Defense does it again in 60-0 victory over Lawrence

Release Date: October 20, 2004

MONMOUTH, Ill. — Following Monmouth College’s third consecutive shutout victory Saturday, assistant coach Dave Ragone threw a cap into defensive coordinator Chad Braun’s postgame huddle to honor the defense’s “hat trick” of shutouts.

Braun promptly squashed the hat, much like his defense has done to its October opponents.

The Fighting Scots’ 60-0 victory over Lawrence University gave Monmouth the longest active scoreless streak in Division III. The streak also includes a 14-0 win over Lake Forest on Oct. 2 and a 24-0 whitewash of Grinnell on Oct. 9.

“I knew Lawrence was going to come out with some energy on their first drive, and they moved the ball just a tad,” said MC coach Steve Bell of the Vikings’ initial surge of 39 yards. “From then on, it was kind of the same things that we’ve been doing. It’s not a secret secret. The guys are playing well and playing together. It’s team defense.”

That first LU drive reached the Monmouth 27 before stalling, and the Vikings’ advanced to the MC 25 on their next possession – the deepest penetration they would have all game – before Tyler Yarde intercepted a pass near the goal line. The turning point, if there can be one in a 60-point win, came moments later, when Mitch Tanney connected with Evan Haffner on a 95-yard touchdown, which tied the record for the longest pass play in team history. It equaled a scoring play from Robb Long to Dennis Lehr in 1982.

“It was just a fade route against a cover two,” explained Bell. “Mitch threw a real good ball right in the window. Their safety kind of took a poor angle and came at it too flat. Evan caught it right behind him and then there was no one there.”

Monmouth led 14-0 at that point, as Haffner had opened the scoring with a 23-yard TD grab. He finished with those two catches for 118 yards.

Yarde then made it 21-0 when he returned a blocked punt 15 yards for a score, and the rout was on. The score was 37-0 at halftime, and Yarde’s second interception of the game preceded Monmouth’s first second-half play, a 34-yard scoring run by Ed McCracken.

“Ever since we’ve been flying to the ball and playing team defense, the offense gets great field position,” said Bell. “It’s a trickle-down effect.”

McCracken’s 137-yard day ended with that run. From there, the Scots used reserves extensively, with their final 40 or so running plays going to running backs Bobby Gibbs, Adam Chorazy, Ben Hunter and Jess Miller and quarterbacks Shane Gordon and Kyle Tutt. Gordon had two short scoring runs and Gibbs gained 80 yards on 18 carries.

“Bobby Gibbs would have had well over 100 yards if not for a holding penalty,” said Bell, referring to a yellow flag that negated a long run. “That bodes well for us in the future. When he makes a decision where he’s going to go with it, he’s very, very explosive. He just sees it and he’s gone. We’ve got to put 10-15 pounds of muscle on him, and then he’ll be a very dangerous running back.”

Another reserve who caught Bell’s eye was middle linebacker Preston Harris, who saw action in both halves.

“He’s been playing very well for us for about the past month,” praised Bell.

Speaking specifically about the Scots’ shutout streak, Bell added, “Any game, that’s what your goal is. As a coaching staff, we don’t want to get caught up in it, though. It’ll come if it comes. The score could be 2-0 or 3-2 or whatever, as long as we win.”

While a victory this Saturday in Jacksonville against a 5-2 Illinois College team is certainly possible, another Monmouth shutout appears to be asking for too much. IC has topped 30 points in a game five times this season and has reached 50 or more three times. Currently, the Blueboys are scoring at a 37.1-point-per-game pace.

“They’re a very, very good football team,” praised Bell. “They have very good athletes on both sides of the ball. Their quarterback (Pete Jennings) is playing extremely well. They have a lot of guys at the top of the conference statistics.”

Jennings enters the game averaging a league-best 264.3 passing yards per game, and Carthage product Joe Reed is the top receiver in yards per game. He’s grabbed 42 passes for 687 yards and six scores. Punter Willie Thompson leads the league with a 42.9-yard average and linebacker Brian Short is tops in total tackles with 80. Additionally, running back Jarid Crain is having a solid season, with 669 yards and eight TDs to go with a 6.8-yard average per carry.

“I don’t care if they lost to Lake Forest (28-14 last Saturday) and we beat Lake Forest – this is going to be a very tight football game,” said Bell. “We’ve got to be prepared to play for 60 minutes. It’s going to be a good, hard-fought ball game.”

One of the hardest fights will be when the pass-happy Blueboys have the ball. The Fighting Scots are ranked sixth in the nation in passing efficiency defense, which should make for an interesting chess match between the coaching staffs.

SHUTOUT NOTES: The last points Monmouth allowed came with 5:36 left in the game in the Scots’ 45-23 victory over Beloit on Sept. 25 … Although Monmouth has won 18 of the last 20 contests against Illinois College, including the last seven, the Scots have not blanked IC since a 28-0 win in 1989 … The last time Monmouth had three straight shutouts was the first three games of the 1973 season. They also opened the 1971 season with three consecutive goose eggs.

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