INDIANOLA, Iowa—Run to the fight. Stay in the fight. Finish!
 
Head Coach Steve Johnson and the Bethel football staff commonly say those three phrases as a battle cry during practice and games, and those three phrases are what proved to be the storyline in Saturday's 41-29 victory over Simpson College.
 
Run To the Fight
The Royals (1-0, 0-0 MIAC) trailed the Storm (0-1, 0-0 ARC) 6-0 in the opening 15 minutes, but eventually scored three touchdowns, including two rushing TD's by Sam Gibas and a defensive pick-six by Dawson Brown to start the second half, which gave BU a 21-9 lead with 14:16 remaining in the third quarter.
 
Stay In the Fight
Simpson clawed back, however, and scored two third-quarter touchdowns, which gave the home team a 22-21 advantage with 3:45 left in the third frame. The Storm's comeback didn't scare Bethel, though, as they composed an 11-play, 70-yard scoring drive that was capped off by a 3rd-and-goal pass and catch from Jaran Roste to Mike Delich to take a 29-22 lead early in the fourth quarter. BU's defense forced Simpson into a 3-and-out and the offense put together another impressive drive, this time a 13-play, 88-yard drive concluded by Sam Gibas's third rushing TD of the day.
 
Finish
Simpson put together an 8-play, 75-yard scoring drive in under two minutes, which cut the deficit to 35-29 with four minutes remaining, but freshman QB Jaran Roste manufactured a game-sealing drive that was highlighted by a 23-yard touchdown throw to Drew Larsen on 4th-and-12 with just under a minute, which gave the Royals the 41-29 finish.


 
Bethel got back to its roots Saturday, rushing the ball 58 times for 235 yards. Sam Gibas carried the rock 22 times for 108 yards (4.9 per carry) and three touchdowns, while Gideon Erhabor was right behind with 16 carries for 78 yards (4.9 per carry).
 
Jake Marsh got the start, but Jaran Roste was asked to come in during the third quarter and finished the game 5-of-6 passing for 90 yards and two scores. Drew Larsen led Bethel's receiver corps with three catches for 53 yards and a touchdown.
 
Dawson Brown led the Royals' defense with 13 tackles, two interceptions, and one tackle for loss, and one blocked PAT. Kyle Peach wrapped up 10 tackles, while Levi Duininck finished with nine, including 3.0 tackles for a loss of seven yards. Kyle Kilgore, who finished 2017 with six sacks in eight games, continued his dominance on the line—posting 2.5 sacks for a loss of 18 yards and 3.5 total tackles for loss.
 
Blake Hottle helped BU in the field-position game, punting the ball five times for 218 total yards (43.6 per punt). That included a 60-yard punt when standing in his own end zone.

Bethel's win over Simpson was the first over a nonconference opponent since the 2015 season opener. The victory also helped BU remain unbeaten (5-0) against the Storm.
 
The Royals are back in action on Saturday, September 8 when they host UW-River Falls in their home opener. The matchup against the Falcons is scheduled to kickoff at 1 p.m.