Jacob McDonnell (So., Duluth, Minn. / Marshall) scored six touchdowns and finished with 364 yards from scrimmage, both school marks, and for the second time this season the Scots came within a single point of a school record as Macalester beat Crown 62-42 in a shootout in St. Bonafacius.
Returning after missing four games with injury, McDonnell picked up right where he left off, running the ball 29 times for 257 yards and four touchdowns and gaining an additional 107 yards and two touchdowns on seven receptions. This is the third time in 13 career games McDonnell has accumulated over 100 yards both rushing and receiving. He had 253 yards from scrimmage last year against Colorado College and earlier this year finished with 333 yards (as well as an 81-yard kickoff return) against Beloit. McDonnell's 430 yards in all-purpose rushing vs. Beloit in the opener is the highest single-game total in the NCAA Division III ranks in '07.
Macalester established school records for total yards (628) and offensive plays (90) when it scored an identical 62 points earlier this season against Principia and once again the Scots shattered the record book when they piled up 671 yards on 95 plays, while also establishing a school mark with 35 first downs. The team's 671 yards is the 13th most yards racked up by an NCAA Division III team this season. This is the fourth time over the past two seasons under Head Coach Glenn Caruso the Scots have set a school record for total yardage.
These two teams combined for 1,179 yards and 55 first downs in this shootout. Neither team punted. Macalester scored multiple touchdowns in all four quarters.
The day actually got off to a bad start when Crown's Drew Milner returned the opening kickoff all the way back and then made it 14-0 with a 30-yard scoring reception. The Storm led 28-13 early in the second quarter before Macalester took over by scoring six straight touchdowns between that point and five minutes into the fourth quarter. McDonnell had the first five scores in this six-touchdown rally.
McDonnell's scoring runs came from seven, 12, 14, and six yards out, while his TD catches came from 17 and 51 yards away. He's done especially well against Crown in his career. Last season, McDonnell ran for 207 yards on 17 carries against the Storm when the Scots piled up 511 yards. In 13 games in his Macalester career, McDonnell has run for 846 yards and caught passes for 998 yards, for a total of 1,844 yards from scrimmage.
Macalester is now 7-0 all-time against Crown and goes to 3-5 on the season with one game to go. Crown closes out its season at 5-4.
Other than losing a couple fumbles, Mac's offense was strong all day. The Scots were 8-for-10 on red-zone scoring chances, enjoyed a 14-minute advantage on time of possession, and converted 7-of-13 third down tries. Quarterback Trevor Miehe (Fr., Holmen, Wis.) went 16-for-27 for 190 yards and three scores, tossing a 10-yard TD pass to Matt Mitchell (Fr., Chippewa Falls, Wis.) in addition to his two scoring strikes to McDonnell. Mitchell finished with five catches for 61 yards.
Jakub Koziol (Sr., Chicago, Ill. / St. Patrick) also enjoyed a productive game, running 13 times for 122 yards, averaging a healthy 8.9 yards a carry. Jeff Wankel (Sr., Bloomer, Wis.) had 78 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries. Combined, McDonnell, Koziol and Wankel rushed for 471 yards on an 8.7 average as the Scots ran for 481 net yards, destroying the old Macalester single-game running total of 393 set in 1981 against Bethel.
Lamone Johnson led the way for Crown with 126 yards rushing, while Matthew Bremer passed for 244 yards and three scores. Brian Swanson led the Storm defense with 17 tackles and a fumble recovery.
Macalester's defense intercepted four Crown passes, one each by Brian Foster (Fr., Shannon, Miss.), Jeremy Velasquez (Sr., Ft. Stockton, Tex.), Nick Honan (Sr., Apple Valley, Minn.) and Gavin Keisling (Jr., Page, Ariz.) Honan also forced a fumble which was recovered by Foster. Honan's interception led to the game-tying touchdown midway through the second quarter. Honan leads Mac with five picks on the season and Velasquez has four.
Macalester's closes out its season next Saturday (Nov. 10) when it plays host to Lawrence (Wis.) at 12 noon. The Lawrence Vikings finished their Midwest Conference schedule at 4-5. The Scots will be looking to close out with four wins, doubling their win total from a year ago.
