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No letdown for Scots at Lake Forest
this weekend
Release Date:
Oct. 22, 2009
MONMOUTH, Ill. —
Don’t expect the
Monmouth College football team to let up now that they’ve taken sole
possession of first place in the Midwest Conference by defeating St.
Norbert and Ripon – the two teams tabbed by MWC coaches to challenge
for the league title – in back-to-back weeks.
“We have three
tough games left,” claimed Steve Bell. “Any of those teams would
love to knock us off. We don’t take anyone lightly. Lake Forest is
always a tough place to play. We’ll prep like we have all season and
we had better be ready.”
When Monmouth’s
battle at Lake Forest kicks off at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, the Scots
will face a more familiar offense than a week ago. After defending
Ripon’s option offense last week, the Scots will see a more
pro-style set out of the Foresters.
“Defending the
option was such a challenge because we don’t see it that often,”
said Bell. “This week, it’s a change in mindset defensively.”
Under first year
coach Jim Catanzaro, the Foresters have opted for a passing game.
Junior quarterback Geoff Sobey has thrown for more than 1,300 yards
and 12 TDs. His favorite target has been speedy 6-foot-4 wide
receiver Dan Carter. The senior has amassed more than 600 receiving
yards and leads the team with eight touchdowns.
“Carter is the
main threat,” reported Bell. “He’s a terrific receiver. We’ll have
to be very conscious of that.”
The Scots have
been conscious of all aspects of the opposing defenses and have done
an excellent job of stopping the pass. They’re ranked third
nationally in pass efficiency defense and fourth in scoring defense.
Monmouth has maintained the top spot all season in turnover margin,
intercepting 15 passes and recovering 15 of 18 opponent fumbles
while recording 15 sacks. Ends Nick Leffler and Anthony Goranson,
with a team-leading three sacks each, could be on a feeding frenzy
Saturday as the Foresters have allowed a whopping 26 sacks in seven
games.
Of course, the
Scots’ defense has also been efficient against the run, allowing
less than 100 yards per game. That might not affect the Foresters,
who average less than 50 yards per game on the ground, but throw for
more than 200 yards per outing. When Lake Forest does run, the
Foresters usually hand it off to junior running back Brock Stenberg.
The lean back has gained 326 yards on 84 carries – more than twice
the carries of any other back and nearly half the Foresters’ rushing
yardage.
Monmouth’s
high-scoring offense will see somewhat of a familiar look out of the
Forester defense, which runs a 3-4 defense with some similarities to
Monmouth’s.
“They’ll come with
some different blitz packages,” reported Bell. “Schematically, there
are some similarities, too.”
Facing a similar
defense in practice since August, the Monmouth offense has been
well-prepared through the first seven weeks of the season. The
offensive line has only allowed nine sacks this season, but will
face a Forester defense that has 16 sacks and 11 interceptions.
Monmouth has only thrown five interceptions all season, and three of
those came in the last two games.
Monmouth’s 48.57
ppg average still ranks the Scots second in Division III and their
502 ypg ranks fourth. While Caleb Pratt and Clay Bricker have shared
the running back duties, gaining more than 1,000 yards combined, the
receiving corps has seen Mike Blodgett and Matt Shepherd emerge as
the top pass catchers, combining for nearly 1,200 yards.
With the offense
posting gaudy numbers, fans might forget the Foresters have been in
the top half of the conference in most defensive categories. That’s
something the Scots are well aware of.
“No matter who
you’re playing, you had better respect them,” said Bell. “It doesn’t
matter who you play, a loss counts the same in the standings
regardless of who you lose to.”
The Scots have had
that philosophy for seven weeks. Don’t expect it to change now.
Football
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