Scots Roll Up School Record 720 Yards of Offense in 69-6 Win

by Nathan Baliva

MONMOUTH, Ill. (10/07/2023) — The Monmouth College football team set a school record with 720 yards of total offense on Saturday with an emphatic 69-9 homecoming win over Grinnell. The Scots (3-2, 3-1) scored on their first eight drives and didn't punt all game long with three scoring drives of at least 94 yards.

Grinnell started the game with the ball and punted after picking up one first down. Monmouth started on their own 6-yard line and quickly picked up two first downs through the air with passes from Carter Boyer (Carthage, Illinois). Nate Wrublik (Lemont, Illinois) ran for 12 yards and Boyer hit Nate Thornton (Peoria, Illinois) for 26. A 15-yard pass to Brendon Bishop (Sherman, Illinois) moved the ball inside the 10 and Brooks scored on a 6-yard run for the first points of the game. Alec Hesson (Plattsburg, Missouri) made the extra point for a 7-0 lead.

The Scots started their next dive at their own 11 and Brooks ran for 14 yards on the first play. A big pass to Nick Obsaint (Naples, Florida) picked up 24 down to the Grinnell 32 and Wrublik picked up another first down on the ground. Brooks scored for the second time on a 15-yard run for a 14-0 lead. The Scots took over on their own 41 after another Pioneers punt. Bishop caught an 18-yard pass and Boyer ran for a first down. A 12-yard pass to Obsaint put the ball on the 1-yard line and Brooks scored for a third time for a 21-0 lead.

The next Monmouth drive started at their own 1-yard line and Boyer completed a 3rd down pass to Obsaint to move the sticks. The Scots slowly moved the ball down the field with first down runs for Brooks and Boyer. Monmouth took a 28-0 lead on a 9-yard touchdown pass from Boyer to Thornton, finishing off a 16-play, 99-yard drive that took nearly six minutes off the clock.

Monmouth started the third quarter with the ball on their own 1-yard line after a mishap on the kickoff. Three plays later, Wrublik ran 82 yards down the home sideline for a touchdown and a 35-0 lead. The Scots forced another Grinnell punt and Gabe Zeigler-Harris (East Peoria, Illinois) returned the ball 46 yards to the Pioneers 13. Three plays later, Boyer found Bishop for an 8-yard score and a 42-0 lead. The Scots followed with an 8-play, 80-yard drive, capped by a 35-yard touchdown pass from Boyer to Jackson Bergren (Monmouth, Illinois) to go up 49-0. Another Grinnell punt gave Monmouth possession on their own 48 and a 3-play drive finished with a 48-yard pass from Boyer to Bishop for a 56-0 lead and a four touchdown quarter.

After scoring on their first eight drives, the Scots first drive of the fourth quarter started on their own 12. But a fumbled snap gave the Pioneers possession and the visitors scored two plays later to end the shutout. Running back Blake Regenold (Downs, Illinois) ran for a first down on the next drive and quarterback Brayden Deem (Andalusia, Illinois) hit Mikey Eiker (Galesburg, Illinois) for 32 yards down to the Grinnell 26. Regenold and Dane Olson (Havana, Illinois) did picked up first downs on the ground before Monmouth went backward on a penalty. On 3rd and goal from the 24, Deem found Zeigler-Harris in the back of the endzone for a touchdown and a 62-6 lead. Monmouth's final drive of the game started on their own 46 with Ashton Summers (Mt. Zion, Illinois) at quarterback. On the fourth play of the drive, freshman Caden Brann (Valparaiso, Indiana) ran 64 yards for his first collegiate touchdown and the final score of 69-6.

"We played a really complete game on both sides of the ball and special teams for maybe the first time all season," said head coach Chad Braun. "It was nice to see us put everything together."

Boyer was 22-for-29 passing for 308 yards and four touchdowns. Brooks ran 20 times for 120 yards and three touchdowns while Wrublik ran six times for 106 yards and a touchdown. Bishop had eight catches for 118 yards and two scores while Obsaint had seven catches for 87 yards. Tevin Baker (Kewanee, Illinois) and Anthony Cikauskas (Oswego, Illinois) both had sacks. Jermaih Glenn-Louis Charles (Bloomington, Illinois) led the Scots with seven tackles while Cikauskas and Jeremiah Hardnett (Fairview Heights, Illinois) both had six tackles.

MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Monmouth ran 72 plays for 720 total yards. The previous record for total yards in a game was 701 on Oct. 1, 2016 against Cornell. The Scots had 364 passing yard and 356 rushing yards. Monmouth averaged 8.7 yards per rush. Grinnell had 116 total yards on 50 plays. Monmouth didn't punt in the game and Hesson was 9-for-9 on extra points. The 10 touchdowns scored are tied for second most in a game in school history. The 36 first downs are four short of the school record. Monmouth was 8-for-8 on 3rd down and didn't have a 4th down play in the game. The Scots are 49-21-3 all-time against Grinnell and 9-0 in the last nine, out-scoring the Pioneers 481-19 in the last decade. Eight different players carried the ball for Monmouth and eight players had pass receptions. Brann and Zeigler-Harris had their first touchdowns. Boyer has six career 300+ yard passing games and 14 multi-TD games. Brooks and Wrublik both set career-bests in rushing yards. Bishop had his second straight 100-yard receiving game. Obsaint also had a career-high in receiving yards. The Scots are back home next Saturday with a 1 p.m. kickoff against Cornell.