RIVER FALLS, Wis. – The No. 10-ranked Bethel University Royals traveled across the river Saturday afternoon for a battle with the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and came away with a hard fought 38-20 victory. Bethel found themselves down 13-10 at halftime before outscoring UWRF 28-7 in the second half, thanks in large part to the connection of
Jaran Roste to
Drew Larsen. The duo hooked up on three different occasions for touchdowns of 29, 52 and 33 yards in the third quarter as Bethel pulled away. The win improves the Royals to 2-0 on the season while the Falcons fall to 1-1.
The game started off with both defenses shutting the offenses down as both Bethel and UW-River Falls punted on their first three possessions. On Bethel's fourth possession the offense was able to complete a drive for the first time as
Max Janes found the endzone from four yards out after an eight play drive. The defense forced another three-and-out, the fourth straight to begin the game, and then setup the Bethel offense in prime position when Matthew Feldick grabbed a Falcon pass that had been tipped by both
John Sfire and
Brayden Finkbeiner at the UWRF seven yard line. Bethel looked to power the ball into the endzone and gain a two score lead but the Falcons were able to stop the Royals at the goal line on downs. After not recording a single first down in their first five possessions and just 10 total yards, UWRF then proceeded to go 99 yards on seven plays to complete a huge shift in momentum. The Falcon drive was highlighted by a 46-yard run and completed with a 37-yard touchdown pass to 6-7, 251 pound senior receiver Alex Herink. The Falcons missed the extra point however and Bethel maintained the lead at 7-6.
Bethel started to move again on their next drive but the possession ended following eight plays with a fumble after a big hit on the Royal ball carrier. UWRF then used the same formula to score their second touchdown, a long run followed by a long jump ball pass, this time to senior Brett Wadman with just 1:11 remaining in the first half. The Bethel offense marched quickly down the field, starting with a pair of Roste to Larsen connections for 15 and 16 yards on consecutive plays. A
Sam Gibas run of eight yards, followed by a Roste run of nine yards, put the ball out of bounds at the UWRF 19-yard line with just nine seconds remaining. On Bethel's next play, Roste dropped back to pass and was forced to scramble in the middle of the field and alertly slid to a knee and called timeout to keep two seconds on the clock and bring out freshman kicker
Bjorn Charles. The Rogers, Minnesota product calmly drilled a 35-yard field goal as time expired to pull Bethel within three at 13-10 going into the half. For the season, Charles is now 11-11 on PAT's and 1-1 on field goals.
The third quarter saw the
Drew Larsen show begin immediately after Bethel forced a quick three-and-out on the Falcons first possession. Roste found a streaking Larson up the middle of the field for a 29-yard strike to put Bethel back in front, 17-13. The Falcons would take the lead back though as they once again connected on a deep jump ball, this time a 41-yard touchdown connection from senior quarterback Ben Beckman to Alex Traxler. Roste then found Larson, who beat a Falcon double team, for a 52-yard touchdown strike.
The Bethel defense forced another three-and-out to give the offense the ball back and a chance to gain separation. A pair of tough
Sam Gibas runs of five and eight yards sandwiched around a Roste run of eight had the Royals marching. Roste then found sophomore running back
Sid Boros for a 20-yard catch and run. The next play saw Roste find Larsen once again on a beautiful connection in the corner of the endzone from 33-yards out and a 31-20 lead. Larsen caught three passes in the third quarter for a total of 114 yards and three touchdowns.
The Bethel defense continued to stop the Falcons and keep the momentum on the Royals side. Roste then put the icing on the cake with a 60-yard touchdown run on a third and five play. On an option play, the 6-4, 240 pound sophomore kept the ball, slipped out of a tackle and into the open field before cutting back outside and into the corner of the endzone to make it 38-20 with 10:41 remaining. An interception by senior
Cale Ferrin ended the next UWRF possession and then the Royals pass rush started creating havoc as
Max Janes recorded two sacks and Beckman threw four straight incompletions with heavy pressure on him and Bethel took a knee to run out the remaining clock.
Roste put up a career high 299 yards through the air, going 21-33 with three touchdowns, all to
Drew Larsen. For Larsen his nine catches, 197 yards and three touchdowns were all career highs as well. Through the first two games of his senior season, Larsen now has 15 catches for 317 yards (21.13 yards per catch average) and five touchdowns. Roste led the way on the ground as well with 14 carries for 107 yards.
Sam Gibas carried 21 times for 72 yards and
Sid Boros rushed three times for 26 yards while catching four passes for 44 more yards. Roste also punted five times, pinning the Falcons inside the 20 four times, including one which was downed at the one yard line.
On defense, Bethel was led by senior safety
Cale Ferrin who had five solo tackles, six total and an interception.
John Sfire totaled six tackles, including two for a loss and a sack. Defensive end
Max Janes had two sacks for a loss of 15 yards and four total tackles to go along with his rushing touchdown in the first half. Sophomore safety
Matt Feldick recorded his first collegiate interception to go along with three tackles. The Bethel pressure got to UWRF quarterback Beckman who completed just 16 of his 40 passes in the game with the two interceptions while being sacked three times.
Bethel now enters into their bye week at 2-0, outscoring a pair of quality opponents 80-30. Coming out of the bye the Royals will travel down to St. Peter, Minnesota to take on the Golden Gusties of Gustavus Adolphus College. The Gusties defeated a UW-Stout team that gave Saint John's a scare in week one (14-7, SJU) by a 41-31 score.
