ARDEN HILLS, Minn.—It was a tale of two halves at today's home opener for the Bethel University football team, as the Royals (0-2, 0-0 MIAC) saw a 28-12 halftime lead turn into a 40-34 overtime loss against Carthage College.
 
The Red Men (2-0, 0-0 CCIW) scored 22 points in the second half to go ahead 34-28 with 1:38 remaining in the game. BU responded, though, with an exceptional two-minute drill that resulted in a game-tying touchdown. A blocked PAT sent the game into overtime, however, and Carthage stole the road-win with a rushing TD on their opening possession.
 
 
Bethel's defense surrendered a pair of field goals to start the game before Andrew Dzurik found Jackson Canfield in the end zone on the Royals' third drive of the contest. The 11-yard touchdown was the culmination of a nine-play, 81-yard drive that put BU ahead 7-6 with 0:28 remaining in the first quarter.
 
The Royals then went six plays and 61 yards on their very next drive and it was Gunnar Bloom that was on the receiving end of Dzurik's passing TD from the Carthage 14.
 
The Red Men were forced to punt on their next possession, but Bethel's Dawson Brown managed to block Carthage's punt attempt and landed on the ball inside the 10-yard-line. That set up Gunnar Bloom's second score of the day, as he bounced a rushing attempt outside and hit the pylon to give the Royals a 21-6 lead.
 
Carthage narrowed the gap to 21-12 with a touchdown and missed two-point conversion before Dawson Brown came up with a pick-six with just under a minute remaining in the half. Brown dropped back in coverage on the play and intercepted Ethan Olles's pass at the Bethel 45 and managed to avoid traffic for a 55-yard score.
 
The Red Men then scored three consecutive touchdowns to go ahead 34-28 with 1:38 left in the fourth quarter, but that didn't stop the Royals. Andrew Dzurik led BU on a 10-play, 76-yard drive that included a huge fourth-down conversion to Bryce Marqardt and a one-handed catch by Drew Neuville before Bridgeport Tusler punched in his first score of the day from two yards out.
 
Tied at 34-34, Carthage won the toss and elected to have the Royals go first. Bethel was unable to score and the Red Men responded with a touchdown that resulted in the 40-34 final.
 
Dawson Brown finished with a career-best 15 tackles, including 3.5 for a loss of 15 yards, one break-up, one QB hurry, one blocked punt, and the interception that resulted in a 55-yard touchdown. Allen Wollenberg led Bethel's defense with 16 tackles and four breakups.
 
Offensively, it was Andrew Dzurik that finished 22-of-43 for 215 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. Dzurik hit Bryce Marquardt 10 times for 93 yards, while Gunnar Bloom and Jackson Canfield were beneficiaries of a Dzurik TD. Bridgeport Tusler led the team in rushing, totaling 46 yards and one touchdown on 11 carries.
 
Bethel returns home next week for the conference opener against Concordia College. Competition between these two opponents has been highly contested over the last five years, which makes Saturday's showdown one to look forward to. The Royals and Cobbers will kickoff at 1 p.m.