Cortex Foxes 20, Monolith Rhinos 17
Week 3 · Regular season · round 21 · Friday 16 October 2026
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MNL Monolith Rhinos | 7 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| CTX Cortex Foxes | 0 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 20 |
Game recap
Down but not out, the Cortex Foxes rallied past the Monolith Rhinos for a 20-17 win in round 21 of Week 3. They trailed by as many as 14 points, and their chance of winning dropped as low as 8%.
The Rhinos opened the scoring with a 3-yard touchdown run by Valen Falkner with 1:58 left in the first quarter. The Rhinos led 17-7 at halftime. The fourth quarter brought a 45-yard field goal by Wendell Montague for the Foxes (1:53 left, 17-13); a 6-yard touchdown pass from Ezra Vale to Rafe Ellison for the Foxes (1:20 left, 20-17).
The play that tilted the game came with 1:32 left in the fourth quarter: a fumble by Titus Okafor, recovered by the defense. It moved the Foxes' chance of winning from 21% to 49%.
The standout was Kian Morrow (RB, Foxes), with 19 carries for 125 yards and 1 TD; 3 catches for 23 yards. Elsewhere, Ezra Vale (Foxes) had 23 of 33 passing for 197 yards, 1 TD; 2 carries for 9 yards; Cassius Ashford (Foxes) had 7 catches for 68 yards; Brandt Kessler (Rhinos) had 11 of 17 passing for 94 yards, 1 TD; Titus Okafor (Rhinos) had 27 carries for 131 yards; 4 catches for 34 yards.
Before kickoff, the Foxes' game plan was on offense: attack the zones, take shots deep, throw it more, target Rafe Ellison; on defense: bracket Hector Quarles (Rafe Ellison finished with 7 catches for 44 yards and 1 TD). Meanwhile, the Rhinos' game plan was on offense: attack the zones, stay underneath, lean on the run, target Hector Quarles; on defense: bracket Rafe Ellison (Hector Quarles finished with 5 catches for 41 yards and 1 TD).
The Foxes move to 7-12-2 and the Rhinos to 8-12-1 this week.
Scoring summary
| Time | Team | Play | MNL-CTX |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 1:58 | Rhinos | A 3-yard touchdown run by Valen Falkner | 7-0 |
| Q2 1:39 | Rhinos | A 5-yard touchdown pass from Brandt Kessler to Hector Quarles | 14-0 |
| Q2 0:44 | Foxes | A 4-yard touchdown run by Kian Morrow | 14-7 |
| Q2 0:00 | Rhinos | A 63-yard field goal by Tariq Underwood | 17-7 |
| Q3 0:19 | Foxes | A 53-yard field goal by Wendell Montague | 17-10 |
| Q4 1:53 | Foxes | A 45-yard field goal by Wendell Montague | 17-13 |
| Q4 1:20 | Foxes | A 6-yard touchdown pass from Ezra Vale to Rafe Ellison | 17-20 |
Team stats
| MNL | CTX | |
|---|---|---|
| Total yards | 296 | 367 |
| Passing yards | 94 | 197 |
| Rushing yards | 202 | 170 |
| Completions | 11 of 17 | 23 of 33 |
| Offensive plays | 61 | 59 |
| Third downs | 5 of 12 | 2 of 9 |
| Fourth downs | 1 of 2 | 1 of 2 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 0 |
| Sacks allowed | 1 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 6:24 | 5:36 |
Monolith Rhinos box score
Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brandt Kessler | 11/17 | 94 | 1 | 0 |
Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Titus Okafor | 27 | 131 | 0 | 24 |
| Valen Falkner | 16 | 71 | 1 | 16 |
Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | TD | TGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hector Quarles | 5 | 41 | 1 | 5 |
| Titus Okafor | 4 | 34 | 0 | 4 |
| Ivo Underwood | 1 | 10 | 0 | 3 |
| Rory Blackwood | 1 | 9 | 0 | 3 |
Defense
| Player | TK | SK | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nils Sandoval | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Roman Underwood | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Adrien Pellegrini | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Emeric Varga | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Cyrus Varga | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Emeric Hargrove | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Kicking
| Player | FG | LNG | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tariq Underwood | 1/1 | 63 | 0/0 |
Cortex Foxes box score
Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ezra Vale | 23/33 | 197 | 1 | 0 |
Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kian Morrow | 19 | 125 | 1 | 18 |
| Fabian Esposito | 4 | 36 | 0 | 18 |
| Ezra Vale | 2 | 9 | 0 | 9 |
Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | TD | TGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cassius Ashford | 7 | 68 | 0 | 9 |
| Rafe Ellison | 7 | 44 | 1 | 9 |
| Tariq Coventry | 3 | 42 | 0 | 4 |
| Kian Morrow | 3 | 23 | 0 | 4 |
Defense
| Player | TK | SK | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roman Zamora | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bram Brennan | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Elio Hargrove | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Valen Ingram | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jonas Pellegrini | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nils Lachance | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Kicking
| Player | FG | LNG | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wendell Montague | 2/2 | 53 | 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 Cortex Foxes 20, Monolith Rhinos 17 on Snapline. More about the teams: Cortex Foxes · Monolith Rhinos.