Hansen, Thornton Make History as Scots Beat Vikings 52-6

by Nathan Baliva

MONMOUTH, Ill (09/22/2024) — The Monmouth College football team had multiple historic events on the field Saturday in a 52-6 lightning-delayed Midwest Conference win over Lawrence University. The Fighting Scots (2-1, 2-0) had their first ever point scored by a female when Mylee Hansen (Pekin, Illinois) kicked an extra point in the fourth quarter while Nate Thornton (Peoria, Illinois), Cody Szelc (Riverview, Florida), and Tevin Baker (Kewanee, Illinois) moved up on career top 10 lists.

Hansen, who also started the Monmouth women's home soccer game and played 40 minutes on Saturday morning, made her college debut in the fourth quarter. The freshman kicked the seventh and final extra point on the day to give the Scots a 52-6 lead with 6:06 remaining. She is the first female to play football for the Scots and the first to score.

Monmouth got off to a shaky start on Saturday with a fumble on an option pitch and an interception on their first two drives. Kevins Soivilien blocked a Lawrence field goal and the Scots finally got going on the third drive. McKade Brooks (Astoria, Illinois) sprinted down the near sideline 83 yards for a touchdown and the seventh-longest run play in school history. Szelc converted the extra point for a 7-0 lead. Lawrence went three and out and after two short passes, Brayden Deem (Andalusia, Illinois) hooked up with Thornton for a 42-yard touchdown.

Lawrence engineered an 18-play, 70-yard drive that took nearly 10 minutes off the clock. Monmouth had four penalties on the drive that prolonged the Lawrence possession, including two running into the punter penalties. Baker blocked the extra-point to keep Monmouth's lead at 14-6. The Scots answered with an 8-play drive as Brooks scored from 10-yards out for a 21-6 lead.

Monmouth started the second half with the ball and on the 10th play of the drive, Thornton made a spectacular catch in the endzone for a 14-yard touchdown. Lawrence fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Damien Brown (East Peoria, Illinois) recovered.. Brooks scored again, this time from 21-yards out as the Scots took a 35-6 lead. The Scots ended the third quarter with the ball and Szlec drilled a career-long 40-yard field goal to start the fourth quarter.

The next Monmouth drive lasted just two plays as Deem hit Jackson Bergren (Monmouth, Illinois) for a 53-yard catch and run touchdown. Nick Harris (Winter Haven, Florida) intercepted a pass and the Scots gave the ball to Nate Wrublik (Lemont, Illinois) on four straight carries. Wrublik ran for 60 yards on the drive, including a 13-yard touchdown to set up Hansen's extra point for the 52-6 lead.

Zane Beebe (Davenport, Iowa) got an interception with just under two minutes to play. Freshman Ja''carrion Jones (Decatur Illinois) ran for an 89=yard touchdown but a block in the back negated the score and gave Monmouth the ball at the Lawrence 35. Jones ran down to the two and the Scots took a knee to end the game instead of scoring an eighth touchdown.

Brooks led the Scots on the ground with 167 yards and three touchdowns on 11 carries. Wrublik dan for 135 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries and Jones totaled 97 yards on two carries. Brayden Deem was 16-for-24 passing for 249 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Thornton caught five passes for two scores and 94 yards while Bergren had four catches for 90 yards and a touchdown.

Jeremiah Hardnett (O'Fallon, Illinois) and Dane Olson (Havana, Illinois) led the SCots with eight tackles, one more than Brant Baltes (Lisbon, Iowa). Baltes had a sack and 2.5 tackles for loss while Baker had 1.5 TFL. Baker also had five QB hurries, three pass break ups and a blocked kick. Harris had an interception and two PBU while Beebe had an interception.

MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Thornton passed Matt Shepherd for second most receiving yards in school history with 2843 ... He also tied Evan Haffner for second on the career touchdowns list with 30 ... Szelc made a career-high 40-yard field goal and six extra points He is 10th in career points and tied for third in career field goals made ... With three pass break ups, Baker is 8th on the career list with 18, one more than Harris ... Brooks registered his fifth career 100 yard rushing game, including his second in a row with a career-high 167 ... Wrublik set a career high with 138 rushing yards ... Bergren is 16th on the career list in receptions with 92 ... Harris has seven career interceptions ... Monmouth was 5-for-7 on third down while holding Lawrence to 0-for-12 ... The Scots racked up 677 yards of total offense, the sixth most in a game in school history and 17 more than they had against Lawrence last season ... Monmouth averaged 11.7 yards per play on Saturday ... The Scots have won 20 straight against the Vikings dating back to losses in 1998 and 1999 ... Chad Braun has 70 career coaching wins at Monmouth, one behind Kelly Kane for third most in school history ... Monmouth committed 15 accepted penalties on Saturday for 128 yards ... The Midwest Conference is on a bye next week ... The Scots host Illinois College at 2 p.m. on Oct. 5 for Homecoming.