ARDEN HILLS, Minn. — Bethel football finished 2017 on a high note Saturday, defeating Hamline University at home 54-14. The Royals (5-5, 5-3 MIAC) started the year 0-3, but battled back to finish 5-2 in the final seven games for the second straight season. That prolongs a streak of 24 consecutive seasons with an overall and conference record of .500 or better—the longest active streak among all league opponents.
"Every day we talk about running to the fight, staying in the fight—whether we're up or down, and finishing the fight," said head coach
Steve Johnson. "A lot of teams would start to break down after a slow start, but we showed that we were willing to stay in the fight and finish."
"I hurt for these kids that we're done with the season, but I love the soil in our locker room and can't wait for what's next."
BU got back to their roots in Saturday's victory over the Pipers (2-8, 1-7 MIAC) as the Royals rushed 46 times for 347 yards and six touchdowns, averaging 7.5 yards per carry. The explosive ground game combined with 204 yards passing helped Bethel amass 551 yards of total offense and eight total TDs, while the defense limited Hamline to just 317 yards and 14 points.
The Royals' defense forced two turnovers, while the offense stayed turnover free. Moreover, BU's offense finished an impressive 7-of-7 inside the red zone and 2-of-2 on fourth-down attempts. Hamline, meanwhile went 1-for-2 inside the 20 and 4-for-11 on third downs. As a whole, Bethel possessed the ball four more minutes than the Pipers throughout the 60-minute affair.
Freshman Sam Gibas led all backs throughout the day as the Elk River, Minn., native finished with one touchdown and 124 yards on 15 carries (8.3 yards per carry). Sophomore
Riley McCann tallied one score and 108 yards on eight carries (13.5 yards per carry), including a 63-yard scamper to the end zone and Gideon Erhabor tallied eight carries for 59 yards (7.4 yards per carry).
Levi Duininck was BU's workhorse, rushing five times for 16 yards and three touchdowns—all from inside the six-yard line.
Jake Marsh completed 13-of-21 pass attempts for 162 yards and one touchdown. He connected with seven different receivers, including
Joel Koenecke, who hauled in four passes for 76 yards, and
Mathias Durie, who caught two passes for 22 yards and a touchdown. Senior
Joey Lee finished the game at QB and was a perfect 4-of-4 for 42 yards and one score. His 20-yard touchdown throw was to
John Carlson, who went over the top of the Piper defender to give BU's offense another six points.
Bethel's defense had a number of key contributors as 22 players were credited with a defensive statistic.
Brendan Whalen led the group with eight tackles, while
Kyle Kilgore tallied five tackles—two for loss, three QB hurries, and one breakup. Kilgore finished the season with 14.0 total tackles for loss—the most all MIAC player, 6.0 sacks, and seven QB hurries.
Dawson Brown recorded two tackles and an interception, making him the MIAC's only defensive player with four interceptions.
Cameron Monson also collected four tackles, including a sack and one tackle for loss.
The Royals close the books on 2017, but not without saying goodbye and thank you to the 14 seniors on the roster.
