COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – The Bethel University football team came up on the short end of a 19-0 loss in the showdown of unbeaten and Top 10 ranked teams in snowy Collegeville, Minnesota. The sixth ranked Royals were shut down by the fourth ranked Johnnies, being held scoreless for the first time since week two of 2017, while being held nearly 300 yards below their season average. SJU threw for 326 yards and ran for 133 while scoring just three touchdowns, well below their season scoring average. Bethel's offense struggled to maintain drives as the Royals were 1-12 on third downs in the game.
 


The game started off with a positive for the Royals as they forced a fumble on the opening kickoff and recovered the ball at the 33 yard line. The ensuing possession unfortunately would foreshadow much of what the rest of the game would be for Bethel however. SJU stopped the Royals and Bjorn Charles kicked a successful field goal from 37 yards out but Bethel was called for a false start penalty. Backing it up five yards, Charles' next kick hit the left upright and ricocheted out giving SJU a big boost. The Johnnies were able to march down the field on their first possession and senior quarterback Jackson Erdmann scrambled for a nine yard touchdown run. A poor snap on the PAT forced SJU to try and run but the Royals stopped the Johnnies holder well short of the goal line. The six play, 75 yard drive gave SJU a 6-0 lead.
 
The Bethel defense stiffened, forcing three straight three and outs and another punt by the Johnnies through the next four possessions. The Royals offense was not able to sustain any drives of their own though with the best plays being called back by penalties. Late in the second quarter SJU was able to hit a big pass play to running back Henry Trost, a 57-yard play setting up first and goal for the Johnnies. Two plays later SJU scored and the extra point was successful for a 13-0 lead with just 2:08 remaining in the half. Bethel went three and out and Dane Schumacher's 46 yard punt put SJU at their own 12 yard line with 41 seconds left. The Johnnies were able to get down to Bethel's 13 in just three plays, leaving 12 seconds on the clock. The Royals defense stiffened again though, forcing two incompletions and SJU attempted a 30 yard field goal with three seconds remaining. Bethel blocked the kick and the score remained 13-0 at the half.
 
Coming out of the locker room, the Royals first possession started promising with a pair of first downs but an incompletion, a run for no gain, and another incompletion stalled the drive just past midfield. SJU was able to put together their best drive of the day with a 10-play, 93 yard march that was capped off with a Ravi Alston 29-yard touchdown reception. Alston had five catches for 87 yards on the drive. For the game, Alston would finish with nine catches for 188 yards. The Johnnies extra point was blocked again by Bethel and the Royals attempted to run it back for two points, but a forward lateral stopped the Bethel advance. SJU held the 19-0 lead with 5:48 remaining in the third quarter.
 
The Royals were only able to gain one more first down in the remaining game while SJU used a ball control offense to run out much of the clock in the fourth quarter. The Royals were able to stop the Johnnies on fourth and goal midway through the fourth but SJU ran out the remaining 4:20 on the clock with their last possession.
 
Bethel's offense entered the game averaging 493 yards per game and were held to just 191 total yards, 98 on the ground and 93 through the air. The Bethel defense was able to hold SJU to a 5-for-12 showing on third downs, forcing five punts to go along with the blocked field goal and a fourth down stop, but SJU was able to total 459 yards of total offense. Bethel sacked SJU quarterback Jackson Erdmann three times for losses of 22 yards. Erdmann, the 2018 Gagliardi Trophy winner as NCAA DIII's top player, completed 16 of his 25 passes for 326 yards. The games only turnover came on the opening kickoff with the SJU fumble.
 
The Royals will turn their attention to another undefeated opponent in 5-0 St. Olaf. The Oles were on bye this week after defeating their first three MIAC opponents (Carleton, Augsburg, Hamline) a combined 113-47. The Royals and Oles will kickoff at 1 p.m. at Royal Stadium in Arden Hills.