Photo gallery by Concordia College -- coming soon
MOORHEAD, Minn. – The Carleton College football team struggled on third downs and scored only one touchdown on five trips inside the red zone as the Knights absorbed a 26-14 defeat at Concordia College.
Carleton amassed 216 rushing yards—its best total on the ground since running for 216 against St. Olaf College on Oct. 8, 2005. The Knights also out-gained the Cobbers 388-294 in total offense this afternoon, however, those figures were undone by a 1-for-11 showing on third down.
Starting quarterback Vaughn Schmid (Jr./Mahtomedi, Minn./Mahtomedi) was just 8-of-22 for 91 yards in the first half. He also threw a costly interception that was returned 31 yards for a touchdown late in the second quarter. Conor Lynch (Fy./Salem, Ore./South Salem) took over in the second half and went 8-for-12 for 81 yards, plus another 77 rushing yards on 16 carries.
Running back Jon Lien (Jr./Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes) had his streak of 100-yard games snapped as he carried the ball 14 times for 82 yards and the Knights’ lone touchdown, a two-yard plunge early in the fourth quarter.
While Carleton led in time of possession, total yards, number of plays and most other statistical categories, it was efficiency in the red zone that determined that game. The Cobbers converted all three of their opportunities, with touchdown runs of 2, 9 and 10 yards. The Knights were 3-of-5, but two of those were field goals.
Late in the first quarter, Carleton had second-and-goal from the six-yard line and ended up with a 23-yard field-goal attempt that sailed wide right. The Cobbers then went 80 yards in nine plays—all rushes—and capped the drive with a two-yard touchdown.
The subsequent Knights possession again stalled in the red zone. Carleton had first-and-goal at the 10-yard line and settled for a season-best 32-yarde field goal by David Miller (So./Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood) to make the score Concordia 6, Carleton 3.
Concordia extended the lead to 13-3 with under two minutes to go in the half thanks to an eight-play touchdown drive. Carleton got the ball back but on the second play from scrimmage, Schmid’s pass attempt turned into a pick-six for Luke Hvidston, making the score 20-3.
After getting the ball back with 1:17 to go before halftime, Schmid marched the team down the field and completed consecutive 20-yard passes to Brian Frett (Fy./Wilmette, Ill./New Trier), moving the ball inside the Cobber five-yard line. A run came up short, and with time running out Schmid’s pass into the endzone was intercepted, but a Concordia penalty on the play gave the Knights one more play. Kurt Ramler elected to put points on the board as Miller’s chipped shot 18-yard field goal made it a two-possession game at 20-6.
Carleton took the second-half kickoff, and Lynch, whose only previous collegiate pass was an interception, moved the team down to the 20-yard line. Three consecutive penalties on the Knights and a sack resulted in a punt from midfield, potentially taking points off the board.
The Carleton defense forced a turnover deep in Knight territory, and Ramler’s offense finally reached pay dirt. Lien capped the 14-play, 85-yard drive with his sixth touchdown run of 2010, pulling the Knights within 20-12 after the extra point failed. The Cobbers responded with a 10-play touchdown drive to stretch the lead back out to two possessions.
The Knights advanced down the field and appeared to have another touchdown by Lien, but his one-yard scoring dive was erased by a holding penalty. Consecutive sacks pushed Carleton back even farther before the team turned it over on downs. The Knights got their last points when Concordia elected to take a safety rather than punt from its endzone in the final minute.
Kilian Murphy (Sr./Eau Claire, Wis./Eau Claire Regis) paced the Knights with eight receptions for 80 yards. Frett and Lien each had three grabs.
The Concordia ground game saw three players surpass 50 yards, while quarterback Michael Dunham completed half of his 14 pass attempts for just 69 yards, the smallest total surrendered by the defense since the Cobbers tallied just 53 passing yards on Sept. 24, 2005.
Carleton returns to Northfield for its next game as the Knights host cross-town rival St. Olaf College on Saturday, Oct. 16. Due to flood damage at Laird Stadium, the game has been moved to the Oles campus and will be played at Manitou Field. It will still be considered a Carleton home game, so like other regular-season games for the Knights, admission is free. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m., and the game will be carried live on Knights Online with a radio simulcast on Power 96 in the Northfield/Faribault area.
