ST. PAUL, Minn. – Three second-half touchdowns allowed Carleton to pull away from Macalester, 27-12 in the season opener for both teams Saturday afternoon at Carleton's Laird Stadium.

The Knights took control early with a 12-play, 77-yard drive that ended with a two-yard touchdown run by Tyler O'Keefe to open the game. Macalester responded with its first possession of the second quarter, an 80-yard drive that included a 36-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Christian Adams (Alexandria, La./Pineville) to sophomore wide receiver Sam Bordo (Evanston, Ill./Evanston Twp.). First-year running back Jeremy Stephan (Duluth, Minn./Marshall) scored his first career touchdown on an eight-yard run to complete the drive.

The Scots put themselves in position to score late in the first half, driving to the nine yard line with three seconds left. But a missed field goal left Carleton on top, 7-6 at halftime.

The Knights scored on their first two possessions of the second half, getting touchdown runs from O'Keefe and Andy Gustafson to lead 21-6. In the fourth quarter, the Scots blocked a punt from Carleton's own 17 yard line, and sophomore Miles Keys McKay (Santa Cruz, Calif./Santa Cruz) ran it in for a touchdown. A missed two-point conversion made the score 21-12 Carleton.

On the ensuing kick-off, sophomore defensive back Austin Dischinger (Minneapolis, Minn./De La Salle) forced a fumble and recovered it on Carleton's 21 yard line. But the Scots did not get a first down and turned the ball over on downs. Gustafson closed out the scoring with a 33-yard touchdown reception with five minutes remaining.

First-year quarterback Alec Beatty (Topeka, Kan./Topeka) led the Scots with 85 yards rushing in his first collegiate game. Senior wide receiver Victor Bordo (Evanston, Ill./Evanston Twp.) had four catches for 48 yards. Defensively, senior linebacker Ryan Fleming (Charlotte, Vt./Champlain Valley Union) had 11 total tackles, including eight solo. Gustafson rushed for 92 yards and quarterback Zach Creighton had 246 yards passing and 95 yards on the ground to lead Carleton.

Macalester plays its first home game of the season on Saturday, Sept. 12 against Hamline. Kick-off is set for 7:00 p.m. at Macalester Stadium.