ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Carleton College football team absorbed a 30-23 setback in the season opener at Macalester College. With the result, the Scots re-claimed the Book of Knowledge traveling trophy for just the fifth time in the last 19 seasons.
Macalester (1-0) had three touchdown passes of at least 38 yards, but equally frustrating for the Knights (0-1) was manufacturing only seven points following four Scots’ interceptions.
Carleton struggled out of the gate and trailed 9-0 at the conclusion of the opening quarter as the Knights were outgained 188-11 over the first 15 minutes. The visitors turned the tables on the Scots in the second quarter and limited Macalester to only seven yards of offense in the period while sandwiching a pair of Brandt Davis (Sr./La Verne, Calif./Bonita) field goals around an 11-yard touchdown pass from Zach Creighton (Sr./Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North) to Chris Madden (Sr./Kenosha, Wis./St. Joseph) to build a 13-9 halftime lead.
The Knights were unable to build upon their advantage and punted on their first six possessions of the second half. Macalester, meanwhile, used touchdown drives of 70 and 75 yards to build a 23-13 advantage early in the fourth quarter.
With only 1:04 remaining in the contest, Creighton found Mack Journell (Fy./Stevens Point, Wis./Stevens Point) for a 12-yard scoring strike, bringing the Knights within 23-20. Carleton could not recover the onside kick, and on the first play of Macalester’s next possession, the Scots’ Alec Beatty sliced through the defense for a 45-yard touchdown reception, providing some crucial insurance points.
A good kickoff return gave the Knights the ball near midfield, and needing two scores, Carleton elected to take another field goal by Davis to make it a seven-point contest. The Scots recovered another onside attempt and ran out the clock to preserve the victory.
Creighton finished 24-for-41 for 183 yards at the two touchdowns. He was also Carleton’s leading rusher, totaling 44 yards on 15 carries. Madden hauled in a career-best 12 receptions. Ian Doherty (Jr./Lincoln, Mass./Concord-Carlisle Regional) led the defense with 12 stops.
Macalester quarterback Christian Adams finished 14-of-33 336 passing yards and four touchdowns, with three of those scoring plays going to Alec Beaty who totaled 160 yards on five catches.
Carleton returns home to host Lake Forest College on Saturday, Sept. 10 at 1 p.m. Knights Online will feature live video/stats.
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