Box Score

MINNEAPOLIS - Tonight, the Bethel Royals defense did what it had been doing all season long almost to perfection, and they got plenty of offensive support as well. In the last game of the 2008 season, Bethel defeated the Augsburg Auggies 26-0 at the Metrodome.

Facing a very potent Augsburg Auggie offense that includes the MIAC all-time passing yardage leader in quarterback Jordan Berg, and the top receiver in the conference in Royce Winford, the Royal defense allowed just 146 yards of total offense. Prior to tonight's game, Augsburg had been averaging 404 yards per game, of which 349 had been coming through the air. Tonight, Bethel's second best pass defense in the conference limited Augsburg to just 111 yards passing.

Nate Gutshall (Jr., Urbandale, Iowa) picked off Berg on two consecutive drives, and Tim Cornish (Jr., Plymouth, Minn.) intercepted his fifth pass of the season on the second play of the game to help set up Bethel's first touchdown.

Dusty Wahl (Jr., Mahtomedi, Minn.) rushed into the end zone from three yards out on Bethel's first drive, capping off an eight-play, 52-yard drive less than four minutes into the game. Wahl finished the night with 43 yards on 12 carries.

After another short drive by Augsburg, Bethel had a 14 play, 61-yard drive that ended with an incomplete pass on fourth down and five yards to go inside the Auggie 10-yard line. However, the drive ate up nearly eight minutes of game clock, which was one of the key factors in tonight's win. The Royals hung on to the ball more than 15 minutes longer than the Auggies, giving the defense plenty of rest, and preventing the Augsburg offense from establishing any rhythm.

On the other hand, Bethel's offense seemed to be clicking about as well as it had at any other time in the season. The Royals struck again early in the second quarter after a 10-play, 83-yard drive that consumed more than five minutes as quarterback Josh Aakre (Fr., Dawson, Minn.) scored the first of his two one-yard touchdowns to put Bethel up 14-0. Aakre had rushes of 11 and 20 yards earlier in the drive, while Logan Flannery (So., Lakeville, Minn.) had his longest run of the night for 15 yards to help set up the touchdown.  Both Aakre and Flannery rushed for more than 100 yards on the night, gaining 109 and 119 yards, respectively. With his efforts, Flannery finishes the season with 1,016 yards rushing, and has now had back-to-back seasons with more than 1,000 yards.

Despite Gutshall's two pick-offs, the Royals were not able to capitalize on the Auggie turnovers offensively. However, one of the unsung defensive and special teams heroes of the season, David Vavra (Fr., Cambridge, Minn.), recovered a Kevin Ness (Jr., Dassel, Minn.) punt that hit an Augsburg player during the return, thus giving Bethel the ball on the Auggie 14-yard line. From that point, it only took the Royal offense four plays to reach the end zone. Aakre scored his second touchdown from one yard out to put Bethel up 20-0, where the score would stay through the end of the third quarter.

Bethel scored their final touchdown early in the fourth quarter on a six-yard run by Flannery. His touchdown was the end of an eight play, 62-yard drive highlighted by a 17-yard reception by Aaron Bernstetter (Sr., Holdingford, Minn.).  Bernstetter finished the night with 52 yards receiving on four catches. Although his playing time was limited due to an injury earlier in the season, Bernstetter finished his career tonight with 1,707 yards receiving, which is good for seventh all-time at Bethel. His 98-yard reception for a touchdown earlier in the season is the single longest play from scrimmage in Bethel history as well.

Along with Bernstetter, the Royals will lose 17 seniors to graduation, including All-MIAC defensive end Aaron Mills (Sr., Traverse City, Mich.), who earned his 10th sack of the season tonight by combining with Joey Hofmeyer (Jr., Hospers, Iowa). The Royals sacked Berg a total of four times, bringing their season total to 24, which is currently the best in the MIAC pending the outcome of this weekend's games. Jared Lyle (Jr., Elgin, Ill.) had two of those four sacks, while Darin Schwarze (Sr., Stanwood, Wash.) had the other.

With the win, Bethel ends their season with an overall record of 5-5 and a conference record of 4-4. Augsburg finishes 3-5 in MIAC play and 5-5 overall. The Royals are scheduled to return to action September 5, 2009, when they travel to Mequon, Wis., to take on Concordia-University Wisconsin.