Monmouth handles Cornell, 49-7

MOUNT VERNON - Not much needed to be said, because the result explained it best.

Monmouth (Ill.) was better. Much better.

The Fighting Scots scored the first seven touchdowns and amassed more than 500 yards of offense, rolling host Cornell, 49-7, Saturday in a Midwest Conference football game.

Cornell Coach Vince Brautigam was direct with his assessment of the loss.

'After previous games we've gotten beat and I've been pretty upset,” Brautigam said. 'Nobody likes to lose, but (Saturday) is a day we got beat by a better team. Sometimes you just have to tip your cap.”

Monmouth (6-1, 3-0) pulled away with a 21-point second half, building on a 28-0 halftime lead. The Rams had chances for an early score, starting their second drive at Monmouth's 45 and another on the Scots' 24 when Justin Futrell recovered a dropped punt.

Cornell (3-4, 2-1) was turned away each time and trailed when Monmouth's Tanner Matlick threw the first of four TD pass, hitting Adam Parr on a 71-yard score.

'Getting beat over the top defensively and not scoring twice when we had the ball across our 50 set the tone for the game,” Brautigam said. 'I told the guys we just didn't make enough plays (Saturday).”

The Rams' struggled to move the ball, while the defense kept them in the game before Matlick hit Yansay Williams and Tanner Shafer for TDs of 21 and 31 in the final 2:23 of the second quarter.

'The whole team came together early,” said Cornell defender Colin Loethen, who had 10 tackles and 2 ½ tackles for loss. 'We were making plays, doing well and trying to rally around our offense, but in the end, the whole team, we just weren't up to the task.”

Monmouth had 526 total yards of offense with Matlick throwing for 244 and running for 63. In addition to key passes, Matlick was effective with long runs on draws up the middle.

'We did stop their running game in the beginning,” Brautigam said. 'They did have a hard time. Once they could throw the ball a little bit it opened things up.”

The Fighting Scots clicked on all cylinders. Matlick credited his coaches for their scouting and game plan.

'We played to our potential,” Matlick said. 'When we do that, good things happen.”

The Rams thwarted the shutout with 3:21 remaining in the game. Daniel Brown scored on a 3-yard run, capping a 31-yard drive set up by Zachary Yankovich's interception.

The game was a learning experience. The Rams have two more divisional games before playing a North division team to be determined. They travel to Lake Forest next week.

'We're just going to get better day by day and come back,” Loethen said. 'We're going to do what we do best.”

l Comments: (319) 368-8679; kj.pilcher@thegazette.com