No uncanny accuracy? That would be un-Tanney

Release Date: September 27, 2005

MONMOUTH, Ill. — Back in the day, Monmouth College Hall of Fame basketball star Don Tanney could be counted on for his accuracy at the free throw line. In one memorable 1979 game against Knox, Tanney sank 23-of-26 foul shots.

Apparently, Tanney passed that knack for accuracy onto his son, Mitch, who completed 92.3 percent of his first-half passes and 87.5 percent for the game in the Fighting Scots’ 56-30 Family Weekend victory over Beloit.

Tanney directed touchdown drives all six times he took the field in the first half, and Monmouth added another score on a 55-yard punt return by junior Evan Haffner. In all, the Scots scored 49 points in the first two quarters, equaling the record for one half set previously in a 63-6 win over Carleton in 1971.

“My concern going into the game was if we would come out mentally focused,” said MC head coach Steve Bell. “We did a tremendous job in that area.”

Beloit raised some small concerns with gains of six, 17 and four yards on their first three plays, but after that, the first-string Monmouth defense was very stingy, allowing just eight yards on Beloit’s next 14 plays.

Meanwhile, the offense was perfect. On the first drive, Tanney threw to Haffner and Aaron Hogan for gains of 16 and 12 yards and a pair of first downs. Dante Daniels covered the final 40 yards on four runs to score the first of Monmouth’s eight touchdowns on the day.

“First and foremost, Dante would say that he had some creases to run in,” said Bell of Daniels’ 165-yard rushing day. “Where he stood out in my mind was the way he ran the ball after first contact. That was nice to see, and it’s more in the mold of the kids we’ve had in the last few years. If our passing game can continue its success with the receivers and with Mitch, and then you add in the running game that is very much a threat, it bodes well for us offensively.”

Another thing that bodes well for the offense is Bell’s knack for play-calling. That was no more apparent than on Tanney’s second scoring strike of the game to Haffner. The Scots called a wide receiver screen over the middle to Haffner, who caught the ball and had only red Monmouth shirts around him as he sauntered to the end zone.

“If you blitz against that play, it’s a touchdown,” said Bell. “They’d done the same thing in the same situation last year. We ran the same play out of the same formation.”

Last year, the third-and-three play went for a 24-yard score to Haffner. This time around, it was third-and-four from the 15.

Besides Haffner, Dan Morrison also caught two TD passes from Tanney and Matt Hammer added one. Tanney finished the game 14-of-16 for 238 yards, his fifth straight 200-yard passing day dating back to last year’s Bronze Turkey game.

“He was on, and our receivers did a nice job of getting open,” said Bell. “Mitch did a great job of giving them a chance to run with the ball after the catch.”

With an efficiency rating of 194.1, Tanney is now the nation’s eighth-ranked passer. On the year, he’s completed 74.8 percent of his passes for 1,035 yards and 15 TDs.

Monmouth’s victory, combined with surprising losses by Lake Forest and Carroll, has left the Scots all alone atop the Midwest Conference standings.

“I think it’s great for the conference,” said Bell of the league’s newfound parity. “If you don’t bring your best game, you can be beat. The other teams know they can come in and steal one from you.”

In the new role as top dogs, the Scots could take another big step toward their first outright MWC crown since 1972 by knocking off host Lake Forest this Saturday.

“Don’t get fooled by comparing scores,” warned Bell of the Foresters’ 21-14 loss to a Ripon team that Monmouth defeated handily. “Lake Forest has always played us tough. Ripon had some motivation going into this game from losing a tough one to Lake Forest last year, and Lake Forest is going to have some motivation, too, since we shut them out last year. We expect them to be very good defensively. That’s been their bread and butter.”

Recent matchups have indeed been hard-fought, and the Foresters own a pair of wins over the Scots in Bell’s five-year tenure. Monmouth has won the past two years, but only by scores of 21-14 and 14-0.

“Their quarterback (Matt Mahaney) is a good player, and if he’s on, their offense can present a lot of problems,” said Bell.

Mahaney’s top target is Jeff Huebner, who has 22 catches this season for 449 yards and seven TDs.

“Huebner is a very, very good receiver, and their running back (Andre Washington) is new and looks like he has some quicks,” said Bell. “They haven’t rolled up a lot of points yet in a game, but they can.”

Football Homepage