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The Bethel University Royals football team heads to Chicago for the 2021 season opener at North Park University this Saturday. The No. 16 ranked Royals and Vikings are scheduled to kick off at 1 p.m. CDT from North Parks Holmgren Athletic Complex. 



The last time the Vikings and Royals squared off on the gridiron was in 1989, coach Steve Johnson's first game as head coach at Bethel, a 31-21 victory. Ironically, catching a touchdown pass that day for the Royals was sophomore wide receiver Greg Peterson from Monticello, Minnesota. "Petie" would complete his playing career in 1992 and immediately joined coach Johnson's staff. In 2003 he become Bethel's offensive coordinator and was a part of 350 consecutive Bethel football games as a player and coach through the 2019 season. That incredible streak will come to an end on Saturday as Peterson has transitioned to being Bethel's director of athletics last spring and has passed the OC role over to A.J. Parnell. 

2021 Bethel Football By The Numbers

19 - The Royals have racked up 19 wins over the past two seasons, going 11-2 in 2018 which included a run to the NCAA elite eight quarterfinal round. The Royals defeated eventual 2019 national champion North Central College (Ill.) 27-24 during their playoff run. In 2019 BU finished 8-2, narrowly missing an NCAA playoff berth.

32 - It has been 32 games since the Royals last lost to an unranked opponent dating back to week two of the 2017 season. Of the Royals seven losses over that span, three have been to top 5-ranked teams with two others against top 10-ranked teams. BU also defeated two top 10-ranked teams during that stretch. 

15 - It has been 15 games since an opponent's quarterback surpassed his season completion % against Bethel. The Royals defense under fifth-year defensive coordinator Mike McElroy has developed a reputation of harassing the opposing QB. Over the past two seasons, BU has played 20 games against All-Conference quarterbacks, including five against conference MVP's, holding them at or below their season completion percentage in 22 of the 24 games.

16 - Bethel was issued a No. 16 ranking in the D3football.com preseason poll. BU has been ranked in each of the last 18 D3football.com polls dating back to week 9 of the 2018 season. The Royals have been ranked or received votes in the D3football.com preseason poll in all but one of the last 11 seasons. That one year being left out ironically was 2018, when the Royals finished the season ranked No. 7. In seven of the last 11 polls BU has been ranked in the top 20 with four of those within the top 10.

226 - In 31 years leading the Bethel football program head coach Steve Johnson has amassed 226 wins, the second most among active NCAA DIII coaches. Only Rick Giancola (39th season) of Montclair St at 255 has more wins than coach Johnson. In all, coach J's win total ranks 17th in NCAA DIII history. What makes this accomplishment all the more impressive is the fact that during the 1980's, prior to coach J's arrival in 1989, the Royals won just 14 games over nine seasons.       

2 - The Bethel offensive line allowed just two sacks in 2019, the fewest in NCAA DIII and also finished second in fewest tackles for loss per game. The Royals 2021 o-line features two returning starters from 2019 in left tackle Travis Sinclair and right tackle Jack Fiedler, a preseason D3football.com All-American and two-time first team MIAC All-Conference selection. 

69 - Returning two-year starting quarterback Jaran Roste's 69% completion percentage as a sophomore in 2019 was tied for seventh best in all of NCAA DIII and tops in the MIAC. Roste threw for 2,014 yards and 15 touchdowns to just three interceptions. As a true dual-threat QB, Roste ran for over 1,000 yards as a freshman in 2018 at 6.6 yards per carry to go along with 20 TD's on the ground. A two-time MIAC second team All-Conference pick, the Alexandria, Minn. native sports an 18-4 record as a starter with BU.

12.4 - Junior running back Sid Boros has been a homerun hitter his first two seasons in a Royal uniform, averaging 12.4 yards gained every time he has touched the ball. The Becker, Minn. native has ripped off touchdown runs of 82, 78, 72 and 66 yards to go along with a 58-yard touchdown catch. Boros leads a talented and deep running back pool in 2021.

15 - The 2021 Royals roster of 110 players covers 15 different states ranging from coast to coast. While 65 are from Minnesota and eight from Wisconsin the Royals coaching staff led by recruiting coordinator and offensive line coach Chad Richards have scoured all ends of the US and even to Alaska to bring talent to BU. Six players hail from the state of Colorado and six come from the football hot bed state of Texas. AJ Parnell, a Washington native and former head high school coach there, has used his connections to help secure five student-athletes from the Apple state. California, Iowa, Michigan and Florida are represented three times each while Montana and Arizona have produced a pair of Royals. Georgia, South Dakota, Alaska and Maryland all have one Royal each. 

14 - 2020 senior Mike Delich became Bethel's 14th overall selection and eighth consecutive Allstate AFCA Good Works Team member making Bethel's total of 14 selections the fourth most all time in any division and the most among non-DI (FBS) schools. Delich was one of 22 players selected from 149 nominees and one of 11 from the Divisions of NCAA FCS, DII, DIII and NAIA. Quarterback Jaran Roste is Bethel's 2021 nominee for the Good Works Team which will be announced sometime in mid-September. Both Delich and Roste transferred to Bethel after spending a year at the University of Minnesota.

Royal Road Trip

Opponent: North Park University
Streaming/Radio Options: North Park Live Stream
Location: Chicago
Stadium: Holmgren Athletic Complex, 3225 W. Foster Ave. Chicago, Ill 60625
Miles from Bethel's campus: 403
Estimated time of travel: 6 hours
Recommended hotspots: Being a Chicago native Coach Johnson lists Lou Malnati's deep dish Chicago style pizza as the best around. The nearest location to North Park University is in Lincolnwood on North Lincoln Ave. Coach's beloved Chicago Cubs are also in town all weekend at Wrigley Field with their traditional day games at 1:20 p.m. Friday through Monday. Wrigley Field is located just four miles from North Park's campus.