ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Macalester College football team opened the 2016 season with a 30-23 triumph over visiting Carleton Saturday afternoon at Macalester Stadium. With the win, the Scots capture the Book of Knowledge, the traveling trophy in the series with Carleton.

Macalester had a productive day offensively, piling up 429 yards, including 370 through the air. Junior quarterback Christian Adams (Alexandria, La./Pineville) threw for 336 yards and four touchdowns in the win, the second victory in the past three games against the Knights.

On the Scots' third possession, Adams connected with sophomore receiver Alec Beatty (Topeka, Kan./Topeka) on a 95-yard touchdown reception for a 6-0 lead. Macalester drove 46 yards on 16 plays on its next possession, with junior Matt Glasenapp (Lake City, Minn./Lake City) kicking a 33-yard field goal for a 9-0 advantage. The Knights answered in the second quarter with two field goals by Brandt Davis and an 11-yard touchdown catch by Chris Madden from Zach Creighton to take a 13-9 halftime lead. Adams threw three of his four interceptions in the second quarter.

In the second half, the Scots' defense forced a pair of punts on Carleton's first two possessions, then Adams hit senior receiver Garrett Eichhorn (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman) with a 38-yard touchdown pass midway through the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, Eichhorn caught a 51-yard pass that set up Beatty's second touchdown of the game, a seven-yard pass from Adams for a 23-13 lead.

Macalester kept the Knights off the scoreboard in the second half until the last minute of the game, when Creighton threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Mack Journell. After a failed onside kick gave the Scots the ball at the Carleton 45 yard line, a short pass over the middle to Beatty turned into a 45-yard touchdown, as Beatty outran the Knights' defensive backfield for his third touchdown of the game. Davis capped a 40-yard drive with a 27-yard field goal with 18 seconds left, and another failed onside kick clinched the victory for Macalester.

Beatty finished with five catches for 160 yards, while Eichhorn had eight catches for 136 yards. Junior running back Jacob Jones (Hanceville, Ala./Holly Pond) rushed 18 times for 71 yards. Defensively, junior linebacker Phil Wettersten (Queensbury, N.Y./Queensbury) had 15 tackles and a sack, and first year safety Kiante Miles (Yukon, Okla./Mustang) recorded 13 tackles and an interception. Senior defensive lineman Nick Egersdorf (Rochester, Minn./Mayo) had two sacks.

Creighton threw for 183 yards, while Madden caught 12 passes for 75 yards for Carleton.

Macalester will play Hamline University on the road on Saturday, Sept. 10 in the annual Paint Bucket Game. The kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. at Hamline.