Bethel, Concordia-Moor. still alive for NCAA at-large bids

Bethel 27, St. John’s 22

Running back Jesse Phenow’s pair of 1-yard touchdown runs helped put Bethel (8-2, 6-2) over St. John’s (5-5, 3-5) 27-22 Saturday in Arden Hills.

Two field goals, one by Bethel’s kicker Nathaniel Van Loon and the other from St. John’s kicker Jimmie Mattson, opened the game’s scoring in the first half. Van Loon kicked from 27 yards out while Mattson kicked from 49.

<p>(Jesse Phenow)</p>
(Jesse Phenow)

Phenow struck minutes later with his first 1-yard run, putting his team up 10-3 at the end of the first quarter.

Mattson responded with another long field goal from 44 yards back at the beginning of the second quarter.

Phenow’s 76 yards put him second in the rushing attack for the Royals behind quarterback Erik Peterson, who tallied 104 yards. Some of those yards came from Peterson’s short mid-second quarter touchdown run off, which put the Royals up 17-6.

Bethel and St. John’s switched off scoring until early in the fourth quarter when Van Loon kicked a 19-yard field goal, scoring Bethel’s last points of the game to put them up 27-16.

Wide receiver Rob Voshell’s end zone reception in the last 11 seconds wasn’t enough to overcome Bethel, and ended the game with 27-22 final score.

The loss put an end to St. John’s season while Bethel’s victory left room open for a potential playoff berth.

Concordia-Moorhead 29, Gustavus 10

Full back Brett Baune’s three touchdowns solidified Concordia-Moorhead’s (8-2, 6-2) 29-10 victory over Gustavus (3-7, 2-6) at Lloyd Hollingsworth Field Saturday.

Running back Ben Wolf’s 13-yard touchdown put the Cobbers up 7-0 in the first quarter. Gustavus’ combination of wide receiver Eddie Ramos’ touchdown and kicker Tom Huepenbecker’s field goal gave the team a brief 10-7 lead.

The Cobbers were quick to counter and just minutes later tied the score at 10-10 with kicker Ben Wagner’s 40-yard field goal at 22 seconds left in the first half.

Concordia outgained Gustavus 420-301 on offensive yardage.

Concordia has a chance for a playoff berth with the win, while the loss ends Gustavus’ season.

Macalester 45, Hamline 21

Macalester (6-4) scored on two of its first three possessions en route to its 45-21 victory over Hamline (1-9, 0-8) Saturday, securing the Paint Bucket trophy exchanged between the two schools for the second year in a row.

The Scots’ win wrapped up their season with their second winning record in three years and in the non-conference matchup, edging the Pipers in total yardage 519-303 and first downs 31-14.

Quarterback Clark Bledsoe threw three touchdown passes while tight end Sam Marshall caught eight passes for 77 yards and two touchdowns.

Running back T. Joe Loiselle also played a major role for the Scots, running for 99 yards and two touchdowns among his 23 carries on the day. He ended his career as Macalester’s all-time leader in both rushing yards (3,660) and touchdowns with 32.

Running back Austin Duncan propelled the Hamline offense, rushing for 88 yards and a touchdown. Duncan finished the season with 868 rushing yards, the most by a Hamline running back since 1996. Duncan’s 88 yards were just a fraction of the team’s total 303 offensive yards.

The loss was Hamline’s ninth in a row after winning its first game of the season. Both teams are out of contention for the playoffs.

Augsburg 49, Carleton 24

Ayrton Scott’s three rushing touchdowns in the first half and one in the second assisted in Augsburg’s (7-3, 5-3) 49-24 victory over Carleton (3-7, 1-7) Saturday at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.

Augsburg’s win made it the school’s most successful program since 1997 when it won the conference championship.

MIAC Weekend Recap

  • Bethel 27, St. John’s 22.
  • Concordia-Moor. 29, Gustavus 10.
  • Macalester 45, Hamline 21.
  • Augsburg 49, Carleton 24.

Scott’s scores were accompanied by wide receiver Jerise Washington’s one-yard touchdown, wide receiver and kicker Wesley Waytashek’s 50-yard touchdown, and defensive back Hakeem Bourne-MacFarlane’s 10-yard touchdown reception.

Bryce Vee led the Auggie defense with 10 tackles and an interception.

The game ended both teams’ seasons.

Briggs LeSavage can be reached at lesa4364@stthomas.edu.