Box Score

ST. PETER, Minn. - On a crisp, fall Saturday afternoon the Bethel Royals defeated the hosting Gustavus Gusties 41-27. Gustavus played a close game, but in the end the Royals were overpowering with a mix of run and pass.  Bethel showcased their explosive big play ability with four scoring plays of more than 25 yards.

Running back Brandon Marquardt (Fr., Champlin, Minn.) opened the scoring with a 75-yard touchdown run on the Royals first drive.  On the Royals second drive, reigning MIAC Offensive Player of the Week Jesse Phenow (So., Richfield, Minn.) found the end zone from 46-yards out on just the third play from scrimmage.  Still in the first quarter, Gustavus was able to kick a field goal to make the score 13-3. 

In the 2nd quarter, the Royals responded when Josh Aakre (Sr., Dawson, Minn.) found tight end Alex Wright (Sr., Minnetonka, Minn.) for an 18-yard touchdown pass.  With Bethel up 20-3 early in the second quarter, it appeared there would be a blowout on until Gustavus scored 17 unanswered points to tie the score 20-20 late in the 3rd quarter. 

Bethel put together an amazing 12-play, 67-yard drive that ate up nearly six minutes of clock late in the third. It was capped by a 4-yard pass from Aakre to Jared Schultz (So., Fergus Falls). On the next drive Marquardt added his second touchdown of the game on a 26-yard run to put the Royals up 34-20 early in the fourth.

The Gusties would not go away as they drew within seven points once again.  Marquardt scored his third touchdown of the game on a 33-yard pass from Aakre to seal the victory 41-27.

Aakre completed 12 of 14 pass attempts for 168 yards and 3 touchdowns.  Marquardt finished with 186 offensive yards on 14 total touches for an average of 13.3 yards per. Phenow received the bulk of the load and ended with 120 yards on 21 carries and a touchdown. Schultz caught three passes for 48 yards and a touchdown to be the Royals leading receiver.

The Royals dominated the line and held the high powered Gusties offense to under 100 yards and had four sacks. The defense was lead by linebackers Seth Mathis (So., Anoka, Minn.) and Billy Morgan (Sr., Rosemount, Minn.) who had 14 and 11 tackles, respectively.  David Vavra (Sr., Cambridge, Minn.) had eight tackles and one of the four sacks for the Royals.

Next week, the 5-1 Royals will host the St. Thomas Tommies at Royal Stadium.  This will be one of the biggest game of the year for the MIAC.  Both teams are ranked in the top 10 - the Royals #9 and the  Tommies #3.