 77 yards for the score and a 16-0 lead. Chicago scored on the next drive but missed the extra point. Chicago got the ball back after a punt and they started a drive on their own 4-yard line. The Scots forced them backwards and Tanner Tomaschke (Greenville, Illinois) blocked a punt out of the end zone for a safety and an 18-6 lead. Tevin Baker (Kewanee, Illinois) helped stop the final Chicago drive of the half with a sack.

"We capitalized on the big play today," said head coach Chad Braun. "McKade had the big run and Obsaint with the long pass in the first half."

Boyer was intercepted on the first drive of the third quarter but Michael Lord (La Harpe, Illinois) intercepted the ball back on the first Chicago play. The Scots started the drive on their own 2-yard line. After a pass interference penalty, Boyer hit Jackson Bergren (Monmouth, Illinois) for an 81-yard touchdown catch and run. Anthony Cikauskis (Oswego, Illinois) had a sack fumble on the next drive and Baker recovered to give Monmouth the ball on their own 31.

Baker picked up another sack to stop a drive and both teams traded punts. The Scots used a long drive in the fourth quarter to put the game away. Nate Wrublik (Lemont, Illinois) scored on a 7-yard run for a 32-6 Scots lead. Baker picked up a fourth sack and Monmouth moved down the field again. Brayden Deem (Andalusia, Illinois) took over at quarterback and scored on a 3-yard run for a 39-6 lead. That ended up being the final score as the Scots picked up the conference win.

"I thought Tevin had one of the best games of his career after a great week of practice that translated into his play on the field," said Braun. "We did a much better job of stopping the run this week and made them one dimensional which allowed us to pin our ears back and get after the quarterback. Then Jackson's big play put the game away."

Boyer threw for 271 yards and two touchdowns on the day. Bergren had six catches for 127 yards and a touchdown while Obsaint had three catches for 81 yards and a score. Brooks ran for 105 yards while both he and Wrublik had rushing touchdowns. Baker had eight tackles, four sacks and four QB hurries to lead the defense.

MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Baker had a career-high four sacks and is the fourth player in school history with at least four sacks in a gameGreg Bennett set the school record with sic sacks in 1989Monmouth has won five straight against Chicago dating back to a loss in 1981The last three games were decided by three points or lessBoyer has 12 career multi-TD gamesHe is the ninth player to get at least 300 career completionsBoyer also passed both Mark Reed and Robb Long to move into sixth in career passing yardsThornton went over 100 career receptions, the 12th player in school history to do soHe also moved into seventh in career receiving yardsThe Scots play the next two games on the road, at Lawrence and then at Illinois College after the bye weekKickoff next Saturday in Appleton, Wisconsin is set for 1 p.mThe next home game is Homecoming on Oct. 7 with a 2 p.m. kickoff against Grinnell.