Monolith Rhinos 31, Cortex Foxes 17
Week 4 · Regular season · round 21 · Friday 23 October 2026
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MNL Monolith Rhinos | 14 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 31 |
| CTX Cortex Foxes | 0 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 17 |
Game recap
The Monolith Rhinos earned a 31-17 win over the Cortex Foxes in round 21 of Week 4. They led by as many as 20 points.
The Rhinos opened the scoring with a 17-yard touchdown pass from Brandt Kessler to Rory Blackwood with 3:00 left in the first quarter. At the break the Rhinos were up 20-3. Then came the fourth quarter: an 8-yard touchdown pass from Ezra Vale to Cassius Ashford for the Foxes (3:51 left, 23-17); a 13-yard touchdown run by Valen Falkner for the Rhinos (0:21 left, 31-17).
The key moment arrived with 3:51 left in the fourth quarter: Extra point good. It moved the Rhinos' chance of winning from 64% to 82%.
Top performer: Valen Falkner (RB, Rhinos), with 21 carries for 119 yards and 2 TD. Elsewhere, Ezra Vale (Foxes) had 23 of 39 passing for 260 yards, 2 TD; 1 carry for 23 yards; Rafe Ellison (Foxes) had 8 catches for 102 yards; Brandt Kessler (Rhinos) had 12 of 18 passing for 173 yards, 1 TD; 4 carries for -4 yards; Rory Blackwood (Rhinos) had 3 catches for 83 yards and 1 TD.
Before kickoff, the Foxes' game plan was on offense: quick game vs the blitz, attack the zones, take shots deep, throw it more, target Rafe Ellison; on defense: bracket Hector Quarles (Rafe Ellison finished with 8 catches for 102 yards). 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 6 catches for 56 yards).
The Foxes move to 7-11-3 and the Rhinos to 11-10 this week. The coaches went for it on fourth down 3 times, converting 2.
Scoring summary
| Time | Team | Play | MNL-CTX |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 3:00 | Rhinos | A 17-yard touchdown pass from Brandt Kessler to Rory Blackwood (extra point) | 7-0 |
| Q1 1:33 | Rhinos | A 6-yard touchdown run by Valen Falkner (extra point) | 14-0 |
| Q2 3:57 | Rhinos | A 44-yard field goal by Tariq Underwood | 17-0 |
| Q2 1:40 | Rhinos | A 23-yard field goal by Tariq Underwood | 20-0 |
| Q2 0:05 | Foxes | A 45-yard field goal by Wendell Montague | 20-3 |
| Q3 3:06 | Foxes | A 1-yard touchdown pass from Ezra Vale to Kian Morrow (extra point) | 20-10 |
| Q3 1:44 | Rhinos | A 48-yard field goal by Tariq Underwood | 23-10 |
| Q4 3:51 | Foxes | An 8-yard touchdown pass from Ezra Vale to Cassius Ashford (extra point) | 23-17 |
| Q4 0:21 | Rhinos | A 13-yard touchdown run by Valen Falkner (2-pt conversion) | 31-17 |
Team stats
| MNL | CTX | |
|---|---|---|
| Total yards | 341 | 292 |
| Passing yards | 173 | 260 |
| Rushing yards | 168 | 32 |
| Completions | 12 of 18 | 23 of 39 |
| Offensive plays | 60 | 50 |
| Third downs | 2 of 10 | 1 of 9 |
| Fourth downs | 1 of 1 | 1 of 3 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 1 |
| Sacks allowed | 1 | 7 |
| Time of possession | 10:36 | 5:24 |
Monolith Rhinos box score
Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brandt Kessler | 12/18 | 173 | 1 | 0 |
Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valen Falkner | 21 | 119 | 2 | 13 |
| Titus Okafor | 16 | 53 | 0 | 8 |
| Brandt Kessler | 4 | -4 | 0 | 0 |
Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | TD | TGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rory Blackwood | 3 | 83 | 1 | 4 |
| Hector Quarles | 6 | 56 | 0 | 8 |
| Ivo Underwood | 3 | 34 | 0 | 4 |
Defense
| Player | TK | SK | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anders Oyelaran | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Wendell Bellamy | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Bastien Sandoval | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Adrien Pellegrini | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Emeric Hargrove | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bram Garrow | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Kicking
| Player | FG | LNG | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tariq Underwood | 3/3 | 48 | 2/2 |
Cortex Foxes box score
Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ezra Vale | 23/39 | 260 | 2 | 0 |
Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ezra Vale | 1 | 23 | 0 | 23 |
| Fabian Esposito | 2 | 10 | 0 | 5 |
| Kian Morrow | 1 | -1 | 0 | 14 |
Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | TD | TGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rafe Ellison | 8 | 102 | 0 | 14 |
| Zane Montague | 5 | 67 | 0 | 5 |
| Kian Morrow | 4 | 36 | 1 | 5 |
| Tariq Coventry | 3 | 32 | 0 | 5 |
Defense
| Player | TK | SK | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roman Zamora | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Anders Coventry | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Nils Lachance | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Elio Hargrove | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jonas Pellegrini | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Bram Brennan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Kicking
| Player | FG | LNG | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wendell Montague | 1/2 | 45 | 2/2 |
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, Cortex Foxes 17 on Snapline. More about the teams: Cortex Foxes · Monolith Rhinos.