Macalester drops heart-breaker to Carleton in overtime
The Scots were looking to bring back the "Book of Knowledge" to the Macalester trophy case, leading 17-7 late in the third quarter, but visiting Carleton rallied to force overtime and went on for a 23-17 win. The Knights enjoyed a 4-0 turnover advantage and improve to 2-5 on the season. Macalester falls to 3-4 with its heart-breaking defeat.
T. Joe Loiselle (Sr., Chippewa Falls, Wis.) ran 28 times for 120 yards to lead the Macalester offense, reaching the 100-yard rushing mark for the 13th time in his 29-game Macalester career. Clark Bledsoe (Sr., Jacksonville, Fla. / Episcopal) completed 19 of 37 passes for 188 yards, running 11 yards for one score and tossing a short touchdown pass to Sam Marshall (Jr., Sun Prairie, Wis.). Riley Koval (Jr., Mount Horeb, Wis.) caught seven Bledsoe passes for 55 yards.
The Macalester defense was led by Nate Sands (Jr., Madison, Wis. / East) with 15 tackles, Jole Miller (Fy., Missouri Valley, Ia.) with 11 and Joe Dykema (So., Roseville, Minn.) with nine. Reid Callahan (So., Atlanta, Ga. / St. Pius X) and Adam Bunkoske (Jr., Beaver Dam, Wis. / Wayland Academy) each had QB sacks.
Carleton was held to 40 yards passing, but running back Jon Lien made up for that shortfall by rushing for a school-record 259 yards on 28 carries, scoring on touchdowns runs from 46-yards, 58-yards and 25-yards away.
Mac's Auburn Jimenez (So., East Los Angeles, Calif. / St. John Bosco) opened the scoring with a 36-yard first quarter field goal. Carleton went up 7-3 with 2:08 left in the first half before the Scots re-claimed the lead with :10 to go on a 3-yard Bledsoe-to-Marshall connection, starting the quick drive after a 32-yard Mike Adams (Jr., Chippewa Falls, Wis.) kickoff return to midfield.
Macalester's 10-7 halftime margin was extended to 17-7 when Bledsoe ran it in from 11-yards out to cap a 14-play drive with 2:52 remaining in the third period. However, the Knights quickly got back into the game with a touchdown of their own :48 later on Lien's second long scamper.
Carleton took advantage of a couple big breaks late in the fourth quarter to survive. The Knights recovered a punt at the Mac 16 which deflected off a Scot blocker and then tied the game at 17-17 with a short field goal with just 2:54 to go.
The Scots almost avoided overtime when a 38-yard pass connection looked to put the team in field goal range, but Carleton stripped the ball and came up with a fumble recovery with :17 left.
In overtime, Macalester missed a field goal before the Knights scored on their first offensive play on a 25-yard Lien run.
The Scots will look even their record next Saturday (Oct. 29) when they make the short trip across the Mississippi River to take on Augsburg in Minneapolis. The Auggies are 4-3 on the season.
