1998 OPPONENTS -- FACTS AND FIGURES
WEEK #1 -- Saturday, September 12th at EUREKA (1997 record: 5-5)
Monmouth holds all-time series lead, 15-7....Monmouth won 3 straight season openers against the Red Devils from 1992 to 1994 but has dropped the last three games....Eureka scored a rare defensive extra-point against the Scots on a blocked PAT attempt in 1994....Eureka will return starting QB Matt Koeppel and will feature a wide-open passing attack and single-back set on offense
WEEK #2 -- Saturday, September 19th HOME VS. LAKE FOREST (2-7, 1-4 / 6th MWC North)
Lake Forest, Illinois / Nickname: Foresters / Head Coach: Randy Moore, 4th yr (4-23) / Colors: Red and Black / 1997: MC 14, Lake Forest 7 / 1996: MC 30, Lake Forest 21
Monmouth has a 17-11-2 all-time series lead and has won four straight games in the series....Fighting Scots swept intradivisional contests against Lake Forest in 1990-91 and 1996-97...LFC's last victory came in 1985....Foresters must replace one of the top rushing backs in the conference in Corey Honore, who won the league rushing title in 1996....Lake Forest should field another strong defense this fall and return two All-Conference DBs...Also return MWC’s second-rated punter in senior David Fee
WEEK #3 -- Saturday, September 26th at BELOIT (3-6, 2-3 / 3rd MWC North)
Beloit, Wisconsin / Nickname: Buccaneers / Head Coach: Ed DeGeorge, 20th yr (94-88-1) / Colors: Navy Blue and Gold / 1995: Beloit 40, MC 0 / 1994: Beloit 33, MC 7
Monmouth holds an all-time series lead of 21-17 but has lost the last two games against Beloit…The Bucs outscored MC by a combined 73-7 score in those two contests….Beloit's 40-0 victory in 1995 snapped a school-record streak of 77 straight games in which Monmouth had scored….Beloit has appeared in four MWC title games but has never won a league championship….Ed DeGeorge needs just six victories to join the 100-win club….Senior All-MWC FB Brian Balick is the league’s top returning rusher and Bucs also return two outstanding interior linemen in All-Conference First Teamers Matt Krill and Nate Fair
WEEK #4 -- Saturday, October 3rd HOME VS. ILLINOIS (1-8, 0-3 / 4th MWC South)
[PARENTS’ WEEKEND]
Jacksonville, Illinois / Nickname: Blueboys / Head Coach: Tom Rowland, 1st year / Colors: Blue and White / 1997: MC 17, Illinois 14 / 1996: Illinois 16, MC 14
With last year's victory, Monmouth leads all-time series, 25-10-2....Teams first met in 1894 with the Fighting Scots winning 16-4 but did not play each other between 1933 and 1982....IC stopped an 11-year losing string with two straight wins in 1995 and 1996....Last year's game featured another low-scoring, defensive struggle typical of the recent series between the two teams….Illinois has two 1997 All-Conference offensive tackles to anchor their frontline
WEEK #5 -- Saturday, October 10th at CARROLL (5-5, 4-1 / 1st MWC North)
Waukesha, Wisconsin / Nickname: Pioneers / Head Coach: Merle Masonholder, 19th year / Colors: Orange and Blue / 1993: Carroll 20, MC 14 / 1992: Carroll 40, MC 21
Carroll has won the only two meetings between the two schools since the Pioneers joined the conference in 1992….Carroll won its first-ever MWC title in 1997 with a 20-15 victory over Grinnell after capturing its third MWC North Division crown...The Pioneers lost their first four games in ’97 and roared back to win five of their last six...Senior DB Jeff Lueck was the North Division MVP last year…Also returning are 3 All-MWC selections on defense and RB Jason Szmurlo
WEEK #6 -- Saturday, October 17th HOME VS. ST. NORBERT (4-5, 2-3 / 5th MWC North)
[HOMECOMING WEEKEND]
DePere, Wisconsin / Nickname: Green Knights / Head Coach: Greg Quick, 5th yr (16-20) / Colors: Green and Gold / 1997: St. Norbert 41, MC 14 / 1996: MC 21, St. Norbert 7
St. Norbert holds a commanding 10-2 series lead since the two schools first met in 1975....Monmouth's only victory prior to their 1996 win was at home in 1990 on a dramatic last-second field goal....The Green Knights defeated Monmouth in three straight MWC championship games between 1987 and 1989....ill feature a strong secondary with the league’s top two interception leaders from ‘97 in DBs Steve Sturm and Jason Liegl….Return 5 other All-Conf. players
WEEK #7 -- Saturday, October 24th at RIPON (6-3, 4-1 / 2nd MWC North)
Ripon, Wisconsin / Nickname: Red Hawks / Head Coach: Ron Ernst, 8th yr (42-23) / Colors: Red and White / 1995: Ripon 31, MC 23 / 1994: Ripon 30, MC 6
With two consecutive victories, Ripon now holds series lead at 29-15-2.....Teams first played in 1915….The Scots won both interdivisional games in 1988 and 1989, including a 3-2 victory which set a record for the lowest-scoring non-shutout game in team history….Ripon’s main strengths will be in the offensive and defensive lines and special teams but the Hawks need to find starting ability at QB and defensive secondary positions….Soph WR Joe Rettler led MWC in catches per game in 1997
WEEK #8 -- Saturday, October 31st at LAWRENCE (4-5, 2-3 / 4th MWC North)
Appleton, Wisconsin / Nickname: Vikings / Head Coach: Rick Coles, 4th yr / Colors: Blue and White / 1993: MC 17, Lawrence 13 / 1992: MC 35, Lawrence 30
Monmouth has a four-game win streak against Lawrence but the Vikings still lead the all-time series 23-16….LU’s last victory was a 38-0 shutout in 1981….Lawrence was one of three MWC North teams tied at 2-3 last fall….LU returns seven starters on defense and nine on offense, including all-loop QB Steve Wesley and junior punter Jeremy Keller, who led the league last year with a 41-yard average…Must replace MWC rushing and scoring leader Brad Olson (14 touchdowns and 993 rush yards)
WEEK #9 -- Saturday, November 7th HOME VS. GRINNELL (5-5, 3-0 / 1st MWC South)
Grinnell, Iowa / Nickname: Pioneers / Head Coach: Greg Wallace, 10th yr (24-65-1) / Colors: Scarlet and Black / 1997: Grinnell 38, MC 7 / 1996: Grinnell 42, MC 13
Monmouth leads all-time series, 29-16-3, but has lost the last three meetings to Grinnell....The Pioneers stopped a nine-year skid with a 27-13 victory at Monmouth in 1995.... Scots' win streak included a 26-20 overtime win at Grinnell in 1994....Pioneers won South Division last fall to advance to the title game but lost to Carroll...Grinnell expects to return 4 All-MWC offense players and 3 on defense….WR David Snider and RB Wade Krause lead MWC scoring returners with 9.6 points per game average last year
WEEK #10 -- Saturday, November 14th HOME VS. KNOX (5-4, 2-1 / 2nd MWC South)
[BRONZE TURKEY GAME]
Galesburg, Illinois / Nickname: Prairie Fire / Head Coach: Andy Gibbons, 3rd yr (11-7) / Colors: Purple and Gold / 1997: Knox 14, MC 7 / 1996: Knox 31, MC 6
Three straight Knox victories have tied the all-time series at 49-49-10 after 108 games...."Bronze Turkey" rivalry began in 1891 and is the fourth-oldest in the nation for Division III schools and second-oldest west of the Allegheny Mountains....Despite the three losses, the Fighting Scots have won 9 of the last 14 meetings since a 3-3 tie in 1983....Monmouth's first-ever overtime game was a 13-7 victory over the Fire in 1991....DE Josh Fourdyce, the South Division Defensive MVP, leads a group of four returning All-Conference defensive starters…League punt return leader Drew Sherman and kicker Chris Warwick also return