Fighting Scots know a thing about rhythm and blues
Dan Nolan
09/11/2007
MONMOUTH, Ill. — During Monmouth College’s 35-7 season-opening loss to Wartburg on Sept. 1, it might have been said that the Fighting Scots’ offense could not find its rhythm. That wasn’t entirely true, however, as a steady beat was established. The trouble was, Monmouth’s "1-2-3, Punt," which was repeated seven times to start the game, was not music to coach Steve Bell’s ears, and it didn’t exactly have the large contingent of Fighting Scots faithful on its feet.
A week later at Lawrence, a much more pleasing rhythm developed during Monmouth’s 44-7 conference-opening triumph. It came from quarterback Alex Tanney, whose "Drop-Set-Throw" number quickly moved up the MC record charts as a smash hit. Tanney misfired just seven times while throwing 24 completions, which checks in this week at No. 4 in the Scots’ record book. His 306 passing yards rank eighth on Monmouth’s single-game honor roll.
"Alex threw some balls that were on time, and he was very accurate," said Bell. "Geez, he threw some pinpoint passes. He was releasing the ball on time, right as the receivers were coming out of their breaks, and giving them time to adjust."
Down 35-0 at one point in their opener, the Scots’ defense was also singing the blues. But at Lawrence, Monmouth’s unit did a great rendition of Wartburg’s "Nowhere to Run," and they added their own special twist – turnovers. The Vikings’ first 23 plays totaled just three yards and also included two interceptions by Cole Norman and a fumble, which was recovered by Danny Weiden.
"Defensively, we played much smarter this week," said Bell. "We saw the ball and reacted to it as it was coming out of the quarterback’s hand, rather than waiting until he had already thrown it. We were much faster, and it was a good jump from Game One to Game Two. That jump has to happen every week for us. We can’t settle with where we’re at."
By the time the Vikings finally moved the first down chains, they were behind 34-0, and Monmouth had posted four scoring drives of 20 yards or less. Tanney had all three of his touchdown passes by that point, using three different receivers – Mike Blodgett, Matt Shepherd (Leesburg High School, Leesburg FL) and Nick Wright. Two other wideouts, Bobby Gibbs and Kyle Wantland, were Tanney’s prime targets throughout the day, combining to catch 15 passes for 223 yards.
"Our receivers made some tremendous catches," said Bell. "Nick Wright’s in the end zone was a great, great grab. You could tell our receivers were much more confident. They weren’t hesitant like the week before, and we played much faster."
Not to be overlooked was Monmouth’s strong kicking game. Nate Palkovic opened the scoring with a 32-yard field goal, and he added a 30-yarder later in the first quarter for a 13-0 lead. He was perfect on his PATs, pushing his career point total to 201. That puts him in second place on Monmouth’s all-time scoring list, seven behind Hall of Famer Mark Reed.
For those fearing the Scots’ kicking game will take a big hit when Palkovic plays his final game later this fall, sophomore Kyle Tuor showed he is more than ready to take over. Tuor had punts of 48 and 42 yards and also booted a 41-yard field goal to put Monmouth ahead 44-0 early in the fourth quarter.
With its offense, defense and special teams play operating at highly effective levels, was there anything for Bell not to like about Monmouth’s first win?
"Our defense did a tremendous job of getting us the ball in good field position, but we left points out on the field," said Bell. "Points are points, but you want to get touchdowns in those situations. We’ve got to learn how to finish."
The Scots will get their first chance to improve on that this Saturday at Bobby Woll Memorial Field, as Beloit comes to town for a 1:30 p.m. game. The Bucs are 0-2 on the year, losing 34-21 to Macalester and 35-6 to Carroll.
"Schematically, they run a very nice system," said Bell. "Their quarterback is a nice athlete, and they look very athletic on defense, also."
Beloit returns no All-Midwest Conference players from last season, with their biggest loss to graduation being two-time 1,000-yard rusher Lee Rankinen. So far, quarterback Joe Davis’ 102 rushing yards leads the Bucs. He has also thrown for 339 yards and one TD. Despite the lopsided loss vs. Carroll, Beloit was able to move the ball, gaining 257 yards through the air.
On defense, Beloit’s Tony Baratti and Sam Bauman have been active, each posting more than 20 tackles. Baratti has a sack and two other stops behind the line of scrimmage and Bauman has one of Beloit’s two interceptions.
If turnovers are a factor, that should benefit Monmouth. The Scots are already plus-eight in the takeaway department, and Beloit is averaging two turnovers per game.
"Beloit has a new coaching staff and a lot of younger players," said Bell. "They’re going to get better every week. They’re going to make a jump, and we have to make sure that we match that jump or exceed it."
With a Monmouth offense in rhythm and a defense causing the blues, the Fighting Scots hope their new "R&B" beat goes on.
Box Score Wartburg College vs Monmouth College (Sep 01, 2007)
Box Score Wartburg College vs Monmouth College (Sep 01, 2007)
Former Leesburg High School, Monmouth College (Monmouth, Illinois), Finland’s Kouvola Indians Standout and current Marburg Mercenaries in the southern division of the GFL player Matt Shepherd will make ...his first appearance on the Lake County Sports Show March 10, 2012.
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| Former Leesburg High School Standout Matt Shepherd at Monmouth College (Monmouth, Illionois) |
Matt Shepherd, Shericka Ward (Former Leesburg High School Girls Basketball, Girls Track and Field, and current Villanova University Womens Track and Field Standout) , Wayne Hamilton (former Leesburg High School, University of Alabama and San Diego Chargers Football Standout), will be the featured guests along with the show host Billy Matthews (The Voice Of The Leesburg Yellow Jackets), Sonny Bronson (Belton Bail Bonds Scoreboard Show Host), Allison Crawford (Belton Bail Bonds Scoreboard Show Co-host) and Gerald Lacey (Carver Heights Quarterback Club Staff Writer).
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Matt Shepherd On The Lake County Sports Show Resources
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Gerald LaceyStaff Writer
Carver Heights Quarterback Club
1986 Varsity Jackets Football Lettermen #82
Class of 1988 Leesburg High School
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