#RV Bethel Royals (0-0, 0-0 MIAC) at Northwestern Eagles (0-1, 0-0 UMAC)
Date/Time	Saturday, Sept. 14 | 6:00 p.m. CT
Location	St. Paul, Minn. (Reynolds Field)
Live Stream	UMAC Sports Network
Tickets	Buy Online | Adult $10 • Students K-12/College/Seniors (65+) $7 • Cash & Credit Available at the Gate • Gates Open at 4:30 p.m.
Live Stats	unweagles.com/sidearmstats/football/summary
Bethel	Game Notes
Northwestern	UNWeagles.com
Social Media	Twitter | Football Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

KICKOFF COVERAGE

ARDEN HILLS, Minn. - ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – Bethel football kicks off its 2024 campaign and the start of the Mike McElroy era Saturday night under the lights at Northwestern. The first clash on the gridiron between the Royals and Eagles since 1991 kicks off at Reynolds Field at 6 p.m. Gates open for fans at 4:30 p.m.

SERIES HISTORY

Series: BU leads 2-0
Last: Bethel won 36-6 (Sept. 7, 1991) in Arden Hills

• Saturday's meeting is the third all-time between the two programs and first since a home-and-home series in 1990 and 1991. Bu won the 1991 meeting 49-21 on the road before claiming a dominant 35-6 win in 1991 at home.

FAN INFORMATION

• Gates to Reynolds Field will open at 4:30 p.m.
• No pets are allowed in the complex
• Parking can be found in Lot D. Parking will be extremely difficult, so fans are encouraged to carpool. UNW Campus Map
• Spectators are welcome to bring folding chairs and sit on the field in the yellow highlighted section below. Bleacher seating for visiting fans and student section is highlighted in green below. 

ROYAL NOTES

• The Royals are coming off an 8-3 season which saw them make their third straight NCAA Playoff appearance and 12th overall. This came after BU won its sixth MIAC Championship title and first since 2013 follow a 31-7 win over Gustavus Adolphus at home.
 • Dating back to the 1992 season, the Royals are 23-8 in season-opening games. They have won four of the last five with last year's 16-2 loss to #3 Wartburg at home snapping a four-game season-opener winning streak. It's the third time in program history the Royals open up with UNW after doing so in 1990 and 1991.
• For the first time in 35 seasons there will be a new head coach on the sidelines for Bethel. Mike McElroy will make his head coaching debut after Steve Johnson announced his retirement last season. McElroy, the 15th head coach in program history, has been on staff the past seven years after joining as the defensive coordinator in 2017.
 • Bethel brings back a wealth of experience at defense with nine starters returning. The backfield experience of Matt Jung, Isaac Call, Devin Williams, Nate Farm and Gavin Rataj combined for 19 of 21 BU's interceptions. At linebacker, Caden DeWall and Hunter Pratt move into starting roles after playing in 10 games each and combining for nine sacks.
 • Only five starters return for the offense highlighted by receivers Joey Kidder and Micah Niewald who rank fourth and fifth respectively in all-time receiving yards. In the backfield, Aaron Ellingson comes off a year where he had 934 rushing yards and 424 receiving yards. Josh Helling and Isaiah Ward lead the offensive line from the left side.
• Bethel will be under the lights for the second time in two seasons, something that hasn't happened since 2007-2008. BU is 6-0 in night games after defeating Macalester 49-14 last season on the road in a 7 p.m. kickoff.

BY THE NUMBERS
6 – Bethel will travel six miles down Snelling Ave. for a renewed match with the Eagles that is the first since 1991.
 
14 – The Royals have 14 starters returning from last season with the remaining spots being filled by players who saw significant action last season.
 
21 – The Royals' defense were "ball hawks" with 21 interceptions last year while the up-front guys recorded 21 sacks for a total loss of 129 yards.

NEW YEAR, NEW RULES 
• Fans will notice a bit of a change this year in a few rules for Division III Football. The most noticeable to fans will be that the game clock will continue to run when a first down is gained in bounds.
• This year a Two-Minute Timeout, similar to the two-minute warning in the NFL, will be instituted in the second and fourth quarters. If the ball is live when the game clock reaches two minutes in the second and fourth quarters, the play will continue, and the Referee shall stop the clock when the ball is subsequently declared dead for a Two Minute Timeout.
• Expanded playoffs have come to Division III football with 40 teams reaching the postseason compared to last year's 32 teams. There will still be 28 automatic conference qualifiers, pool A teams, while the pool c teams, or at-large bids, have expanded from four to 12. 
 
STRONG SECONDARY
• The Royals started the 2023 season with seven interceptions in the first three games. Their six in the first two games was the most to start the season for BU since 2004.
• Finishing with 21 INTs on the year, Bethel finished fifth nationally.
• Matt Jung led the team with seven INTs, the most by a Royal since 2007, finishing the season with the second most in Division III. 
 
PROTECTING THE RED ZONE
• The Royals had the second-best red zone defense nationally in 2023, only behind Trinity (CT), with its opponents scoring only 42.3 percent of the time when inside the 20.
• Bethel's foes only scored on 11 of the 26 red zone trips. Five passing TDs, three rushing TDs and three field goals.
• In the final five games, BU has allowed its opponent inside the red zone a total of six times with Concordia and UW-Whitewater being the only ones to score.

MAKE WAY FOR ELLINGSON
• Aaron Ellingson enters as the Royals top running back after recording a rushing touchdown in five of the final six games. In the MIAC Championship game against Gustavus last season he strutted into the endzone for a career-high three times.
• 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. 
• Two times last season he recorded a rushing and receiving touchdown in the same game. He's the third Royal in the last three seasons to record both in a game.
• 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. 
 
NEW FACES AT QUARTERBACK
• Bethel boasts a few new faces at quarterback with sophomore transfer Cooper Drews from Saint John's and Jadon Hanzal transferring in from Division II U Mary. Albert Rundell and Ryan Bengtson are back for their sophomore year after taking snaps on the JV squad last season.
• Cooper Drews sits atop the two-deep but the Princeton, Minn. native is more well known in his hometown as the Tigers' all-time leading scorer in men's basketball.
• Listed as the No. 2 QB, Albert Rundell is looking for his first collegiate snap. The Watertown-Mayer standout led his high school squad to the 2AAA state semis in 2022 and was named District Quarterback of the Year.

A HISTORIC TRADITION
• Bethel football is playing in its 76th season, as the program began in 1947 under the direction of head coach Arch Skalbeck. The Royals have amassed a 368-337-7 record (.522) since the program's inception, which includes a 224-79 mark (.742) since 1994. BU has won six MIAC championships, appeared in 12 NCAA Playoffs and won two NCAA region titles.


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