MONMOUTH, Ill. – After falling behind by 23 in the first half, the University of Chicago football team mounted a comeback bid that came down to the final play on Saturday, which ended with a 40-37 loss at Monmouth College.

The Maroons absorbed their first defeat of the season – they are now 4-1 overall and 3-1 in the Midwest Conference. The Fighting Scots improved to 4-1 on the year and 4-0 in the MWC.

Things began promisingly for the visiting side – UChicago scored on its opening possession for the fifth-straight game. Senior running back Nicholas D'Ambrose broke off a big run on third down and scampered into the end zone from 35 yards out.

However, the next quarter of action was all Monmouth. The hosts poured on the points with four rushing touchdowns in less than nine minutes of game time to leap ahead 27-7.

Sophomore kicker Will Goodman converted a 32-yard field goal midway through the second quarter to end the skid. But the Fighting Scots answered right back with another touchdown run to make it 33-10.

That's when the Maroon comeback began in earnest. On the next offensive play, senior quarterback Philip Martini dialed up a long-distance completion to senior wideout Zack Olson, who raced in for a 78-yard score. A big 33-yard punt return by senior wide receiver Matt Quaglia put the visitors in prime position on Monmouth's side of the field. A quick strike was in order once again – Martini's first-down pass found senior wide receiver Caden Kalinowski for a 32-yard touchdown.

UChicago got one more look at the end zone in the first half, but was intercepted at the goal line as time ran out.

In the third quarter, the Maroons drew to within three points. D'Ambrose broke off a 56-yard gain on the first play of the possession to get the offense into the red zone. Martini capped the drive with a 10-yard touchdown run to make it 33-30.

Two more UChicago drives went deep into Monmouth territory in the third quarter. But the Scots picked off Martini on both forays. The home team finally counterpunched late in the fourth quarter with a 30-yard touchdown to increase the lead to 40-30.

Backed up on its own 10-yard line, UChicago's offense quickly marched down the field with eight plays that traversed 90 yards. Martini connected with Quaglia for 39 yards on third-and-long, then found him again for a 24-yard touchdown with 59 seconds left in the game.

The subsequent onside kick was secured by Monmouth. Things got interesting though when UChicago forced a fourth-down pass that fell incomplete with one second to go. However, a roughing-the-passer penalty ended the last chance for the Maroons.

Both teams ran the ball effectively and efficiently all day. Monmouth ran for 304 yards at 5.5 yards per carry, while UChicago posted 260 rushing yards at 6.2 yards per carry. The big disparity came in the passing yardage – 241 for the Maroons versus only 55 for the Scots. All told, UChicago outgained the home side 501 to 359.

D'Ambrose was the workhorse with 25 carries for a career-high 201 yards (8.0 yards per carry). Martini completed 9 of 24 passes for 241 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions. He also ran for 34 yards. Quaglia led the receivers with four catches for 93 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, sophomore linebacker William Skowronski made a team-high 13 tackles along with one tackle for loss. Senior defensive end Davis Govrik collected 11 tackles and one blocked kick, while sophomore linebacker Aidan Cappellino posted eight stops. Sophomore defensive lineman Kourosh Hassibi garnered one sack and six tackles.

NEXT GAME:

• Saturday, Oct. 16 @ 1:00 PM – UChicago at Cornell College