Contact: Jenna McElroy, Sports Info & Social Media Intern, mcelroy@midwestconference.org
 
GRINNELL, Iowa – The Midwest Conference (MWC) is the lone NCAA Division III conference with a football championship game. The 2018 edition will feature Monmouth College heading to De Pere, Wisconsin to take on St. Norbert College with the winner receiving the league’s automatic qualifier to the NCAA Playoffs.
 
The Green Knights and the Fighting Scots earned the right to play in the title game after going 5-0 in the MWC North and South Divisions respectively. At 1 p.m. on Saturday, November 10, the two teams will face off in the MWC Championship game for the sixth time with St. Norbert holding a 4-1 edge.
 
Monmouth’s lone victory over the Green Knights came at home last year when the Scots edged St. Norbert 9-6 in overtime. The Scots got a 39-yard field goal from kicker Joey Biel in the fourth quarter to send the game to overtime tied at 3-3. St. Norbert’s kicker Spenser Thompson-Meyers responded with his second field goal of the night to take a 6-3 lead in the extra period. Monmouth quarterback Hayden Nelson answered that Green Knight score with a one-yard run into the end zone for the 9-6 win.
 
The rematch figures to be another low-scoring, defensive battle as both teams rank in the top 15 of NCAA Division III statistical categories for defense. St. Norbert is ranked in the top five in four statistics including fourth in total defense at 198.6 yards per game, team tackles for loss with 10.6 per game, and defensive touchdowns with five while sitting fifth in team passing efficiency defense with an 85.46 rating. For Monmouth, the Scots’ defense ranks 12th in team tackles for loss of 9.4 per game and 14th in total defense at 241.1 yards per game.
 
Both teams have posted four shutouts this season while putting a stop to opposing offenses running game. The Green Knights have allowed four rushing touchdowns this season but three of those came in a double-overtime loss to UW-Eau Claire. The Scots have allowed only one rushing TD this season in a victory over Wartburg.
 
The two defenses are also back-to-back in the rankings against the run with Monmouth sixth in allowing just 50.7 rushing yards per game while St. Norbert is seventh with an average of 53.3 yards allowed per game. With both teams so strong against the ground attack the teams will look to their respective quarterbacks to lead the way.
 
Entering this year’s championship, St. Norbert is led by quarterback Drew Rhodes who could become the first Green Knight to lead the team in both rushing and passing since 1997. Rhodes currently leads the team in both categories as he’s completed 115-of-193 passes for 1,320 yards and 11 touchdowns while rushing 131 times for 561 yards and two touchdowns. His 1,881 total yards and average of 209 yards per game ranks fourth in the conference just behind his opponent Nelson.
 
Nelson is one of the league’s top three quarterbacks in multiple statistical categories as he completed 137-of-219 passes for 1,637 yards. The senior is the second most efficient passer with a rating of 150.6 and is also second with 21 touchdowns while he is third in passing average per game (181.9 yards), completion percentage (62.6 percent), and total offense (1,972 yards). Nelson’s top target is wide receiver Jacolby Maxwell who has caught 55 passes for an average of 6.1 receptions per game and ranks second in the conference with 14.2 yards per catch and 12 touchdowns.
 
The Green Knights’ receivers are led by Matt Galanopoulos with 28 catches for 284 yards and three touchdowns while Samuel Staehling has 24 catches for 382 yards and four touchdowns. When St. Norbert decides to run the ball, Rhodes will hand it to the duo of Jadon Sackman (293 yards, five TDs) and Brandon Dudley (292 yards, four TDs). The Scots will counter with senior running back DeAndre Wright whose 784 yards, 10 touchdowns, 5.9 yards per carry, and 98 yards per game all rank second in the league.
 
St. Norbert’s trio of linebackers Matt Barrett, Mike Olijnyk, and Matt Gurgone will look to stop Wright and the rest of the Fighting Scots’ offense. Barrett has a team-high 70 tackles including 10 for a loss and 4.5 sacks while Olijnyk has 55 stops with a team-best 16.5 for a loss, and 4.5 sacks. Gurgone is an all-around threat as he has racked up 47 tackles, 14 for a loss, five sacks, four forced fumbles, and a league-high four interceptions.
 
Not to be outdone, Monmouth linebacker Clark Gaden has piled up 77 tackles for the eight most in the league, while defensive lineman Thomas Lesniewski ranks first in sacks with 13 as he set the Scots school record for career sacks this season at 34.5. Lesniewski is also tied with Olijnyk for the second-highest total of tackles for a loss with 16.5.
 
In last year’s meeting, nine of the games 15 points came off the foot of two of the conference’s best kickers. The Green Knights’ Thompson-Meyers has missed just three kicks all season as he is 41-for-42
on extra point attempts and 11-for-13 on field goals including a season long 50-yarder last weekend. Thompson-Meyers’ 74 points does not only rank first among kickers but sits tied for fifth in conference scoring overall. On the other side, Monmouth has been starting with good field position all season as punter Joey Biel leads the conference with an average of 40.6 yards per punt including a long of 77-yards. Biel also connected on 6-of-11 FGs and 42-of-45 PATs so far this season.
 
For all the Championship Weekend information including matchups for the other ten teams head to the championship page.