Wrublik Scores Four Times as Scots Rout Rams

Monmouth wins MWC opener 42-7

by Nathan Baliva

MONMOUTH, Ill (09/19/2026) — The Monmouth College football team started Midwest Conference play on Saturday with a 42-7 win at Cornell. The Fighting Scots (1-2, 1-0) have knocked off the Rams 12 times in a row and they have won 11 straight MWC games.

"We handled the trip here really well and got off to a fast start running the ball well all day," said head coach Chad Braun. "We were efficient in the passing game and minus one play our defense played a complete game today."

Cornell got the ball first and they were forced to punt. Nate Wrublik (Lemont, Illinois) ran for 15 yards and 10 yards to move into Cornell territory. Quarterback Silas Braun (Monmouth, Illinois) used his legs for a 16-yard touchdown run and the extra point from Aiden Sensabaugh (East Moline, Illinois) put the Scots up 7-0.

After another Cornell punt, Wrublik ran for seven and Braun hit Gabriel Zeigler-Harris (East Peoria, Illinois) for a first down. Wrublik fumbled and the Rams recovered but a tackle for loss by Kaden Foglesong (Ipava, Illinois) forced another punt. Wrublik ran for 33 yards on the next drive and Hudson Ault (Fairview, Illinois) added a run for 21. Wrublik found the endzone with a 14-yard run for a 14-0 lead.

The teams traded punts early in the second quarter before Cornell turned the ball over on downs on the Monmouth 31. Braun hit Chase Newman (Morrison, Illinois) for 16 yards and Wrublik ran for 13. Braun threw to Wrublik for 12 before finding Newman on a 38-yard touchdown pass.

Wrublik dominated the next possession with runs of 16 and 13 before Braun hit Mason Emin (Sterling, Illinois) for 16. Wrublik ran the ball down to the five and scored on the next play for a 28-0 lead at halftime.

In the third quarter, Dominic Ricconi (El Paso, Illinois) and Armani Santos (West Palm Beach, Florida) shared a sack but a roughing the kicker penalty kept Cornell's drive going. They cashed it in with a 45-yard touchdown pass to get on the board.

Zeigler-Harris returned the ensuing kickoff 81 yards and after a penalty was assessed on the Scots, Monmouth started on the Rams 20. Wrublik ran three straight times and scored his third touchdown of the day for a 35-7 lead.

"Gabe and the kickoff return unit made a huge play for us right after they scored," said Braun. "That big play got the momentum right back for us and we finished it off the right way,"

In the fourth quarter, Monmouth put the game away as Ault and Wrublik both picked up first downs. Braun hit Zeigler-Harris for 12 and Wrublik scored again on a 34-yard run for a 42-7 final score.

Braun completed 15-of-23 passes for 158 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He also ran for 17 yards and a touchdown. Wrublik ran 23 times for 170 yards and four touchdowns while Ault ran 17 times for 68 yards. Newman caught three passes for 55 yards and a touchdown while Jeremiah Williams (Oviedo, Florida) caught five balls for 28 yards.

Defensively, Bryan McHood-Jones (Decatur, Illinois) had eight tackles while Gavin Carpenter (Coal City, Illinois) and Carson Strating (Morrison, Illinois) both had seven. Jeremiah Hardnett (O'Fallon, Illinois) had a solo sack while Ricconi and Santos shared one.

MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Wrublik moved into sixth on the career rushing list with 2528 yards as he passed Dante Daniels ... He has 10 career games with at least 100 rushing yards ... With four touchdowns Wrublik moved into third on the career rushing touchdown list with 42 and he is fifth on the total touchdowns list ... He also moved past Cody Szelc and Nate Pavlovic into sixth on the career points list with 252 ... Newman has 19 career touchdown receptions, tied with Nick Wright, Nathan Gaskill and Andrew Tyra for 7th in Monmouth history ... Monmouth was 10-for-15 on third down while holding Cornell to 3-for-15 ... Monmouth out-gained the Rams 471 to 215 and picked up 25 first downs while holding Cornell to nine.. ... The Scots are 55-0 under Braun when scoring at least 40 points and 54-0 when holding the opponent to single digits ... Saturday was Braun's 67th win by at least 30 points ... Monmouth leads the all-time series 41-39-1 with 12 straight wins ... The Scots won 38-28 In Mount Vernon in 2024 and beat the Rams at home 45-3 last year ... The Scots have outscored Cornell 516-105 in 12 games under Coach Braun ... The Scots host Ripon next Saturday at 1 p.m. for Family Weekend and Community Day.