Monolith Rhinos 24, Axiom Falcons 21
Week 2 · Regular season · round 9 · Tuesday 6 October 2026
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AXM Axiom Falcons | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| MNL Monolith Rhinos | 0 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 24 |
Game recap
Down but not out, the Monolith Rhinos rallied past the Axiom Falcons for a 24-21 win in round 9 of Week 2. They trailed by as many as 7 points, and their chance of winning dropped as low as 14%. The result went against the odds, which had the Rhinos at 26% before kickoff.
The Falcons opened the scoring with a 6-yard touchdown pass from Callum Reyes to Ivo Thorne with 0:29 left in the first quarter. The Falcons led 14-7 at halftime. Then came the fourth quarter: a 10-yard touchdown pass from Callum Reyes to Milo Sterling for the Falcons (2:27 left, 21-17); a 2-yard touchdown pass from Brandt Kessler to Hector Quarles for the Rhinos (1:21 left, 24-21).
The biggest swing of the game came with 0:32 left in the fourth quarter: an interception by Adrien Pellegrini off Callum Reyes. It moved the Rhinos' chance of winning from 54% to 91%.
The standout was Brandt Kessler (QB, Rhinos), with 17 of 24 passing for 187 yards, 3 TD; 1 catch for -1 yard. Elsewhere, Valen Falkner (Rhinos) had 20 carries for 130 yards; Titus Okafor (Rhinos) had 20 carries for 101 yards; 5 catches for 54 yards; Callum Reyes (Falcons) had 23 of 36 passing for 268 yards, 3 TD, 3 INT; 2 carries for 12 yards; Idris Vaughn (Falcons) had 15 carries for 63 yards; 3 catches for 24 yards.
Before kickoff, the Rhinos' game plan was on offense: attack the zones, stay underneath, lean on the run, target Hector Quarles; on defense: bracket Milo Sterling (Hector Quarles finished with 4 catches for 45 yards and 1 TD). Meanwhile, the Falcons' game plan was on offense: attack the zones, take shots deep, throw it more, target Milo Sterling; on defense: bracket Hector Quarles (Milo Sterling finished with 7 catches for 96 yards and 1 TD).
The Rhinos move to 5-4 and the Falcons to 2-7 this week.
Scoring summary
| Time | Team | Play | AXM-MNL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 0:29 | Falcons | A 6-yard touchdown pass from Callum Reyes to Ivo Thorne | 7-0 |
| Q2 1:29 | Rhinos | A 4-yard touchdown pass from Brandt Kessler to Ivo Underwood | 7-7 |
| Q2 0:07 | Falcons | A 6-yard touchdown pass from Callum Reyes to Nils Achebe | 14-7 |
| Q3 2:10 | Rhinos | A 20-yard touchdown pass from Brandt Kessler to Rory Blackwood | 14-14 |
| Q3 0:25 | Rhinos | A 37-yard field goal by Tariq Underwood | 14-17 |
| Q4 2:27 | Falcons | A 10-yard touchdown pass from Callum Reyes to Milo Sterling | 21-17 |
| Q4 1:21 | Rhinos | A 2-yard touchdown pass from Brandt Kessler to Hector Quarles | 21-24 |
Team stats
| AXM | MNL | |
|---|---|---|
| Total yards | 365 | 418 |
| Passing yards | 268 | 187 |
| Rushing yards | 97 | 231 |
| Completions | 23 of 36 | 17 of 24 |
| Offensive plays | 60 | 65 |
| Third downs | 4 of 9 | 4 of 9 |
| Fourth downs | 1 of 2 | 0 of 1 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 2 |
| Sacks allowed | 2 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 5:15 | 6:45 |
Axiom Falcons box score
Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Callum Reyes | 23/36 | 268 | 3 | 3 |
Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Idris Vaughn | 15 | 63 | 0 | 15 |
| Pavel Pellegrini | 5 | 22 | 0 | 8 |
| Callum Reyes | 2 | 12 | 0 | 7 |
Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | TD | TGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milo Sterling | 7 | 96 | 1 | 13 |
| Ivo Thorne | 7 | 94 | 1 | 8 |
| Gideon Hargrove | 4 | 44 | 0 | 5 |
| Idris Vaughn | 3 | 24 | 0 | 4 |
Defense
| Player | TK | SK | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roman Lachance | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gideon Zamora | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ivo Eriksen | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Emeric Montague | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Elio Sandoval | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Matteo Hargrove | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Monolith Rhinos box score
Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brandt Kessler | 17/24 | 187 | 3 | 0 |
Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valen Falkner | 20 | 130 | 0 | 17 |
| Titus Okafor | 20 | 101 | 0 | 20 |
Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | TD | TGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Titus Okafor | 5 | 54 | 0 | 6 |
| Rory Blackwood | 3 | 46 | 1 | 5 |
| Hector Quarles | 4 | 45 | 1 | 5 |
| Ivo Underwood | 2 | 25 | 1 | 3 |
Defense
| Player | TK | SK | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adrien Pellegrini | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Cyrus Varga | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Roman Underwood | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nils Sandoval | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Emeric Varga | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Emeric Hargrove | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Kicking
| Player | FG | LNG | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tariq Underwood | 1/1 | 37 | 0/0 |
Watch the replay
Every play of this game can be replayed on the big screen, with the play calls, the win probability and the commentary: replay Monolith Rhinos 24, Axiom Falcons 21 on Snapline. More about the teams: Monolith Rhinos · Axiom Falcons.