ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – The Carleton College football team stumbled on the road against No. 4 Bethel University, falling 49-7.
Bethel (9-0, 8-0 MIAC), ranked fourth in Division III by D3football.com, entered the contest with the nation's third-best scoring offense and second-best scoring defense. Carleton (6-3, 6-2 MIAC), D-III's second-ranked passing offense, was held in check most of the day as starting quarterback
Jack Curtis went 4-for-8 but went out after the first offensive play of the second quarter and did not return.
Tyler Mastronardi came off the bench and completed 7 of 13 passes.
The game began with promise for Carleton, as
Owen Detmer deflected a pass from Bethel quarterback Cooper Drews, which was picked out of the air by
Jacob Ventura. The Knights could not turn the takeaway into points, but forced another turnover on Bethel's next drive when
Luke Sugalski hopped on a Royals fumble at the Bethel 37.
The Knights quickly made the most of the giveaway. On the second play of their possession, the Knights ran a reverse, as
Evan Olds received a handoff and flipped to
Cooper Pollard. Pollard rolled to the right and threw a dart on the run to
Jaxon Watson who spun into the endzone for a 7-0 Carleton lead.
A long kickoff return gave Bethel favorable field position, and they quickly tied the game on a 30-yard touchdown pass. The Royals earned their first lead of the game at 3:58 in the first quarter on another Drews to Albert Rundell passing score.
Carleton could not get its offense going after Curtis left the game, and the hosts began to click with a trio of touchdowns, which handed them a 35-7 halftime edge. Bethel scored a touchdown in the third and fourth quarter to stay unbeaten.
Rider McCormick broke up three passes for the Knights.
Eric Lail totaled a career-high 15 tackles, leading the game.
Owen Detmer notched 14 stops, also a career high, with 1.5 tackles for loss.
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton returns home for its regular-season finale, hosting Concordia College-Moorhead for Senior Day on Nov. 15. Kickoff at Laird Stadium is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.
