ARDEN HILLS, Minn.—The Bethel University football team begins conference play this week, as BU welcomes Concordia College to Arden Hills this Saturday afternoon for a 1 p.m. kickoff. The Cobbers (1-1, 0-0 MIAC) and Royals (0-2, 0-0 MIAC) have entertained fans with highly-competitive duels over the last decade, including last year's 23-21 finish in Moorhead and 2012's 15-14 result at Royal Stadium. Bethel has had the upper hand as of late, winning five of the last six matchups head-to-head, but Concordia has bragging rights, as they defeated BU in 2015.
The Royals are still searching for win number one after two gut-wrenching losses in the opening weeks of nonconference play. 2016's start to the season marks just the second time in head coach
Steve Johnson's tenure that the Royals have began the year 0-2. The only other time was in 2002, when BU finished the season 5-5 overall and 5-3 against MIAC opponents.
The Royals will rely heavily upon their offense, which currently ranks No. 23 nationwide and No. 1 in the MIAC after averaging 528.0 yards per game. Leading the way is senior quarterback
Andrew Dzurik, who has thrown for 631 yards and five touchdowns in two games played. Dzurik will be handing the ball off to
Bridgeport Tusler and
Gunnar Bloom, who have posted 151 and 143 total yards, respectively. Tusler has rushed for six touchdowns, while Bloom has crossed the goal line once on the ground. Meanwhile, Dzurik will look to find
Bryce Marquardt,
Drew Neuville, and
Jackson Canfield through the air. Marquardt leads all receivers with 19 catches for 303 yards and three touchdowns, while tight end
Drew Neuville has recorded 10 catches for 98 yards.
Dawson Brown and
Allen Wollenberg will lead Bethel on defense. Brown, who was named to the D3football.com Team of the Week and also the MIAC Football Special Teams Athlete-of-the-Week earlier this week, has stuffed the stat sheet in the first two games with 20 tackles, including 3.5 for loss, one interception returned for a touchdown, one blocked punt, one pass breakup, and one QB hurry. Additionally, Wollenberg has led the team in total tackles both games, accumulating 26 wrap-ups on the season.
