It will be two teams in unfamiliar territory this Saturday when Monmouth College travels to Ripon College for a 1 p.m. kickoff at Ingalls Field.
      Monmouth (4-4, 4-3) and Ripon (3-5, 3-4) are accustomed to being at or near the top of the Midwest Conference standings. That’s not the case this season, as both teams are mired in the middle of the pack.
      The Fighting Scots gave up two drives of more than 95 yards last week on Illinois College’s first two possessions and were never able to take the lead in a 34-31 loss to the Blue Boys. A 60-yard interception return by Michael Lafferty to set up a touchdown and Trey Yocum’s record-tying 43rd career TD were the Scots’ highlights from the game. Yocum gained 85 yards on the day to become only the second Scot in history to rush for more than 1,000 yards twice in a career. Ron Baker is the other, with three 1,000-yard seasons.
      The Red Hawks fell 17-7 at league-leader Lake Forest last week. Ripon took just one play to take the lead against the Foresters. Eric Langman broke free for a 95-yard touchdown run on the Red Hawks’ first possession after Ripon stopped the Foresters drive by picking off a Forester pass at the Ripon 5-yard line. Lake Forest countered, scoring on its next two possessions to take a 14-7 first quarter lead and shutting down the Ripon offense for the remaining three quarters.
      Monmouth not only is in an unfamiliar position in the conference standings, but the Scots are also facing an unfamiliar offense in the Red Hawks. Ripon’s double-slot, triple-option attack isn’t something the Scots have seen from any other opponent.
      “We only see that style once a year and that makes it difficult to prepare for,” said coach Steve Bell. “What makes it doubly tough is that we only have one week to prepare.”
      Ripon is five times more likely to run than throw and quarterback Tom Sawyer gets the call on the majority of the runs. The junior QB’s 815 rushing yards leads three backs with more than 400 yards this season. He’s also scored 10 times, two more than the Red Hawks’ No. 2 ball carrier, Max Herrmann.
      When Sawyer does throw, he usually finds junior wide out Tommy Zak. The 6-foot-2 Zak has hauled in more than 400 of the Red Hawks’ 569 passing yards. He’s also scored two of Ripon’s three receiving TDs.
      “We’ll have to be extremely sound in what we’re doing,” said Bell of controlling the Ripon attack. “To defend the option, you have to stick to your assignments. The problem in preparing for the option is that, other than when they throw, there are no tendencies. You just never know who’s going to get the ball. The key for us it to make them throw when they don’t want to.”
      Monmouth hasn’t thrown as much as they have in the past, but they have been racking up yards, averaging more than 370 yards per game. Most of that has come on the ground, specifically from Yocum, who averages more than five yards per carry.
      “Our offense has been a progression,” said Bell. “We’ve got to be able to get the ball to him (Yocum) and then be able to throw the ball when we want to, not when we have to. We want to be two-dimensional, not one-dimensional.”
      The Scots will add a new dimension this week when it comes to motivation. With the conference title now out of reach, Bell is asking his team to look inward.
      “We’ve got to make a decision,” said Bell. “We’ve been inconsistent, and we have to strive to be more consistent in these last two games. We’ve got to make the stops and get our defense off the field and keep the offense on the field and make the plays when the opportunity presents itself. That’s how you score points. For our seniors, it’s a case of what legacy do they want to leave behind.”