Scots Rally Past Chicago Late, Secure Win With Blocked FG

Monmouth moves to 4-0 in MWC play

by Nathan Baliva

MONMOUTH, Ill. (10/08/2022) — The Monmouth College football team rallied for a 23-20 road win over the University of Chicago on Saturday, clinching the win with a blocked field goal. The Scots are now 4-0 in MWC play and 4-1 overall with a home game against Beloit on the schedule for next week.

The Scots got an interception on the first Chicago drive as Rockyen Spinks (Galesburg, Illinois) picked off Wesley Gow on the Monmouth 25. The Scots started their first drive on their own 47 after York's 22-yard return. Carter Boyer (Carthage, Illinois) completed 4-of-6 passes on the drive, including a 4-yard pass to fellow quarterback Riley Fetterer (Milan, Illinois). Boyer, Fetterer and Devin Lawrence (Hawthorne, Illinois) all had rushes on the dive with Boyer carrying the ball to the one. Lawrence ran off right end for the first score of the game and Cody Szelc (Riverview, Florida) made it 7-0 with the extra point.

The quarter ended with the Scots on top 7-0 as both teams punted. Chicago's first drive in the second quarter was also a punt and Monmouth started on their own 42. Lawrence ripped off runs of 10 and 42 but the Scots settled for a 21-yard field goal from Szelc to take a 10-0 lead.

Chicago moved the ball down the field on the next drive with nine rushes on 11 plays. They lined up for a field goal on the nine and chaos ensued. The Scots blocked the field goal with Sencere Brent (Peoria, Illinois) getting credit for the block. However, the Scots were ruled to have touched the ball beyond the line of scrimmage and Chicago recovered on the 11 with a new set of downs. Five plays later, they cashed in a touchdown run to cut the Scots lead to 10-7.

The Scots got the ball to start the second half but punted on their first drive. Chicago used a 13-play, 80-yard drive to take the lead 14-10. Chicago started their next drive inside the Monmouth 10 after a botched snap on a punt. But Spinks had his second interception of the game to get the ball back for the Scots.

Following a Monmouth punt to the 50, Chicago started the fourth quarter with a field goal and a 17-a0 lead. Boyer was intercepted on the first play of the next drive and Chicago kicked another field goal to go on top 20-10 with 8:34 to play.

Boyer found Jake Uryasz (Farmington, Illinois) for 18 yards and then scrambled for 12 yards into Chicago territory. The Scots moved inside the red zone on a pass interference call and Lawrence ran the ball down to the four. Boyer got into the end zone on second and goal but Szelc's extra point was no good for a 20-16 Chicago lead.

Chicago faced a fourth and 1 at their own 32 with just over three minutes to play and they elected to go for the knockout punch. But Korbyn Personett (Pittsfield, Illinois) stuff the run in the backfield and the Scots took over on downs with 2:59 to play.

Boyer ran for 16 yards on the first play and the Scots lost five yards on a penalty. After an incomplete pass, Boyer hit Brendan Bishop (Sherman, Illinois) for 15 yards and a first down at the Chicago six. The Scots ran the option and Boyer flipped to Lawrence for a 6-yard touchdown run. Szelc's extra point put the Scots on top 23-20 with 1:32 to play.

The kickoff went out of bounds and Chicago started on their own 35. The picked up 21 yards on the first two plays before calling timeout with 1:05 to play on the Monmouth 44. Personett sacked Gow for a four-yard loss and nearly had another sack on the next play, forcing an incomplete pass. On 4th and 10, Chicago picked up 27 yards down to the Monmouth 21. Two straight incompletes and a sack by Anthony Cikauskas (Oswego, Illinois) made it 4th and 18 on the Monmouth 29. After a Scots timeout with 21 seconds left, Chicago lined up for the game tying field goal. The Scots broke through the line and Caleb Endicott (St. Cloud, Florida) blocked the field goal, securing the win with a kneel down.

Boyer completed 10-of-17 passes for 84 yards and also ran for 46 yards and a touchdown. Fetterer was 2-for-6 passing for 12 yards and he ran four times for 35 yards. Lawrence had 88 yards on 16 carries and scored twice. Uryasz and Nate Thornton (Peoria, Illinois) both had three receptions and Uryasz led the team with 47 yards.

Tanner Tomaschke (Greenville, Illinois) led the Scots with 15 tackles while Brant Baltes (Lisbon, Iowa) and Nick Serrano (Miami, Florida) both had 13. Cikauskas and Tevin Baker (Kewanee, Illinois) both had 1.5 sacks while Spinks had two interceptions. Addison Fletcher (Monmouth, Illinois) averaged 44.5 yards on four punts, put three inside the 20 and boomed two over 50 yards.

The Scots will host Beloit College next Saturday. Kickoff at April Zorn Stadium is set for 1 p.m.