Cipher Lynx 31, Monolith Rhinos 27
Week 4 · Regular season · round 8 · Tuesday 20 October 2026
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MNL Monolith Rhinos | 6 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 27 |
| CPH Cipher Lynx | 3 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 31 |
Game recap
The Cipher Lynx turned the game around and beat the Monolith Rhinos 31-27 in round 8 of Week 4. They trailed by as many as 17 points, and their chance of winning dropped as low as 7%.
The Lynx opened the scoring with a 37-yard field goal by Orson Thorne with 3:26 left in the first quarter. The Rhinos led 20-10 at halftime. In the fourth quarter: a 6-yard touchdown run by Valen Falkner for the Rhinos (3:30 left, 27-17); a 5-yard touchdown pass from Kai Navarro to Zane Lachance for the Lynx (2:50 left, 27-24); a 14-yard touchdown pass from Kai Navarro to Bram Pellegrini for the Lynx (1:32 left, 31-27).
The key moment arrived with 1:32 left in the fourth quarter: a 14-yard touchdown pass from Kai Navarro to Bram Pellegrini. It moved the Lynx' chance of winning from 55% to 88%.
Player of the game: Kai Navarro (QB, Lynx), with 29 of 41 passing for 304 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT; 5 carries for 22 yards; 1 catch for -3 yards. Elsewhere, Ezekiel Hart (Lynx) had 13 carries for 48 yards; 4 catches for 40 yards; Luca Benedetti (Lynx) had 9 catches for 95 yards and 1 TD; Brandt Kessler (Rhinos) had 16 of 23 passing for 155 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT; 1 catch for -5 yards; Titus Okafor (Rhinos) had 18 carries for 124 yards and 1 TD; 1 catch for 5 yards.
Before kickoff, the Lynx' game plan was on offense: quick game vs the blitz, attack the zones, take shots deep, throw it more, target Luca Benedetti; on defense: bracket Hector Quarles (Luca Benedetti finished with 9 catches for 95 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 Luca Benedetti (Hector Quarles finished with 7 catches for 87 yards and 1 TD).
The Lynx move to 4-4 and the Rhinos to 3-5 this week. The coaches went for it on fourth down 4 times, converting 3.
Scoring summary
| Time | Team | Play | MNL-CPH |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 3:26 | Lynx | A 37-yard field goal by Orson Thorne | 0-3 |
| Q1 0:33 | Rhinos | A 5-yard touchdown pass from Brandt Kessler to Hector Quarles (extra point missed) | 6-3 |
| Q2 1:44 | Rhinos | A 2-yard touchdown pass from Brandt Kessler to Rory Blackwood (extra point) | 13-3 |
| Q2 1:21 | Rhinos | A 10-yard touchdown run by Titus Okafor (extra point) | 20-3 |
| Q2 0:18 | Lynx | A 7-yard touchdown pass from Kai Navarro to Bram Pellegrini (extra point) | 20-10 |
| Q3 0:55 | Lynx | A 3-yard touchdown pass from Kai Navarro to Luca Benedetti (extra point) | 20-17 |
| Q4 3:30 | Rhinos | A 6-yard touchdown run by Valen Falkner (extra point) | 27-17 |
| Q4 2:50 | Lynx | A 5-yard touchdown pass from Kai Navarro to Zane Lachance (extra point) | 27-24 |
| Q4 1:32 | Lynx | A 14-yard touchdown pass from Kai Navarro to Bram Pellegrini (extra point) | 27-31 |
Team stats
| MNL | CPH | |
|---|---|---|
| Total yards | 368 | 376 |
| Passing yards | 155 | 304 |
| Rushing yards | 213 | 72 |
| Completions | 16 of 23 | 29 of 41 |
| Offensive plays | 58 | 65 |
| Third downs | 3 of 7 | 5 of 10 |
| Fourth downs | 2 of 3 | 1 of 2 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 2 |
| Sacks allowed | 2 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 8:46 | 7:14 |
Monolith Rhinos box score
Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brandt Kessler | 16/23 | 155 | 2 | 1 |
Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Titus Okafor | 18 | 124 | 1 | 15 |
| Valen Falkner | 15 | 89 | 1 | 15 |
Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | TD | TGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hector Quarles | 7 | 87 | 1 | 7 |
| Ivo Underwood | 4 | 43 | 0 | 7 |
| Orson Jovanovic | 1 | 13 | 0 | 2 |
| Rory Blackwood | 2 | 12 | 1 | 4 |
Defense
| Player | TK | SK | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nils Sandoval | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Emeric Varga | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Adrien Pellegrini | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Roman Underwood | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Emeric Hargrove | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cyrus Varga | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Kicking
| Player | FG | LNG | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tariq Underwood | 0/0 | 0 | 3/4 |
Cipher Lynx box score
Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kai Navarro | 29/41 | 304 | 4 | 1 |
Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ezekiel Hart | 13 | 48 | 0 | 11 |
| Kai Navarro | 5 | 22 | 0 | 13 |
| Orson Achebe | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| Pavel Thorne | 1 | 1 | 0 | 35 |
Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | TD | TGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luca Benedetti | 9 | 95 | 1 | 12 |
| Zane Lachance | 8 | 92 | 1 | 8 |
| Bram Pellegrini | 6 | 45 | 2 | 11 |
| Ezekiel Hart | 4 | 40 | 0 | 6 |
Defense
| Player | TK | SK | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jonas Sandoval | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Elio Coventry | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Hector Coventry | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Elio Varga | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Bastien Oyelaran | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jonas Ingram | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Kicking
| Player | FG | LNG | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orson Thorne | 1/1 | 37 | 4/4 |
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 Cipher Lynx 31, Monolith Rhinos 27 on Snapline. More about the teams: Cipher Lynx · Monolith Rhinos.