De PERE, Wis. – The Macalester College football team closed out the 2016 season with a 35-7 loss to St. Norbert College in a Midwest Conference game Saturday afternoon at Schneider Stadium. The Scots end up with a 7-3 overall record, including a 6-2 mark in the Midwest Conference, while the Green Knights improve to 7-3, 7-1 MWC.

The teams struggled to score early, combining for five consecutive punts to start the game. Macalester drove to the St. Norbert 21 near the end of the first quarter before throwing an interception. A missed 36-yard field goal by the Scots near the start of the second quarter kept the game scoreless.

Midway through the second quarter, the Green Knights moved the ball to the 1-yard line before Macalester stopped them on fourth down. On the first play after the turnover on downs, Tommy Gonzales intercepted a pass and returned it 10 yards for the touchdown and a 7-0 St. Norbert lead. St. Norbert then put together an 11-play, 76-yard drive that ended in a 4-yard pass from J.T. Crosby to Zach Reeves just before the end of the half to lead 14-0.

In their first drive of the second half, the Scots went 75 yards on 11 plays to grab momentum and make it a one-touchdown game. Sophomore quarterback Cody Petrich (Lansing, Ill./Thornton Fractional South) threw a 27-yard pass to junior receiver Sam Bordo (Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township) to make the score 14-7.

But the fourth quarter was unkind to Macalester, as the Green Knights scored three touchdowns over the final 12 minutes of the game to close out the win. The Scots turned the ball over on downs twice and threw an interception in the final quarter. Elijah Forte and Curtiss Arndt ran for touchdowns, while Grant Murray caught a Crosby pass for another score.

Petrich was 12-of-30 for 137 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions. He also was sacked twice. Junior running back Jacob Jones (Hanceville, Ala./Holly Pond) rushed 11 times for 37 yards and caught four passes for 43 yards. Sophomore receiver Jonathan Knee (Lynnfield, Mass./Lynnfield) also had four receptions for 43 yards. On defense, junior linebacker Sean Hayes Buckley, Wash./White River) led Macalester with seven tackles. Senior defensive lineman Nick Egersdorf (Rochester, Minn./Mayo) had one sack to end up with 14.0 sacks on the season, which ranks among the national leaders.

For St. Norbert, Fort ran for 140 yards on 20 carries, and Crosby threw for 161 yards and two touchdowns.

The loss also marked the final game for 15 Macalester seniors, who compiled a record of 24-17 in their four years. That ranks second behind the 1983-86 teams (25 wins) for the most victories in a four-year period at Macalester.