Bethel edges Concordia with no time left

MIAC Weekend Recap

Saturday’s games

  • St. Thomas 28, Gustavus 14
  • Bethel 15, Concordia 14
  • Carleton 21, Macalester 20
  • Augsburg 48, St. John’s 17
  • St. Olaf, 48, Hamline 14

Saturday Oct. 13

  • Bethel at St. Thomas
  • Hamline at Concordia
  • Augsburg at St. Olaf
  • Carleton at St. John’s
  • Valley City State at Gustavus

Read more, see more

Jay Hilbrands caught a 9-yard pass from Erik Peterson on an extra play with no time left in the fourth quarter, and Mitch Hallstrom caught Peterson’s two-point conversion pass to give 10th-ranked Bethel a 15-14 victory over Concordia-Moorhead in a matchup of unbeaten teams Saturday in Arden Hills.

Trailing by seven with 1 minute 24 seconds to play in the game, Bethel drove 71 yards down the field to score the winning touchdown.

Facing a third and 10 from the Cobber 17-yard line with 1 second on the clock, Peterson was stripped of the ball. Concordia players ran on the field with the play still live. A Concordia player picked up the ball and ran 71 yards to the end zone, but the Cobbers were penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct, their only penalty of the game. That gave Bethel one last chance, and the Royals cashed in.

Concordia never trailed until the final play.

Concordia (4-1, 2-1 MIAC) had taken a 14-7 lead with nine minutes to play in the fourth quarter when senior running back Chris Gilson scored on a 40-yard pass and run play from sophomore quarterback Griffin Neal.

Concordia scored first with 6:22 to go in the first half on senior fullback Brett Baune’s 1-yard run that capped a 70-yard drive. Bethel (5-0, 3-0) answered with 8 seconds remaining in the third quarter on junior running back Jesse Phenow’s 1-yard run, capping a 50-yard drive.

Neal completed 14 of 19 passes for 173 yards, with a touchdown and an interception. Hilbrands led Bethel with 84 yards rushing on just eight carries.

Bethel comes to St. Paul next Saturday to take on St. Thomas, the only other unbeaten team remaining in the MIAC.

Augsburg 48, St. John’s 17

Freshman quarterback Ayrton Scott rushed for 143 yards and passed for 259 yards and four touchdowns to lead Augsburg to the home victory over St. John’s.

Augsburg (4-1, 3-1) won its second in a row over St. John’s (2-4, 0-4), the Auggies’ first back-to-back victories over the Johnnies since winning three in a row from 1927 to 1929.

Augsburg outgained St. John’s 587-238, the Auggies’ best game on offense since they gained 615 yards against Gustavus in 2007. Augsburg posted its largest winning margin against St. John’s in a series the Johnnies lead 63-9-2.

Scott completed 18 of 27 passes but with two interceptions. Scott has thrown 17 touchdown passes this season, three or more in each of his five games. He has 1,831 yards of total offense this season (751 rushing yards, 1,080 passing yards), an average of 366.2 yards a game.

Augsburg faces St. Olaf next Saturday in Northfield.

St. Olaf 48, Hamline 14

Junior running back Michael Thai rushed for 146 yards and two touchdowns to help St. Olaf (5-1, 4-1) rout Hamline (1-4, 0-4) in St. Paul.

Senior quarterback Dan Dobson completed 10 0f 13 passes for 140 yards and three touchdowns for the Oles. Dobson also rushed for 84 yards on seven carries.

St. Olaf intercepted Hamline sophomore quarterback Kevin Ackerley three times.

Carleton 21, Macalester 20

Senior Paul Hoffer set a Carleton record for longest interception return for a touchdown, and senior Anthony Kemper caught two touchdown passes of the season to lead the Knights in the nonconference home victory.

Carleton (3-2) has won 10 in a row over Macalester (3-2).

With the Scots threatening deep in Carleton territory late in the second quarter, Hoffer picked off a Clark Bledsoe pass at the one and ran 99 yards down the sideline for a touchdown. The old record was 86 yards set by Drew Ziller in 2007 against Minnesota-Morris.

Carleton travels to Collegeville next Saturday to play St. John’s.