ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Macalester College football team fell to visiting Illinois College, 35-28 despite three touchdowns and 161 receiving yards from senior Alec Beatty (Topeka, Kan./Topeka) in the season finale Saturday afternoon at a chilly Macalester Stadium. The Scots finish the season with a 5-5 record, while the Blueboys improve to 4-6.

The game was a part of Midwest Conference Championship Week, which pairs teams from the North and South divisions depending on their finish in the standings.

After Illinois College took the lead with a touchdown late in the first quarter, Macalester responded with a 20-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Cody Petrich (Lansing, Ill./Thornton Fractional South) to senior receiver Jonathan Knee (Lynnfield, Mass./Lynnfield) midway through the second quarter. On the next possession, IC's Drew Chance hit Glen Gibbons Jr. for a 59-yard touchdown. Following an interception, the Blueboys made it 21-7 with a 54-yard drive that ended with a 19-yard touchdown pass from Chance to Austin Patton just before halftime.

In the Scots' second drive of the second half, first year quarterback Grady Munro (Calgary, Alberta/Springbank Community) completed back-to-back passes of 32 and 25 yards to senior receiver Jack Streibich (Whitefish, Montana/Whitefish). On the next play, Munro found Beatty in the end zone from 10 yards out to make the score 21-14 Blueboys. Illinois College responded with a 73-yard drive capped by a 19-yard touchdown catch by Allen Smith to restore the 14-point lead, 28-14.

After the Scots' defense stopped IC on its first possession of the fourth quarter, Munro completed four passes in a row, including a 41-yard touchdown strike to Beatty with 10:10 remaining. Another defensive stand gave the ball back to Macalester, and Munro would find Beatty again. This time, Beatty caught a slant pass and sprinted through the Blueboys' defense on a thrilling 84-yard touchdown. The spectacular play tied the score at 28-28 with just under six minutes left in the game.  

With the Scots needing another stop, Chance completed 6-of-8 for 69 yards, capped by a 19-yard touchdown pass to Gibbons Jr. that put the Blueboys on top, 35-28. Illinois College intercepted Munro on a third-down play and converted a first down to run out the clock and end the game.

Beatty finished with four catches for 161 yards and three touchdowns to end the season with 68 receptions for 1,210 yards and 18 touchdowns. He leaves Macalester with several program records, including single-season receiving yards and touchdowns, career receiving yards (2,901), receiving touchdowns (35) and total touchdowns (47). In his career, Beatty caught 178 passes, including 176 in his final three seasons.

Munro played the second half and was 13-of-21 for 266 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Petrich completed 7-of-13 for 62 yards, a touchdown and an interception in the first half. Knee caught five passes for 67 yards and a touchdown, while Streibich had four receptions for 67 yards. Senior running back Jeremy Stephan (Duluth, Minn./Marshall) also caught four passes.  

On defense, senior Patrick Haley (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Pine Crest) led the Scots with a career-high 16 tackles. First year defensive back Maxx Malone (Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee) added 12 tackles. Gibbons Jr. finished with 11 catches for 141 yards, with Chance throwing for 295 yards. Jason Barbour also rushed for 192 yards and a touchdown for IC.

The game marked the final contest for 15 seniors. This is the sixth class in a row to compile a winning record during their four years at Macalester.

The game also was the 109th game under head coach Tony Jennison, who is now the all-time leader in football games coached at Macalester.