ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Macalester College football team gave unbeaten and 18th-ranked St. Norbert College all they could handle in a 25-16 loss Saturday afternoon in a Midwest Conference battle at Macalester Stadium. The Scots fall to 4-5 overall and 2-3 in the conference, while the Green Knights improve to 9-0, 5-0 MWC.

St. Norbert, the North Division champion, will play South champion Monmouth College on Nov. 14 for the Midwest Conference title and a berth in the NCAA playoffs. Macalester will host Cornell College next Saturday as a part of Midwest Conference Championship Weekend.

On the Scots' second possession of the game, senior running back Zandy Stowell (Chippewa Falls, Wis./Chippewa Falls) rushed three times for 32 yards to help bring Macalester to the St. Norbert 16 yard line. Junior place kicker Ben Haltmaier (Short Hills, N.J./The Pingry School) then kicked a 34-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead. The Green Knights answered on their next possession with a 74-yard drive that ended with a 15-yard touchdown run by Elijah Fort at the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Stowell again was prominent in another scoring drive. He carried the ball six times for 42 yards, including a 21-yard run to the one yard line. First year Alec Beatty (Topeka, Kan./Topeka) scored from one yard out for a 9-7 lead. After the Scots stopped the Green Knights on a fourth down play, Macalester put together an eight-play, 69-yard drive that culminated in another Beatty one-yard touchdown run to lead, 16-7.

The second half belonged to the Green Knights right from the start. Jake Kerkorian blocked a Macalester punt that led to another touchdown run by Fort just 1:30 into the third quarter. Spenser Thompson-Meyers blasted a 48-yard field goal later in the quarter to give St. Norbert a 17-16 edge. An 11-play, 62-yard drive capped by Fort's third touchdown of the day put the Green Knights on top, 23-16 with nine minutes remaining in the game. A two-point conversion made it a two-possession game, 25-16, and Macalester came up empty on its final two possessions.

St. Norbert out-gained the Scots on the ground, 276-162, while holding a slight edge in total offense, 313-285. Stowell led the way again for Macalester with 136 yards on 26 carries. Five players lined up at quarterback for the Scots, with four completing passes. First year Cody Petrich (Lansing, Ill./Thornton Fractional South) was 4-of-4 for 68 yards, all in the fourth quarter, including a 45-yard pass to senior receiver Victor Bordo (Evanston, Ill./Evanston Twp.). Defensively, Beatty made 15 total tackles and sophomore linebacker Phil Wettersten (Queensbury, N.Y./Queensbury) made 11 tackles. Sophomore defensive back Austin Dischinger (Minneapolis, Minn./De La Salle) also had an interception.

Fort finished with 105 rushing yards, while Brad Boockmeier had 103 yards on 21 carries for St. Norbert.

Macalester wraps up the 2015 season with a home game against Cornell College on Saturday, Nov. 14, beginning at 1:00 p.m. at Macalester Stadium.