#RV Bethel Royals (5-1, 3-1 MIAC) at Hamline Pipers (2-4, 0-4 MIAC)
Date/Time	Saturday, Oct. 26 | 1 p.m. CT
Location	St. Paul, Minn. (Klas Field)
Tickets	Buy Online
Live Stream	MIAC Sports Network
Live Stats	hamlineathletics.com/sidearmstats/football/summary
Bethel	Game Notes
Social Media	Twitter | Football Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

KICKOFF COVERAGE

ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – The Bethel University football team heads south on Snelling Ave. for a MIAC Skyline Division matchup at Hamline. Kickoff for BU's first road trip to Klas Field since 2021 is set for 1 p.m.

SERIES HISTORY

Series: BU leads 33-26
Last:  Bethel won 49-7 (Oct. 21, 2023) in Arden Hills

• In a series that dates back to the 1952 season, the Royals and Pipers meet on the gridiron for the 60th time on Saturday. BU holds a 27-game winning streak on Hamline, 13 of which have come at Klas Field, with the last loss coming in the 1995 season. The Royals are averaging 44.8 points against HU over the previous ten games and scored 33 or more points in nine of them.

ROYAL NOTES

• Bethel is coming off another convincing victory defeating Augsburg 73-8 for its third straight win while Hamline fell to Concordia at home 41-7 for its fourth straight loss.
• BU's 73 points against the Auggies are the most in a game since the Royals' 75-0 victory over the Auggies on Nov. 3, 2018.
• The Royals amassed 500-plus yards of offense for the second straight week with 518 yards. It's the 14th time in the last five seasons BU surpassed the 500-yard mark.
• With four sacks last week, BU's season total moved to 25, making it the most in a season since 2019 when the Royals had 33 in 10 games. The Royals currently have the third most sacks in Division III.
• Joey Kidder totaled 148 receiving yards against the Auggies, making him the Royals' all-time receiving yards leader with 3,067 career yards. He surpassed Jeremy Belisle's 3,001 career yards from 1996-99. His 192 career receptions now rank second all-time.
• Micah Niewald's 88 receiving yards moved his career total to 2,803 tying for third all-time with Mitch Hallstrom.
• Aaron Ellingson notched a career-high four rushing touchdowns against the Auggies, bringing his season total to a MIAC-leading 10. That mark is also tied for ninth nationally.

BY THE NUMBERS
49 – Bethel has scored 49 points in the last three matchups with Hamline, winning by scores of 49-7 (2023), 49-14 (2022), and 49-7 (2021).
 
13 – The Royals have the second most interceptions in Division III with 13. Two of those have been returned for a TD with Jackson Braun having the most recent pick-six.
 
12 – Caden DeWall's 12.0 tackles for loss this season rank 10th nationally. Of his 12 TFLs, eight of those are sacks ranking sixth in Division III.   

STOPPING THE RUN GAME
• Bethel leads Division III in rushing defense giving up a minimal 11.2 yards per game. 
• Allowing -22 rushing yards to the Gusties was the third time this year that BU held its opponent in the negative rushing range.
• In 2023 BU held its opponents under 100 yards rushing in seven games.
• Since 2022, the Royals are 16-1 when holding their opponent to less than 100 yards on the ground.
• In nine games last year, BU kept its opponent under its season-average rushing mark.
• In all six games this season, the Royals have held their opponent below their season average.
 
NOT SO SPOOKY OCTOBER
• Since the 2021 season the Royals boast a perfect 17-0 record in games playing during the month of October.  Going back through the 2010 season the Royals are 46-11.

JUMPING FOR JUNG
• Sophomore Matt Jung leads the Bethel defense with six interceptions on the year, two coming in each of the first two games.
• He is second in the nation with his biggest of the season coming against UWEC, picking off a potential game-tying pass in the endzone late in the fourth as the Blugolds had it first and goal from the two.
• He added an 84-yard pick-six against the Johnnies in the third pulling BU within 35-20. It was his third career pick-six for the Royals.
• Adding a 43-yard punt return touchdown to his scoring list against Macalester. Jung now has a TD in all facets of the game including a 69-yard TD reception against Saint John's. It's the first non-blocked punt return for the Royals since Oct. 27, 2012 when Landen Strilzuk returned it 70 yards to the house.
 
MAKE WAY FOR ELLINGSON
• Aaron Ellingson strutted into the endzone for a career-high four times against Augsburg. He carried it nine times for a total of 85 yards with his longest being a season-long 49-yard TD carry in the second quarter.
• Previously he had tallied three rushing touchdowns on three different occasions, two of those came this season doing so against Northwestern and Gustavus Adolphus.
• His 10-rushing touchdown leads the MIAC and is ninth nationally.
• A career-high 224 yards for Ellingson against Gustavus in the MIAC Championship game in 2023 was the most by a Bethel running back since Marshall Klitzke had 228 yards on October 31, 2015. 
• Last season Ellingson led the MIAC with a 5.63 yards per carry mark and was second with eight rushing touchdowns.
• Ellingson's 934 rushing yards last season was the most by a Bethel running back since Sam Gibas' 1,092 in 2018. 
 
KEEPING UP WITH KIDDER
• Fifth-year wide receiver Joey Kidder became the Royals' all-time receiving yards leader with 3,067 career yards after reeling in 148 yards against Augsburg.
• With a career-high four touchdown grabs against UWEC, Kidder became the Royals' all-time touchdown reception leader with 31. He surpassed Bryce Marquardt who had 29 from 2013-17.
• His four TD grabs against UWEC tied the program's single-game record becoming the fifth Royal to have that many in a game and the first since Bryce Marquardt at Augsburg in 2014. He now has nine career multi-touchdown games.
• With 148 reception yards against the Blugolds, it marked the 13th time in his career with 100-plus receiving yards. His career-high 196 yards came at Concordia on Oct. 15, 2022.  
• Kidder's eight touchdowns this season are third in the MIAC and 19th nationally.


>>> READ BETHEL'S COMPLETE GAME NOTES BY CLICKING HERE.