St. Paul, Minn. – Macalester College football competed in a cross-over matchup against St. Olaf this evening. The Scots totaled 428 yards of offense, and had a late fourth quarter push, but ultimately fell to the Oles 38-32. The Scots are now 2-1 on the season.
 
The Scots were the first to put points up on the board. After forcing the Oles to turn the ball over on downs, completed a 5-play 77-yard drive, including a 50-yard touchdown pass completion to junior receiver Nick Bice (Fort Dodge, Iowa/Fort Dodge) from junior quarterback Michael Nadeau (Garden Grove, Calif./La Quinta). The extra point was missed, but junior Noah Bresson (Homosassa, Fla./Crystal River) tracked down the St. Olaf linebacker to keep the Scots to a 6-0 lead with 6:39 on the clock. The Oles answered on their next two possessions leading 14-6 at the end of the first.
 
In the second quarter, on 2^nd-and-18, Nadeau completed a 21-yard pass to junior receiver Nathan Wu (Walnut Creek, Calif./Northgate) for a first down. Then on 3^rd-and-5 Nadeau connected again with Bice for a 19-yard touchdown and brought the Scots within two. St. Olaf would quickly respond with a 46-yard touchdown and a 29-yard field goal to take a 24-12 lead into the half over the Scots.
 
St. Olaf would increase their lead in the third to 31-12 on a 7-play, 39-yard drive. Macalester continued to fight back against the Oles. On the next possession, Macalester closed the gap. Junior running back Logan Pampel (Johnson Creek, Wis./Lakeside Lutheran) and sophomore running back Josh Bulski (Muskego, Wis./Muskego) combined for 42-yards of the 70-yard drive. Nadeau's pass to the endzone was caught by senior receiver Ty Bruckner (Bel Aire, Kan./Wichita North). Nadeau then completed a pass to senior receiver Michael Poker (Brookfield, Wis./Brookfield East) for a two-point conversion, bringing the Scots within 11, 31-20, going into the final 15 minutes.
 
Macalester took advantage of a missed field goal attempt by the Oles at 9:56. Nadeau connected with Bruckner again on a 17-yard touchdown pass to put Macalester within five, 31-26. The Oles were able to increase their lead on the next drive, 38-26. However, the Scots weren't done. Macalester battled their way to another touchdown, this time from Nadeau to Poker. The Scots continued to battle, but fell 38-32.
 
Nadeau was 26-of-41 for 329 yards and five touchdowns. Bice caught four passes for 91 yards and two touchdowns, while Bruckner caught five passes for 87 yards and two touchdowns. Bulski ran 12 times for 37 yards.
 
On the defensive side for the Scots, Bresson totaled nine tackles, a sack and two hurries. Senior linebacker Brady Thompson (New Brighton, Minn./De La Salle) totaled seven tackles and one hurry.
 
Next week, the Scots head to Northfield for another cross-over matchup with the Carleton Knights. The game is set to start at 1:00 p.m. on Sat. Oct. 1.