Scots Fall to Wartburg After Strong First Half

Newman, Wrublik combine for three TD

by Nathan Baliva

MONMOUTH, Ill. (09/06/2026) — The Monmouth College football team led 21-14 at halftime against No. 9 Wartburg in the season opener on Saturday night but ultimately fell 36-21.

The Fighting Scots had a great first quarter as Kaden Foglesong (Ipava, Illinois) sacked the Knights quarterback on 4th and 14 to end the opening drive. Monmouth took over on their own 38 and quarterback Silas Braun (Monmouth, Illinois) ran for a first down. Nate Wrublik (Lemont, Illinois) ran the ball into Wartburg territory and Braun hit Gunner Bryant (Curryville, Missouri) for 21 yards. Wrublik picked up 16 yards on 3rd and 5 and scored on the next play with a 4-yard run. Aiden Sensabaugh (East Moline, Illinois) made the extra point for a 7-0 lead.

Fogelsong wrecked the next Wartburg drive with a strip-sack and the Scots recovered the fumble to start on the Knights 24-yard line. On the second play Chase Newman (Morrison, Illinois) made a diving catch in the end zone for a 24-yard touchdown reception from Braun. The Scots ended the first quarter with a 14-0 lead,

Wartburg missed a field goal early in the second quarter but the Scots went 3-and-out and had to punt. Wartburg moved the ball 45 yards on six plays and scored on a 1-yard run to get on the board. After another Monmouth punt, a targeting penalty on the Scots defense extended a drive after an incomplete pass on 4th and 13. That targeting call was overturned at half but the drive continued and the Knights tied the game with a 15-yard touchdown pass.

The Scots got the last drive of the half and Wrublik picked up a first down to midfield. Braun found Mason Emin (Sterling, Illinois) for nine yards to convert a 3rd and 3 and then hit Da'Von Patterson (Ponte Vedre, Florida) for another first down. Wrublik ran for 15 yards and with 15 seconds left in the half, Braun fired a 2-yard touchdown pass to Newman. The Scots went into the locker room with a 21-14 lead.

Wartburg scored 22 unanswered points in the second half as they also blocked a punt and intercepted a pair of passes. Monmouth started the half with the lead and the ball but an interception on the third play gave the visitors the ball on the Monmouth 30. Two plays later a touchdown tied the game. After a 3-and-out, Wartburg scored on a 5-play, 50-yard drive to take the lead. The Knights blocked a punt to take over in Scots territory and scored three plays later, adding a 2-point conversion for the 36-21 lead.

Neither team scored over the final 18:37 of the game. The Knights failed on a fake field goal attempt and missed a field goal while Monmouth had drives end on a punt, interception and downs in the fourth quarter.

In his first career start, Braun completed 20-of-31 passing for 178 yards. He had two touchdowns, two interceptions and ran 10 times for 26 yards. Wrublik ran for 60 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. Newman caught four passes for 74 yards and two touchdowns while Emin had 29 yards on five catches.

Adrien Raabe (Poplar Grove, Illinois) led the Scots with 11 tackles while Kevin Soivilien (Miami, Florida) had seven. Foglesong had two sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss while forcing a fumble and securing six tackles. Jeremiah Hardnett (O'Fallon, Illinois) also had a sack.

MONMOUTH MOMENTS: The Scots hosted Small School Saturday with the D1Rejects on campus Saturday afternoon ... Wrublik has 38 career touchdowns, fifth in school history ... With 60 rushing yards on Saturday he moved past Devin Lawrence and Randy Terrell into sixth on the career yards list ... He also moved into ninth on the career rushing attempts list ... Newman has 16 career touchdown receptions, two away from moving into the top 10 ... Wartburg didn't punt in the game with two drives ending on downs, two on missed field goals and one on a fumble ... The Scots were 9-for-16 on third down and held the Knights to 3-of-11 ... The Scots are 2-13 all-time against the Knights with seven straight losses dating back to a win in Sept. 2018 ... The Scots travel to Virginia next week for their first-ever matchup with Hampden-Sydney ... Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. ET ... The next home game is Saturday, September 26 at 1 p.m. against Ripon.