Carleton Knights

NORTHFIELD, Minn. -- In a game which featured a clash of two contrasting offensive schemes, Concordia College-Moorhead's methodical double-wing option offense bested Carleton College's fast-paced "Air Raid" passing attack, 54-21, to put a bit of a damper on the Senior Day festivities at Laird Stadium.
 
Concordia (5-5, 5-3 MIAC) found the end zone on all six of its first half possessions and finished the day with 420 rushing yards on 55 carries. Meanwhile, Carleton (4-6, 2-6 MIAC), which entered the day with the second-most pass attempts in NCAA Division III this season, totaled 282 yards on 48 pass attempts.
 
Bert Bean (So. Kansas City, Mo./Pembroke Hill School) registered Carleton's first points when he caught an 11-yard touchdown toss from Jonathan Singleton (Fy./San Martin, Calif./Live Oak) midway through the second quarter. The drive was sparked by a 20-yard Singleton to Emanual Williams (Sr./Lovelady, Texas/Lovelady) completion on 3rd-and-12. Williams finished the day with six catches for 81 yards.
 
The Knights' next touchdown came on a five-play, 57-yard drive to start the third quarter. All five plays were pass completions by Singleton, the last one being a 15-yard strike to senior Mack Journell (Stevens Point, Wis./Stevens Point).
 
Journell and Singleton once again connected for the final score of the game, a 34-yard touchdown that capped off a six-play, 56-yard Carleton drive in the fourth quarter. Journell concluded the afternoon with six grabs for 84 yards and the two touchdowns.
 
Concordia was led on offense by quarterback Sean McGuire, who was making his first collegiate start. He ran the ball 24 times for 173 yards and a touchdown. McGuire also competed 4-of-5 passes for 128 yards and three touchdowns. Fullback Logan Hatfield helped shoulder the load, picking up 76 yards and a touchdown on 10 rushes. Wide receiver Matt Bye hauled in two passes, both of which went for touchdowns. One was a 34-yard strike midway through the second quarter and the other was a 42-yard catch right before halftime. Bye also ran the ball three times for 59 yards and another touchdown.
 
Despite its disappointing end to the collegiate careers of the 10 seniors on the roster, this season was ultimately a success for the Knights as they posted their highest victory total since 2013.
 
Singleton impressed in his rookie season, finishing the year with 2,156 yards passing—the sixth-best total in Carleton history and the most ever by a Carleton underclassman. He also accounted for 19 touchdowns through the air, tied for fifth on Carleton's all-time single-season leaderboard. Those rankings are especially impressive given that Singleton did not appear in the Knights first two games of the year.
 
Williams ended his stellar career—which began as a running back before transitioning to wide receiver—with 181 career receptions, finishing one catch away from the third-most in Carleton history. His career totals also include 1,700 yards (11th all-time at Carleton) and 16 touchdowns (tied for seventh) in the passing game to go along with 453 rushing yards and five more scores on the ground. Williams amassed 72 receptions for 887 receiving yards and eight touchdowns in 2019 with those single-season figures ranking fourth, eighth, and tied for 13th, respectively, in team history.
 
Journell played only three season for the Knights, yet he finished fifth in team history with 174 receptions and 18 touchdown catches while donning the maize and blue. His 2,079 receiving yards at Carleton move him into sixth place in the program's 137-year history.
 
Journell accounted for 74 catches during his senior year, tied for second-most at Carleton. With two touchdowns in the finale, he increased his season total to nine, tied for fourth-best in team annals. Journell had 879 receiving yards, representing the ninth-highest figure in the single-season record book.
 
Fletcher Metz (Oconomowoc, Wis./Catholic Memorial) was the third receiver to star for this senior class. He finished his time at Carleton with 102 receptions (14th all-time) for 877 yards and 12 touchdowns (tied for 13th). He totaled 49 catches for 394 yards and four scores this fall.
 
Senior Eric Stadelman (Davenport, Iowa/Bettendorf) started on the Carleton offensive line 34 times over his last three and a half seasons as the Knights aerial attack rewrote the record books.
 
On the other side of the ball, six other Knights wrapped up their exceptional careers on Satruday. Jay Na (Sr./San Francisco, Calif./Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory) totaled a game-high 14 tackles, while linebackers Peter Hagstrom (Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee) and Carlos Lua Pineda (Gresham, Ore./Gresham) registered eight and seven stops, respectively.
 
Hagstrom started his last 35 collegiate games at linebacker and totaled 217 stops in four years. After coming off the bench his first two seasons, Lua Pineda started 19 times total in 2018 and 2019 and amassed 180 tackles during his career. Na started 27 games over the last three campaigns and racked up 165 total tackles during his tenure with the Knights.
 
Defensive back Christian Cavan (Grimes, Iowa/Dowling Catholic), defensive lineman Joe Lewis (Northfield, Ill./New Trier) and linebacker Aaron Prentice (Sr./Hanover, Mass./Thayer Academy) suited up for Carleton one last time in the finale.
 
Cavan moved into the starting lineup this fall and finished eighth on the team with 37 tackles this season. Lewis did not play his first two years at Carleton but started 17 games over his junior and senior campaigns, accumulating 61 tackles over that span. Prentice was a regular contributor and started 10 games over his career, totaling 93 tackles overall.