Box Score
NORTHFIELD, Minn. - Ben Wetzell rushed for three touchdowns and passed for another, while Brandon Carr had two interceptions en route to a 35-14 win over #13 St. Olaf in Northfield helping Bethel stay undefeated in MIAC play. Rain during the past week created soft field conditions and unsure footing in places, which helped and hurt both teams, but didn't stop the Royals from amassing 488 yards of total offense compared to the Oles 343 in the highly anticipated game between the two offensive powerhouses.
Quarterback Ben Wetzell (Sr., Wells, MN) started the game after sitting out against Gustavus on Oct. 6th due to a rib injury. Wetzell came into today's game needing only 19 yards to surpass Jon Ebert (1991-1994) for 5th place on Bethel's all-time passing yards leader board, and 307 yards to surpass Rhett Bonner (1983-1986) for 4th place. He eclipsed Ebert's mark easily, going 11-for-18 for 157 yards passing, giving him 4,420 in his career. Wetzell also had 103 yards rushing on 23 carries. He was sacked twice, but was not intercepted.
Bethel got on the board late in the first quarter when Wetzell scored a touchdown from 1-yard out. The drive began after a booming 60-yard punt by Oles Paul Fortman put Bethel on their own 20-yard line. A 36-yard run by Logan Flannery (Fr., Lakeville, MN) set up Wetzell's quarterback keeper four plays later to put Bethel up 7-0 with a Nate Gutshall (So., Urbandale, IA) point-after kick.
Brandon Carr (Sr., Fergus Falls, MN) helped the Royals keep the lead for a short while by intercepting a Matt Penz pass on the Oles next drive, despite slipping and falling on the muddy field. But the Oles got the ball back shortly thereafter, enabling running back Coty Watkins to rush for a 56-yard touchdown. The point after evened the score at seven with 11:46 remaining in the half.
Bethel got the ball back later in the quarter after a defensive stand on fourth-and-2 forced the Oles to turn the ball over on downs. Lucas Blodgett (Sr., Ellsworth, WI) stuffed Watkins for no gain, giving the Royals the ball on their own 29-yard line.
Bethel faced third-and-five on their own 34-yard line when Wetzell found Kyle Lee (Jr., Burnsville, MN) for a 42-yard pass play to put Bethel deep in St. Olaf territory. Four plays later, Wetzell found Lee again for a 15-yard touchdown throw, giving the Royals the lead again at 14-7 with Gutshall's extra point. Lee had just the two catches for 57 yards, but provided some great downfield blocking on other drives in the game allowing for big yardage plays.
The Royals defense held St. Olaf again on their ensuing drive, forcing them to punt. But another 60-yard Fortman punt pinned Bethel back on their own 2-yard line. After a Royal first down, the Oles sacked Wetzell back at the Bethel 8-yard line, forcing them to punt after an incompletion on 3rd-and-16. Kevin Ness' (So., Dassel, MN) punt gave St. Olaf the ball on the Bethel 27-yard line. Quarterback Matt Penz hit a wide open Andrew Schmiesing five plays later for a 7-yard touchdown pass making it 14-14, where the score stayed until halftime.
Bethel received the kickoff to start the third quarter and drove the ball 70 yards on 10 plays for a touchdown, highlighted by a 32-yard reception by wide receiver Aaron Bernstetter (Jr., Holdingford, MN) to put Bethel in the red zone. Bernstetter had six catches for 87 yards in the game. Wetzell capped off the drive with his second 1-yard quarterback keeper, making it 21-14 with Gutshall's point after.
After another impressive defensive outing, and another impressive punt by Fortman, the Royals got the ball back on their own 4-yard line. Fortman had four punts - three of which were downed inside Bethel's 5-yard line. Wetzell took command and rushed for gains of 10 and 12 yards before finding a hole and busting loose for a 54-yard run to put the ball on the St. Olaf 2-yard line. He ran it in himself again for his 3rd touchdown of the day two plays later.
Gutshall tacked on the point after, giving Bethel a 28-14 lead, and then had a perfect on-side kick, advancing the ball 17 yards in the air – enough for Kris Pulford (Sr., Richfield, MN) to run under and catch it, giving Bethel the ball at their own 47-yard line. Unfortunately, the Royals weren't able to do anything with it in terms of points, but they were able to frustrate St. Olaf and knock 3:37 off the clock in the process. Ness punted the ball down to the Ole 15-yard line where play began in the 4th quarter.
Desperate to keep their hopes alive and score, the Oles were able to drive into Bethel territory, but turned the ball over on downs when Jared Lyle (So., Elgin, IL) knocked down a Penz pass on fourth-and-4. The very next play from scrimmage, running back Dusty Wahl (So., Mahtomedi, MN) ran the ball 69 yards for a Bethel touchdown to make the score 34-14. A botched point after attempt forced holder Dan Einerson (Sr., Alexandria, MN) to run and throw the ball away. However, a late hit on Einerson induced a roughing the passer penalty, which gave Bethel another chance. Gutshall's attempt was good, putting Bethel up 35-14 to stay.
St. Olaf came back and drove as far as the Bethel 43-yard line, but Carr intercepted his second Penz pass of the game - this time in the end zone - taking away yet another St. Olaf scoring opportunity. Carr also broke up an otherwise perfect Penz pass in the third quarter that may have resulted in 6 points for the Oles had he not swatted the ball away. Penz was also intercepted by Jamie Wagner (Sr., Nicollet, MN) on their second drive of the game, and by John Edwards (Sr., New Prague, MN) late in the 4th quarter at the Bethel 33-yard line.
The win extends Bethel's MIAC winning streak to 11 games and improves their record to 6-1 overall and 5-0 in conference. St. Olaf drops to 6-2 overall and 4-2 in the MIAC. Bethel returns to Arden Hills to take on Hamline next Saturday at 1 p.m.
