COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – A defensive battle in the first half turned offensive juggernaut in the second saw the No. 24th-ranked Bethel University football team come up short in the MIAC Championship game at No. 3 Saint John's Saturday afternoon, 41-33.
Each team had a touchdown in the first half before combing for seven scores in the final 30 minutes. Bethel (8-2, 6-2 MIAC) held a narrow edge in yardage outgaining Saint John's (10-0, 8-0 MIAC) 411-410. The Royals rushed for 137 yards while
Cooper Drews aired it out for 274 yards. BU's defense forced the Johnnies into -9 rushing yards, while SJU aired it out for 419 yards.
Bethel's defense tallied seven sacks on the day for a loss of 47 yards.
HOW IT HAPPENED
1st Half
• Bethel's defense forced the Johnnies to punt on its opening eight-play drive as the punt set up the Royals at their own 32-yard line. BU drove down and were just outside the SJU 30 before a pair of passes that would set them up in the red zone were incomplete turning it over on downs.
• SJU struck first as Bethel forced them to settle for a 23-yard goal after
Isaac Call broke up a pass in the endzone on a third down play from the three.
• The Johnnies offense was back on the field as the Royals muffed a short kickoff and SJU recovered at Bethel's 34-yard line. A drive that carried over into the start of the second quarter, the Johnnies settled again for a field goal, this one from 36-yards as BU broke up a third down pass in the end zone again.
• BU turned it over on downs again as they couldn't get the half yard needed on a fourth down run from the SJU 19-yard line.
• On 3rd-and-18 for SJU from their own 11,
Caden DeWall got his second sack of the drive as SJU QB Aaron Syverson intentionally grounded it in the end zone earning Bethel the safety and making it 6-2 with 9:40 left in the half.
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Aaron Ellingson gave BU the lead with a five-yard catch and run to the far side pylon. The point after from
Hugo Cifuentes was good making it 9-6 with 6:28 before the break.
• The Johnnies took the lead back just before the break as an 11-play, 65-yard drive resulted in a three-yard catch with the SJU receiver able to get a foot down in the back of the end zone as
Isaac Call tried to push him out.
• The Royals narrowly outgained the Johnnies in the first half getting 167 yards on 32 plays while SJu had 162 yards on 38 plays. BU held SJU to -19 rushing yards while having 38 of their own. BU aired it out for 129 yards while SJU had 181.
2nd Half
• After Bethel punted on its half-opening drive, the Royals defense stood strong forcing a turnover on downs. But Bethel turned it right back over as
Aaron Ellingson had it knocked out of his hands and SJU recovering on the Bethel 31-yard line.
• SJU only needed one play to turn it into points going up 20-9.
• An 82-yard kickoff return by
Matt Jung set up Bethel at the SJU eight-yard line where they needed three plays for Drews to find
Micah Niewald for a catch and run across the goal line.
• SJU responded on its next drive thanks to converting on two third-and-10 plays. A 38-yard touchdown grab pushed it back to a two-score game after three quarters.
• Cifuentes started the fourth with a 32-yard field goal making it 27-19. The Johnnies put up seven more with a three-minute drive on a 22-yard touchdown catch.
• Bethel returned it to a one-score game at 34-26 as Drews connected with Kidder from six-yards out making Kidder the single-season touchdown receptions leader.
• The defense got the stop it needed setting up Bethel to get it back with just under six minutes left, but the punt from SJU hit a BU player and allowed the Johnnies to fall on it at the Bethel 41-yard line.
• That miscue by BU turned into points for SJU who made it 41-26.
• Kidder had one more touchdown grab, this coming from 23-yards out with 1:29 left.
• SJU got the ensuing onside kick and BU forced one more punt having to go 80 yards for a potential game-tying score. Seven plays into the drive Drews threw his only interception of the game as the Johnnies jumped the route with 15 seconds left in Bethel territory.
TOP PERFORMERS
Offense
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Cooper Drews – 32-of-49, 274 yards, 4 TDs
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Micah Niewald – 12 catches, 123 yards, 1 TD
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Joey Kidder – 13 catches, 88 yards, 2 TDs
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Aaron Ellingson – 20 carries for 115 yards
Defense
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Matt Jung – career-high 16 tackles
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Caden DeWall – 7 tackles, 2.5 sacks for loss of 19 yards
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Hunter Pratt – 2 sacks for a loss of 10 yards
GAME NOTES
• Bethel won the toss and deferred its choice to the second half. SJU received.
• The Royals have now held every opponent under its season rushing average. SJU entered averaging 155.9 rushing a yard a game.
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Joey Kidder is now the Royals' single-season touchdown reception leader with 17. He surpasses Joel Olson's 15 from 2001.
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Joey Kidder now has 1,072 receiving yards making in the fourth most in a season.
• It was the first game all season the Royals didn't tally an interception.
• The Royals now have 44 sacks on the year making it the most since the 2018 season when the Royals had 46.
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Caden DeWall's 15.5 sacks is now the second most in a single season and is 0.5 away from tying Jon Foss' program-record 16.
UP NEXT
The Royals await a potential at-large selection into the expanded NCAA Playoff field. The selection show is set to air on NCAA.com at 4 p.m. central time on Sunday, Nov. 17. The NCAA Division III Football Playoffs expand to six rounds and 40 teams this season. Twenty-eight conferences have automatic bids, leaving 12 at-large spots.
