Box Score
ARDEN HILLS, Minn. - On a hazy and muggy afternoon at Royal Stadium, the last play of Bethel's game against #5 nationally ranked Wheaton sucked the air out of Royals fans as they watched the Thunder score a touchdown to win 29-26 as time expired.
Bethel had gone ahead 26-23 on a 2-yard touchdown pass from quarterback
Josh Aakre (So., Dawson, Minn.) to running back
Logan Flannery (Jr., Lakeville, Minn.) with less than six minutes remaining. The touchdown was set up by two big plays - a 33-yard pass to
Gabe Kleinschmidt (So., Hastings, Minn.), and a 41-yard run by Flannery down to the Wheaton 2-yard line.
On Wheaton's ensuing drive, quarterback Sean Norris was picked off by
Brendan Flaherty (Jr., Shoreview, Minn.), giving Bethel the ball back deep in their own territory with just under four minutes remaining. However, the Royals went three-and-out, punting the ball back over to the Thunder with 2:11 remaining. Wheaton got four first downs and with 10.5 seconds remaining, they had the ball on Bethel's 5-yard line. Despite being chased out of the pocket by three Royal defenders, Norris was able to find Justin Zellar in traffic for the winning touchdown.
Statistically, Bethel topped Wheaton in several categories, including first downs, total offense, and average yards per gain. Aakre was 13-for-26 passing for 207 yards, with two touchdowns and an interception. He also ran the ball 13 times for 25 yards and a touchdown, but was also sacked twice. Flannery was Bethel's top rusher today with 140 yards on 21 carries, giving him an average of 6.7 yards. Kleinschmidt led the receivers with five receptions for 90 yards, ,but it was
Joel Quick (Sr., Johnston, iowa) who had a 37-yard touchdown reception early in the second quarter that put Bethel up 6-3.
The Royals also showed that they had some tricks up their sleeve as
Reid Velo (Sr., Nashwauk, Minn.) connected with
Tim Cornish (Sr., Plymouth, Minn.) on a fake punt that led to a 23-yard reception and first down late in the third quarter. The first down kept Bethel's drive alive and they Royals capitalized as Aakre pounded it into the end zone from one yard out seven plays later.
Defensively,
David Benjamin (Sr., Roseville, Minn.) led the Royals with 14 tackles (10 solo, four assists), including a tackle for a loss of four yards and a pass break-up.
Ross Petterson (Jr., Maple Grove, Minn.) had seven solo tackles and two assists in the game as well. Cornish also had a big defensive play when he blocked a Wheaton field goal attempt early in the second quarter. This helped lead to Bethel's first touchdown nine plays and 88 yards later.
Bethel's loss drops them to 1-1 on the season, while Wheaton is now 1-0. The Royals are scheduled to travel down to Northfield, Minn., to take on Carleton College next Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. for their next game.
