Macalester College Athletics

ST. PAUL, Minn. – In an offensive, back-and-forth battle, the Macalester College football team lost a thriller for the Book of Knowledge, 48-45 Saturday night in front of an electric Macalester crowd at John Leaney Field at Macalester Stadium. The game marked the MIAC opener for both teams, with the Scots and Knights ending the evening with identical 1-1 records on the season.

Macalester racked up 524 yards of offense, including 218 yards on the ground, compared to 334 yards for Carleton. The Knights benefitted from 183 yards on kickoff returns that included a touchdown.

On the second play of the game, wide receiver Tyler Dimond threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Cooper Pollard for a 6-0 Carleton lead. The Scots took the ball 65 yards in seven plays on their first possession, tying the score with a 7-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Jack Scully (Menlo Park, Calif./Sacred Heart Prep) to junior running back Tucker Snow (Gresham, Ore./Gresham). On the ensuing kickoff, Dimond ran it back 83 yards to put the Knights back on top, 13-6. Again Macalester responded with a long scoring drive, this time needing 13 plays to go 77 yards, capped by a 1-yard pass from Scully to sophomore receiver Kelly Storms (San Anselmo, Calif./Marin Catholic), to tie the score at 13-13.

Early in the second quarter, Matt Geivett kicked a 33-yard field goal for a 16-13 advantage. Both teams followed with their first empty possessions of the game before the Scots took over at their own 43-yard line. On the first play, junior receiver Jackson Janes (New York City, N.Y./Brooklyn Tech) caught a lateral from Scully and hit sophomore running back Brennan Litchford (Milwaukee, Wis./Ronald Reagan) with a 39-yard pass. The trick play helped to set up a 7-yard touchdown pass from Scully to Storms for a 20-16 lead.

Later in the quarter, a 49-yard punt return by Jaxon Watson led to a 5-yard rushing touchdown from Deon Bergner. Sophomore kicker Andrew Wetherill (Langhorne, Pa./The Hun School of Princeton) kicked a 28-yard field goal that tied the score at 23-23 with nine seconds left in the half. With time running down, Tyler Mastronardi connected with Justin Sterner on a 43-yard touchdown reception to give Carleton a 29-23 lead at the half.

On their first possession of the third quarter, the Knights drove 50 yards on six plays to take the largest lead of the game, 35-23 on another Dimond touchdown pass to Watson. Undeterred, Macalester drove 75 yards on eight plays, capped by a 10-yard touchdown run by Litchford to make the score 35-30. Another Watson punt return gave Carleton a short field that resulted in an 18-yard touchdown catch for Dimond and a 41-30 lead for the Knights.

The Scots answered yet again, this time going 75 yards on nine plays that ended with a 19-yard touchdown pass from Scully to junior receiver Paxton Boyd (Newton, Mass./Newton South) to make it a three-point game, 41-38. The Macalester defense stopped Carleton on its next possession, and Scully engineered another scoring drive. Scully hit sophomore running back David Frechette (Hanover, N.H./Hanover) for 13 yards and found Storm for an 18-yard reception. On 3rd-and-9 from the Carleton 33, Scully ran down the left side for 30 yards, setting up Frechette's 3-yard touchdown run that regained the lead for Macalester, 45-41 with 1:42 remaining.

The Knights took over on their own 36 and benefitted from a pass interference call that moved the ball to the Scots' 47. A 17-yard completion on 3rd-and-13 kept the drive alive, and Carleton moved down to the 4-yard line with 24 seconds left. Mastronardi found Dimond in the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown with 20 seconds remaining. Macalester moved the ball to the Scots' 40-yard line, but Scully's desperation throw as time expired was intercepted.

Scully was 22-of-34 for 267 yards and four touchdowns. He also rushed for a career-high 87 yards. Boyd caught seven passes for 133 yards and a touchdown, while Storms had seven receptions for 62 yards and two touchdowns. Litchford rushed 20 times for 74 yards and Frechette ran 14 times for 57 yards, with both running backs scoring touchdowns. Defensively, senior linebacker Jason Weaver (Roselle Park, N.J./Pingry) had six tackles, including 2.0 tackles-for-loss, and junior linebacker Dylan Jeppe (Glencoe, Ill./New Trier) added six tackle to lead Macalester. Sophomore defensive lineman Andrew Frechette (Hanover, N.H./Hanover) registered two sacks, with senior defensive lineman Austin Mills (Eugene, Ore./Winston Churchill) also recording a sack.

Mastronardi threw for 210 yards and two touchdowns, and Pollard and Evan Olds each caught seven passes.

Macalester continues its MIAC schedule with a home game against St. Scholastica on Saturday, Sept. 26. The game starts at 7:00 p.m. at John Leaney Field at Macalester Stadium.