The Monmouth College football team set a school record for the third week in a row, this time with three interceptions returned for touchdowns, in a 7-2 win at Beloit College on Saturday. The Fighting Scots (6-1, 6-0) led 21-0 after the first quarter, 55-0 at half and finished with their largest margin of victory in 33 years.
"I'm really proud of our players who had a great week of practice," said head coach Chad Braun. "They came out ready to play and it showed early in the game/"
Beloit's quarterback fumbled on the second play of the game and Anthony Cikauskas (Oswego, Illinois) recovered to give the Scots possession on the 13. Three plays later, Nate Wrublik (Lemont, Illinois) scored on 4-yard run and Aiden Sensabaugh (East Moline, Illinois) kicked the extra point.
Beloit punted and the Scots went back to work, mostly on the ground. Wrublik picked up two first downs and Brayden Deem (Andalusia, Illinois) completed passes to Chase Newman (Morrison, Illinois) and Mason Emin (Sterling, Illinois) Wrublik scored on a 2-yard run for a 14-0 lead. Another punt gave the Scots the ball in Bucs territory and Deem hit Gunner Bryant (Curryville, Missouri) for two first downs. John Ahlden (Ashkum, Illinois) capped off the drive with a 6-yard touchdown run.
The Scots missed a field goal to start the second quarter. Armani Carrillo (Orlando, Florida) got the defense involved in the scoring with a 25-yard interception return for a touchdown and a 28-0 lead. On the next Beloit play from scrimmage, Johnny York (Elmwood, Illinois) picked off a pass and ran it back 31 yards for another pick six and a 35-0 lead.
The Scots got the ball back on a punt and Deem ran for 17 yards, Wrublik ran for 12 after two passes and the Scots used defensive tackled Jeremiah Hardnett (O'Fallon, Illinois) to score on a 1-yard run. Leading 41-0, Monmouth got the ball in Beloit territory after another punt. Deem hit Newman for 22 yards and three plays later the duo hooked up for a 6-yard touchdown. Monmouth put one more score on the board in the first half when Ethan James (Carthage, Illinois) returned an interception 25 yards for a touchdown and 55-0 lead. Derek Chandler (Monmouth, Illinois) gave the Scots a fourth interception when he ended the half by catching a Hail Mary on the 5-yard line.
Silas Braun (Monmouth, Illinois) took over at quarterback to start the third quarter. Braun, Ahlden and Peyton Thompson (Monmouth, Illinois) combined to run for 51 yards on the drive. Braun hit Caden Monti (Woodstock, Illinois) for six yards and Sensabaugh made a field goal for a 58-0 lead. The Scots kept the ball on the ground for the next drive with 39 yards on seven plays as Ahlden scored. Mylee Hansen (Pekin, Illinois) made the extra point for a 65-0 lead .
On the first drive of the fourth quarter, Da'Von Patterson (Ponte Vedra, Florida) ran for 20 yards and Braun hit Monti for six. On 3rd and 15, Braun hit Monti for a 42-yard touchdown, the first for both players .Hansen hit the extra point again for a 72-0 lead. The Scots got one more possession and ran out the clock for the win.
Deem completed 9-of-15 passes for 86 yards and a touchdown. Wrublik ran for 91 yards and two touchdowns while Ahlden also scored twice. Monti had three catches for 54 yards and a touchdown.
Parker Byers (Clearwater, Florida) led the Scots with five tackles. Gavin Carpenter (Coal City, Illinois) and Damien Brown (East Peoria, Illinois) both had sacks. Carpenter also had 2.5 tackles for loss.
MONMOUTH MOMENTS: The 72-point win is tied for the third largest in school history with a 72-0 win over Grinnell in 1992…Monmouth beat Lawrence by 71 last month…Monmouth held Beloit to 24 total yards, nine passing and 15 rushing…Monmouth had five games in their history with two interception returns for touchdowns, most recently in 2013 against Ripon…York also scored this season on a fumble return…Wrublik moved into 14th on the Monmouth career rushing yards list and also moved past Devin Lawrence into fifth on the career rushing touchdown list with 31…Deem moved past Mark Reed for ninth on the career completions list…He also moved into the top 10 in rushing yards by a quarterback…Braun had his first career touchdown pass…Monti had his first reception and touchdown…Cikauskas has 67.5 career tackles for loss…Monmouth held Beloit to 0-of-11 on third down…The Scots were 8-for-12 on third down…Monmouth has scored at least 45 points in six straight games…The Scots are 41-21 all-time against Beloit with 11 straight wins…The Scots play at Chicago next Saturday with a 1 p.m. kickoff…The Maroons are also unbeaten in conference play …The next home game is Nov. 8 at 1 p.m. against Ripon