Box Score
ARDEN HILLS, Minn.- Payback was sweet for the Bethel Royals, as they triumphed over the Carleton Knights 45-21 in Saturday's homecoming game. A week after defeating Concordia in three-overtimes, 48-45, the Royals returned to Arden Hills to take on Carleton who defeated Bethel last year in Northfield. The loss ultimately prevented the Royals from winning the conference outright in 2006.
Bethel led off the scoring when MIAC Offensive Player of the Week, Logan Flannery (Fr., Lakeville, MN), ran in untouched from one yard out. The next Royal touchdown came when Kyle Lee (Jr., Burnsville, MN) was on the receiving end of a Ben Wetzell (Sr., Wells, MN) pass for a touchdown, making the score 14-0.
Wetzell was an impressive 20-for-28 passing for 236 yards and 3 touchdowns on the day.
Carleton got on the board late in the 2nd quarter after blocking a Kevin Ness (So., Dassel, MN) punt deep in Bethel territory. Running back Phil Blue ran the ball in 5 yards for the touchdown, making it 14-7.
Bethel came back in the third quarter, eager to take the wind out of Carleton's sails. The Royals scored on the opening drive when Lee caught his second Wetzell TD pass, making the score 20-7 after a failed point after attempt.
Once the defense forced Carleton to go three-and-out, Bethel got the ball back and marched down the field, setting up a Wetzell pass to tight end Nick Otto (Jr., White Bear Lake, MN) for a 23-yard TD strike, giving Bethel a 26-7 lead. Altogether, Bethel's defense stood tall, limiting the Knight offense to only 39 yards on the ground and 207 in the air.
But Carleton did not go down without a fight. The Knights struck again when quarterback Shane Henfling found Blue for a 28-yard TD on 4th down and 6 to go. With the two-point conversion, the Knights narrowed the gap to 26-15.
The defense pulled through yet again, though, forcing Carleton to turn the ball over on downs three times - the second time, setting up a Bethel touchdown. Wide receiver Aaron Bernstetter (Jr., Holdingford, MN) scored from 17-yards out on a reverse pitch putting the Royals up 32-15.
Bernstetter scored again on a 13-yard pass from quarterback Dan Einerson (Sr., Alexandria, MN) shortly after cornerback Tim Cornish (So., Plymouth, MN) recorded the team's second interception of the day deep in Carleton territory.
Carleton managed to find the end zone one more time when Henfling scored on a quarterback keeper with 5-minutes left in the game, making it 39-21. The Royals came roaring back down the field though, and Einerson closed the door when he ran the ball in for a 13-yard touchdown to make it 45-21.
Bethel improves to 3-1 overall, and 2-0 in the MIAC with the win. They will head down to St. Thomas next week to take on the Tommies, who were idle this week, at 1 p.m. Carleton falls to 2-1 overall, and 0-1 in the MIAC, and will face St. John's next week in Northfield.
