ARDEN HILLS, MINN.—For the first time since September 24, 2022, the Bethel University football team were on the winning side against Saint John's (Minn.) as the No. 12 Royals took down the No. 4 Johnnies 17-10 in front of 4326 spectators at Royal Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Royals are off to their first 4-0 start to a season since 2019, and improve to 3-0 MIAC. The Johnnies fall to 3-1, 2-1 MIAC.
Bethel 17, Saint John's 10
Devin Williams picked off Saint John's quarterback Trey Feeney's pass on the game's fourth play with 13:10 remaining in the first quarter to set up Bethel's offense on their own 26 yard line. They capped an 18-play, 69 yard drive that lasted 7:12 of clock time with Zach Bengtson's field goal with 5:58 remaining that gave Bethel a 3-0 lead.
Each team came up empty on their next two possessions, which included Bethel's 4th and 1 stance on their own 15 yard line courtesy of Devin Williams and Jake Borman on the second play of the second quarter. Caden Wheeler came up big with 30 yards rushing on Saint John's fourth offensive series of the game that began at 9:07 left in the second quarter. Wheeler ended that drive with a one-yard touchdown run that put the Johnnies in front 7-3 with 6:47 left in the second frame.
The next drive saw Bethel's Cooper Drews complete 5-of-5 passes for 54 yards. This included a 26 yard touchdown pass to Tyler Terry that gave the Royals a 10-7 lead with 2:38 left in the second quarter.
The Johnnies drained the clock down to 00:00 with a 10-play, 64-yard drive that ended with Matt Hansen's 28-yard field goal that knotted the score at 10-10.
The scoreless third quarter was highlighted by Bethel's second 4th and 1 stop of the game on their own one yard line thanks to Abdallah Abed with 5:00 on the clock. The Royals got their big-play spark in the fourth quarter, when Albert Rundell's 47-yard grab put his team within striking distance for Taye Manns, whose 23-yard touchdown run with 6:20 remaining gave his team a 17-10 lead.
Bethel's defense held firm on Saint John's final drive, as they forced a punt with 4:21 on the clock. The Royals milked the clock down, and concluded the game with three kneel downs to seal a 17-10 victory.
Manns finished with 127 yards and one touchdown on 20 carries. David Geebli added 51 yards on 13 carries. Cooper Drews completed 17-of-22 passes for 174 yards and one touchdown for the Royals. Eight of those completions went to Albert Rundell, who accumulated 92 yards.
Devin Williams carried Bethel's defense with 11 tackles (eight solo) that included one for a loss of one yard, and one interception. Jake Borman added 11 tackles (four solo) for the Royals.
Trey Feeney completed 19-of-23 passes for 181 yards for Saint John's. Aidan McMahon registered a team-leading 17 tackles (11 solo).
The Royals will make the short trek to Augsburg on Saturday, October 11 at 12 p.m.
