MORRIS, Minn. – The Carleton College football team got off to an early lead at the University of Minnesota Morris's Big Cat Stadium and did not look back in a 38-12 win over the Cougars. The Knights tallied nearly 500 yards of total offense, while the defense forced four turnovers. In his third career start, quarterback Jack Curtis was 30-of-38 for 362 yards, and had five touchdowns, setting his new career-high.
 
The Knights' defense made their presence felt immediately forcing the Cougars to punt on all three of the first quarter possessions. Carleton's offense took advantage of the opportunity scoring touchdowns on their second, third and fourth possessions of the game.
 
"I love this team. We continue to practice and prepare at a high level. It was a very nice road victory with contributions from a lot of people," said Carleton head coach Tom Journell. "Our coaches had a great plan on both sides of the ball and we executed at a high level."
 
The first seven points came on a 4th-and-5 play, when Curtis found Tyler Dimond open over the middle for a 41-yard touchdown with 5:36 to go in the first quarter.
 
On the next UM-Morris possession Carleton's defense forced the Cougars to punt from their own 25-yard line following a sack by seniors Michael Carey and Isaac Simons.
 
Thirty seconds into the second quarter, Curtis hit Ntense Obono in the corner of the endzone for a nine-yard touchdown pass to make the score 14-0.
 
The Cougars began their next drive on their own 40-yard line, looking for an answer. But on the first play, Henry Detmer picked off quarterback Marcus Reeb.  Taking over at their own 40-yard line following a penalty on the interception return, the Knights needed just four plays to find the endzone for the second Curtis to Dimond touchdown of the afternoon, this one a 31-yarder up the sideline.
 
The Cougars responded with a promising 69-yard drive, but were shut down by the Knights inside the 10-yard line. UM-Morris was forced to bring out Alex Happ and the kicking team for a 23-yard field goal, that finally put the Cougars on the board.
 
Each team added a field goal making the halftime score 24-6 in favor of the road team.
 
The Knights momentum continued into the second half, as Dimond returned the opening kick to the Cougars' 40-yard line, leading to a balanced drive capped off by a 10-yard touchdown strike from Curtis to Nathan Streiff.
 
At the start of the fourth quarter, the Knights' Sam Chutkow recovered a fumble inside Cougar territory. Six plays later, Streiff pulled in his second touchdown of the day. The 17-yard scoring pass was Curtis' fifth of the afternoon. UM-Morris scored its lone touchdown of the day as the clock ran out, leading to the final score of 38-12.
 
For the second consecutive week, the Carleton Knights finished with three receivers above 100 yards: Obono (11 rec, 128 yards, 1 TD), Streiff (9 rec, 104 yards, 2 TDs), and Dimond (6 rec, 103 yards, 2 TDs).
 
Carey led the way for Carleton's defense, finishing with nine tackles. He and Simons both tallied 1.5 sacks. Detmer, Josiah Tusler, and Scott Gevurtz each finished with an interception, and cornerback Chutkow recovered the fumble.
 
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton hosts Hamline University next Saturday, September 23, at Laird Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m.