Monolith Rhinos 31, Meridian Owls 27
Week 2 · Regular season · round 17 · Thursday 8 October 2026
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MRD Meridian Owls | 14 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 27 |
| MNL Monolith Rhinos | 7 | 7 | 3 | 14 | 31 |
Game recap
Down but not out, the Monolith Rhinos rallied past the Meridian Owls for a 31-27 win in round 17 of Week 2. They trailed by as many as 13 points, and their chance of winning dropped as low as 6%.
The Owls opened the scoring with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Graham Ashby to Abel Thornbury with 2:09 left in the first quarter. At the break the Owls were up 17-14. The fourth quarter brought a 6-yard touchdown run by Brandt Kessler for the Rhinos (2:54 left, 27-24); a 13-yard touchdown pass from Brandt Kessler to Hector Quarles for the Rhinos (1:19 left, 31-27).
The key moment arrived with 0:29 left in the fourth quarter: an incomplete pass on fourth down. It moved the Rhinos' chance of winning from 55% to 90%.
The standout was Brandt Kessler (QB, Rhinos), with 14 of 18 passing for 172 yards, 3 TD; 1 carry for 6 yards and 1 TD. Elsewhere, Titus Okafor (Rhinos) had 24 carries for 103 yards; 4 catches for 44 yards and 1 TD; Hector Quarles (Rhinos) had 5 catches for 81 yards and 2 TD; Graham Ashby (Owls) had 21 of 25 passing for 237 yards, 2 TD; Tobin Marsh (Owls) had 23 carries for 110 yards; 1 catch for 5 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 Abel Thornbury (Hector Quarles finished with 5 catches for 81 yards and 2 TD). Meanwhile, the Owls' game plan was on offense: attack the zones, take shots deep, throw it more, target Abel Thornbury; on defense: bracket Hector Quarles (Abel Thornbury finished with 10 catches for 111 yards and 2 TD).
The Rhinos move to 10-7 and the Owls to 5-8-4 this week.
Scoring summary
| Time | Team | Play | MRD-MNL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 2:09 | Owls | A 12-yard touchdown pass from Graham Ashby to Abel Thornbury | 7-0 |
| Q1 1:15 | Rhinos | A 13-yard touchdown pass from Brandt Kessler to Titus Okafor | 7-7 |
| Q1 0:02 | Owls | A 12-yard touchdown pass from Graham Ashby to Abel Thornbury | 14-7 |
| Q2 1:16 | Owls | A 21-yard field goal by Zane Radcliffe | 17-7 |
| Q2 0:24 | Rhinos | A 34-yard touchdown pass from Brandt Kessler to Hector Quarles | 17-14 |
| Q3 2:24 | Owls | An 8-yard touchdown run by Pavel Oyelaran | 24-14 |
| Q3 1:40 | Owls | A 51-yard field goal by Zane Radcliffe | 27-14 |
| Q3 0:50 | Rhinos | A 49-yard field goal by Tariq Underwood | 27-17 |
| Q4 2:54 | Rhinos | A 6-yard touchdown run by Brandt Kessler | 27-24 |
| Q4 1:19 | Rhinos | A 13-yard touchdown pass from Brandt Kessler to Hector Quarles | 27-31 |
Team stats
| MRD | MNL | |
|---|---|---|
| Total yards | 418 | 360 |
| Passing yards | 237 | 172 |
| Rushing yards | 181 | 188 |
| Completions | 21 of 25 | 14 of 18 |
| Offensive plays | 61 | 54 |
| Third downs | 2 of 7 | 5 of 9 |
| Fourth downs | 1 of 3 | 1 of 1 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 2 |
| Sacks allowed | 2 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 6:18 | 5:42 |
Meridian Owls box score
Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graham Ashby | 21/25 | 237 | 2 | 0 |
Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tobin Marsh | 23 | 110 | 0 | 17 |
| Adrien Oyelaran | 9 | 51 | 0 | 12 |
| Pavel Oyelaran | 2 | 20 | 1 | 12 |
Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | TD | TGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abel Thornbury | 10 | 111 | 2 | 11 |
| Soren Oyelaran | 6 | 75 | 0 | 7 |
| Emeric Brennan | 2 | 29 | 0 | 3 |
| Pavel Oyelaran | 2 | 17 | 0 | 2 |
Defense
| Player | TK | SK | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adrien Montague | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Adrien Zamora | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Elio Sandoval | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Orson Lachance | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Dorian Radcliffe | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cyrus Jovanovic | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Kicking
| Player | FG | LNG | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zane Radcliffe | 2/2 | 51 | 0/0 |
Monolith Rhinos box score
Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brandt Kessler | 14/18 | 172 | 3 | 0 |
Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Titus Okafor | 24 | 103 | 0 | 23 |
| Valen Falkner | 10 | 79 | 0 | 19 |
| Brandt Kessler | 1 | 6 | 1 | 6 |
Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | TD | TGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hector Quarles | 5 | 81 | 2 | 7 |
| Titus Okafor | 4 | 44 | 1 | 6 |
| Rory Blackwood | 2 | 24 | 0 | 2 |
| Ivo Underwood | 3 | 23 | 0 | 3 |
Defense
| Player | TK | SK | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nils Sandoval | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cyrus Varga | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Roman Underwood | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bastien Sandoval | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Emeric Hargrove | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Emeric Varga | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Kicking
| Player | FG | LNG | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tariq Underwood | 1/1 | 49 | 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 31, Meridian Owls 27 on Snapline. More about the teams: Monolith Rhinos · Meridian Owls.