De PERE, Wis. – The Macalester College football team battled the top team in the Midwest Conference North Division before falling to St. Norbert College, 17-15 Saturday afternoon at Schneider Stadium. The Scots are now 5-3 overall and 2-2 in the conference, while the Green Knights improve to 7-1, 4-0 MWC.

In a low-scoring contest, St. Norbert managed touchdowns in the first and third quarters, both by Matt Galanopoulos, to lead 14-0 heading into the fourth quarter. On its first possession of the final quarter, Macalester put together a 47-yard drive that included 30- and 10-yard passes from first year quarterback Grady Munro (Calgary, Alberta/Springbank Community) to senior receiver Jonathan Knee (Lynnfield, Mass./Lynnfield) and ended with an 11-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Alec Beatty (Topeka, Kan./Topeka).

The Green Knights intercepted Munro at the Macalester 38-yard line, but the Scots' defense held St. Norbert to a field goal, making the score 17-7 with five minutes to play. On the ensuing drive, Munro hit senior receiver Jack Streibich (Whitefish, Mont./Whitefish) with a 50-yard pass to put the Scots on the 17-yard line. Beatty then caught his second touchdown pass from Munro on the next play to pull to within four, 17-13. Macalester went for two, with Munro finding Beatty in the end zone to make the score 17-15 with 3:54 on the clock.

Looking to run out the clock, the Green Knights got an 11-yard pass from Drew Rhodes to David Lox on third-and-three. Nate Ihlenfeldt rushed 15 yards for another first down to maintain possession and clinch the win. The Scots outgained the Green Knights, 300-229 in total offense, as the Macalester defense held St. Norbert to just 11 first downs for the game.

Munro completed 24-of-41 of his passing attempts for 289 yards and two touchdowns but was intercepted three times. Beatty finished with 10 catches for 125 yards and two touchdowns, while Knee caught seven passes for 72 yards. On defense, sophomore linebacker Sam Jakshtis (Hardwick, Mass./Worcester Academy) tallied eight tackles, while junior linebacker Josh Bartz (Omaha, Neb./Brownell-Talbot) and junior defensive back Mason Cohn (Charlotte, Vt./Champlain Valley Union) each had seven tackles. For St. Norbert, Ihlenfeldt rushed 17 times for 82 yards.

Macalester concludes conference play on Saturday, Nov. 3 with a home game against the University of Chicago. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at Macalester Stadium.