Jeremy Adolphson and Chad Braun have overlapped as football coaches in Monmouth the past 13 years. Adolphson took the reins at Monmouth-Roseville High School in 2011, while Braun was an assistant coach at Monmouth College before getting the school's head job in 2015.
Both coaches have been around some strong teams since Adolphson came to town, but last year was the first time since 2008 that both the Titans and the Fighting Scots played beyond their scheduled finale in the same season. Adolphson's Titans posted a 35-14 first-round Class 3A victory over North Boone, while Braun's Scots won their second straight Lakefront Bowl, topping St. Norbert 21-14.
After hearing the pair of coaches speak at the Monmouth Rotary Club meeting Monday at Monmouth Country Club, area football fans could be in for a Titans-Scots postseason repeat this fall.
M-R is big and strong
Overall, Adolphson is entering his 24th season as a high school head coach. He's won 95 games at AlWood, Rockridge and M-R, but he's hoping to blow past the 100-win mark this year.
"Making the playoffs for the fourth year in a row is a minimum standard for us," he told the Rotary audience. "This is as excited about a season as I've ever been as a head coach."
Goals for the 20th season of Titan football include winning the Three Rivers Athletic Conference, hosting a first-round playoff game and exceeding the record nine victories that Adolphson's 2018 squad posted.
"Without a doubt, this is the biggest, strongest group I've worked with at Monmouth-Roseville," said Adolphson. "We have a lot of strong linemen who've really done their work in the weight room."
The Titans posted a 6-5 record last fall, playing with a nucleus of juniors and sophomores. One year later, his squad is much more experienced, with 14 seniors and another 14 juniors leading the way.
"We have a lot of experience back, and so far in practice, we're several days ahead of where we've been in the past," said Adolphson. "I think we have an exciting season ahead."
Returning All-TRAC performers include offensive lineman Jackson Thomas and defensive back Payton Thompson (the team's leading tackler), who both made the first team last fall, and junior linebacker Andrew Way. Thompson, who rushed for nearly 1,000 yards and 13 touchdowns, was also a second-teamer on offense at the flex spot. Senior Andy Myers, who rushed for around 500 yards and eight TDs, returns as the starting quarterback.
Rather than host the traditional "Meet the Titans" scrimmage, M-R will play what the Illinois High School Association is calling a "Week 0 Scrimmage" at Galesburg on Aug. 23. The Titans will officially kick off their season Aug. 30, hosting new TRAC member Mercer County, which is based in Aledo, Adolphson's hometown.
Mercer County will play in the TRAC's small-school division, while M-R will be in a big-school division comprised of Hall, Mendota, Sherrard, Kewanee and Princeton. Last fall, Princeton ended M-R's season in the second round of the playoffs, winning 35-0, and Adolphson called the Tigers the divisional favorite. The Titans and Tigers will meet Sept. 27 in M-R's Homecoming game.
Scots even bigger, stronger
"I can testify about Monmouth-Roseville," said Braun, who's in his 24th year at Monmouth. "I watched them at their (July 29) scrimmage against ROWVA and Farmington. They're for real. They're the real deal."
So are Braun's Scots.
Monmouth lost a few key contributors from last season - most notably, first team All-Midwest Conference quarterback Carter Boyer and the league's offensive line MVP, Derek Brown - but seven other first-team All-MWC players are back, including four linemen, two receivers and senior safety Nick Harris (33 tackles, 3 INTs).
On the defensive side of the ball, national NCAA Division III sack leader Anthony Cikauskas and Tevin Baker figure to provide a strong 1-2 punch. The 6-foot-3, 240-pound Cikauskas was the league's defensive line MVP while racking up 17 sacks. Baker (6-3, 225) added 10 sacks and a game-saving blocked field goal against Lake Forest.
On offense, senior Coby McMillan (6-3, 320) and junior James Conner (6-3, 270) anchor a line that could also include promising freshman Aiden Weaver from Tuscola, Illinois.
The embarrassment of riches continues at the skill positions, where the first-team All-MWC receiving tandem of Nate Thornton (54 catches, 973 yards, 11 TDs) and Jackson Bergren (53, 950, 9) are back. So are the Scots' top two rushers from a year ago, McKade Brooks (922 yards, 12 TDs) and Nate Wrublik (553, 10 TDs).
The returning stats are less impressive at quarterback, where junior Brayden Deem and sophomore Silas Braun -- the former M-R signal-caller -- have a combined five collegiate passing attempts between them.
"The big question mark is at quarterback," said Braun, who noted that leading into an Aug. 24 home scrimmage against Coe, Deem has the No. 1 spot.
Of course, there's still plenty of time before the Scots kick off their season Sept. 7 in a night game on April Zorn Memorial Stadium's new turf. The foe will be a strong one, as Wartburg finished last season ranked No. 3 in the nation among NCAA Division III schools.
Braun's team begins MWC play the following weekend at the University of Chicago, one of four teams he listed as contenders for the conference title, along with Lake Forest, Ripon and defending champion Illinois College, which dealt Monmouth a 20-17 loss on the road last fall. The Blueboys will come to town Oct. 5 for Monmouth's Homecoming game.
In addition to Braun, former Titans on the squad are juniors Derek Chandler - who's part of a talented group at safety - and tight end Logan Bratcher. If M-R's season goes as well as both Adolphson and Braun anticipate, that number of Titans staying in town to play for the Scots figures to increase next season.
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